Recently, orthopedic shoes have become extremely popular. There are salons with orthopedic shoes in almost every city, and people eager to buy them are in every village. Is it really necessary, and if so, in what cases?
Criteria for choosing orthotics
There are three types of orthopedic shoes:
- preventive;
- uncomplicated;
- complex.
As the name implies, the first type serves to prevent possible foot deformation and related problems. Boots in this category can be worn by anyone who does not have foot problems, as well as people with the first signs of changes.. Low-complexity shoes are designed for people with mild foot deformities that are reversible and do not require serious external interventions. Complex orthopedic shoes are made only to order as prescribed by a doctor and only according to individual measurements.
When choosing orthopedic boots, follow these tips:
- purchase shoes only in specialized orthopedic stores, ask for help from a consultant, check for quality certificates for the chosen pair;
- choose boots strictly according to size, especially for children. The heel should be securely fixed by the heel, the toe should not press, and for the toes, a free space of 1-1.5 cm for adults and 0.5-1 cm for children is required;
- The sole of the boots should be hard, flexible and non-slip. Try to press the sole from the toe side, it should bend with effort;
- A small heel is allowed, for children under 6 years old no more than 1.5 cm.
Important! You should not wear shoes for another person, since the shoes and insoles adapt over time to the shape of the owner’s feet and can, at best, simply cause inconvenience to the new owner, and at worst, lead to serious changes in the foot.
When is it needed?
The design of orthopedic shoes is quite complex; it involves the use of materials with different properties and can alleviate the course of certain diseases, as well as prevent the development of problems with the spine or foot deformity, such as:
flat feet, club feet;- different leg lengths;
- hallux valgus;
- scoliosis and other spinal problems;
- varicose veins in the early stages;
- heel spur;
- excess weight, high loads in sports, etc.
Important! Orthopedic shoes are not a panacea. If any of the described problems occur, you must contact a specialist who will prescribe the necessary treatment.
Contraindications for wearing
Despite all their benefits, orthopedic shoes are contraindicated in the following cases:
- the presence of purulent inflammation on the feet;
- necrosis of foot tissue, trophic ulcers;
- varicose veins in severe stages;
- dysfunction of the musculoskeletal system.
How to measure your foot and choose a size?
There are three common shoe sizing charts around the world, depending on the units of measurement:
- Metric – foot size is equal to the length of the foot, measured in centimeters. This measurement system is developed primarily in Japan;
- Shtihmasovaya - the size of the foot is equal to the length of the foot, measured in shtihmas (an old French measure of length equal to 6.67 mm, or 2/3 cm). This system is used in European countries, including Russia.
- Inch - foot length is measured in barleycorns (1/3 inch) of the specified minimum size. This size chart is common in America and Great Britain.
To find out your size in any of these systems, just measure your foot in centimeters, and then use special correspondence tables. To do this, take a clean sheet of paper and place it on a flat floor surface. Place your foot on the sheet and transfer your body weight to it, and then draw along the contour, holding a pencil or pen strictly vertically. Connect the extreme point of the heel and the most prominent point of the big toe with a straight line and measure it in centimeters. The resulting value will give you the metric size of your shoes. Find the correspondence between European and American sizes using the table:
You can also calculate the fullness of your legs yourself.. To do this, take a measuring tape and measure the circumference of your foot at the widest point, as shown in the figure:
Then calculate the fullness using the formula: W = 0.25B – 0.15C – A, where B is the circumference of the foot, C is the length of the foot, A is a constant, equal to 17 for men’s shoes, 16 for women’s, 16.5 for children’s shoes (preschoolers) and 13.5 (teenagers). The resulting fullness will be relevant only for domestic manufacturers, but this way you can find out whether your feet are wide or narrow, and use this knowledge when buying foreign shoes. So, the average value of fullness calculated using this formula is 6; if the resulting figure is greater, it means that the foot is wider than average; if the result is less than 6, we can talk about a narrow foot.
Remember When buying any shoes, including orthopedic ones, first of all pay attention to comfort. Listen to your body, and it will tell you what it needs, and then wearing boots or shoes will only bring you pleasure and benefit!
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