Thinking of coming to visit us?
We talk about this on a daily basis with patients and educate them on how to judge and assess new shoes. Your shoes are an invaluable diagnostic tool for us. The wear marks the shoes display often act as a guide in our exploration of your biomechanics.
There is nothing more disappointing than a new patient with biomechanical problems arriving with brand-new shoes that are not representative of their normal shoe wear, nor do they demonstrate normal wear marks. We understand that everyone is self-conscious to some degree. No one wants to be judged on their fashion choices or the quality of their footwear, never worry we’re not in a position to do either.
Brand name and price point are consistently at the bottom of our priorities. Not to detract from the subject of this blog but we made a conscious decision years ago not to sell shoes in our offices for several reasons.
#1 Primarily we cannot emphasize how important good footwear is in the treatment of most foot disorders. In choosing Not to sell shoes, takes away the opportunity for you to misunderstand our motivation. Our job is to educate not to take financial advantage of our position.
#2 With your newly acquired knowledge of your stability needs and shoe design criteria you can access footwear from very diverse sources.
#3 We couldn’t possibly stock an adequate variety of styles, fit, brands, price point, and activity-specific footwear to satisfy your needs in an appropriate manner.
So, back to your present footwear. If you are coming in to visit our clinic for the first time, bring a selection of shoes.
Obviously, your work footwear is vital. Casual or recreational footwear tends to be considered of less importance, yet we can spend a considerable amount of time and activity in this category. Sport-specific footwear importance is proportional to the level and quantity of participation. The final group and most frequently ignored is the footwear worn at home. With winter in Canada (yes i know we are in southern Ontario, AKA banana belt), we typically spend significantly more time indoors. Many people are still post-COVID, working from home part-time, or are stay-at-home caregivers. Whether working in a traditional environment or at home, the hours and physical demands have a huge impact on our bodies and health.
We look forward to seeing you and your shoes in our Mississauga Podiatry Associates or Brantford Podiatry Associates offices in the future.
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