Great Article   (Added June 30th, 2009)- I added this article from the American Chiropractic Association's webiste (acatoday.com).  Now that summer's approaching I've had a lot of athletic patients and patients wanting to exercise more outdoors and asking me about the proper shoes therefore, I felt this article could be beneficial in choosing the right shoe for exercise and to help keep your spinal mechanics healthy.

• Choose your athletic shoes carefully. There is no such thing as the best shoe, as every pair of feet is different and overall comfort is a very personal decision.
• For people with normal feet, stability shoes with a slightly curved shape are usually recommended.
• If you have flat feet, consider motion-control or high-stability shoes with firm midsoles, which don’t twist or bend easily. Stay away from highly cushioned, highly curved shoes.
• For those with high-arched feet, the best choice is flexible, cushioned shoes. Avoid purchasing motion-control or stability shoes, which reduce foot mobility.

• If possible, shop at a specialty store. Employees at these stores are often trained to recommend a shoe that best matches your foot type and stride pattern.
• Shop late in the day or after a workout, when your feet are at their largest. Wear the type of socks you usually wear during exercise, and if you use orthotic devices for postural support, make sure you wear them when trying on shoes.
• Have your feet measured every time. Foot size often changes with age, and most people have one foot that is larger than the other. Measure your feet while standing in a weight-bearing position because the foot elongates and flattens when you stand, affecting the measurement and the fit of the shoe.
• Choose shoes for their fit, not by the size you’ve worn in the past. The shoe should fit with an index finger’s width between the end of the shoe and the longest toe. The toe box should not feel tight. The heel of your foot should fit snugly against the back of the shoe without sliding up or down as you walk or run. Keep the shoe on for 10 minutes to make sure it remains comfortable.
• Once you have purchased athletic shoes, don’t run them into the ground. Once shoes show wear, especially in the cushioning layer, they also begin to lose their shock absorption. Worn shoes may cause injuries like shin splints, heel spurs, and plantar fasciitis.

Note from the doctor

    If you find you have foot pain feel free to schedule an appointment at our clinic to be fitted for custom orthotics.  I cast patients for custom fit orthotics and send them off to a lab to be made. We usually receive the orthotics back within the week.  Some insurances cover orthotics and we also offer a good "time of service" rate.  It's also good to have your spine checked when you have foot related symptoms as it can cause other symptoms such as low back pain, leg pain and even as far as neck pain and headaches.  I find when patients have foot pain they usually have a restricted pelvis.  I feel the pelvis is the base for the rest of the spine and if this is restricted in function it can cause other areas of the spine to restrict as well causing mid back pain, neck pain and as mentioned above as far as headaches in which a spinal adjustment can be very beneficial.  I also treat extremity complaints and can adjust ankles, knees, hips etc.  Another common foot related complaint I treat in my office is plantar fascitis.  I find this repsonds really well to Chiropractic treatment in combination with exercises and care I give to patients to do at home.  And with summer approaching keep in mind that flip flops are one of the worse shoes to wear in the summer and can lead to plantar fascitis (sharp arch pain that's worse in the mornings and can make it difficult to walk).  This can also commonly occur in athletes and overweight people.

I also use my exercise education and personal exercise experience to help my patients acheive the results they're looking for in a work out routine and how to slowly get started.

In our "newsletter" section we're hoping to keep everybody updated with what changes are happening at the clinic and to talk about topics or questions that are currently a frequent issue. Some of this may be from conditions seen in the office while other times a reflection of  the "ask the doctor"  link here on the site. Please do not hesitate to use the "ask the doctor" link to get in touch with me for any reason.  Please check back monthly as we plan on keeping the newsletter updated.

I am excited to have this site for many reasons, but the first is that I believe it will be a great tool to help educate you, the patient, on your body and health. I strongly feel that if the patient understands how they have come to their current condition, it can be avoided in the future.

The second reason is to show your friends and family what goes on in the clinic. It often can be a mystery to somebody who has not yet experienced chiropractic and might be a great way to remove the anxiety of the unknown. By looking at the site and learning about health, me personally and chiropractic, it may clear up some common misconceptions.

Have fun surfing the site and I will see you soon,

Dr. Jennifer

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