The BS METER went off the other day and we had to put our proverbial foot down. As the story goes, this guy walks into Lucky Foot and checks out the shoe wall. As with all clients we ask how hes doing, is there anything special we can do for him, how did you hear about us, that kind of stuff. He tells us the reason for his visit is this; he has been experiencing chronic Achilles heel pain and his doctor told him to get a pair of shoes that will force him to run on his toes. In an instant the red lights and sirens in my head go off the charts. Your doctor said what? we asked. This guy couldnt remember the docs name or if he was a podiatrist, orthopedist or general practitioner. Regardless, this is what we know about forcing our feet to switch from a heel strike to a forefoot strike; According to recent studies published in the Lower Extremity Review, switching to a predominately forefoot strike can increase loading forces to the Achilles tendon by as much as 15%. This poor schleps doctor just advised him to do something that will most likely makes matters worse. After resetting our BS monitoring system, we allowed him to try on a few doctor recommended shoes and test run them down our indoor track surface. However, our best advice was that he not get a pair of shoes that day. Instead he should go home and research this subject for himself. Check with his Doctor to see if there was a misunderstanding. It doesnt do either of us any good to have him purchase a pair of shoes that we firmly believe will cause him more pain. ~ Jeff Van Horn, Lucky Foot
Posted on: Wed, 30 Apr 2014 14:39:25 +0000
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