Footwear is a foot cover that is worn primarily to protect the foot but it is also a fashion accessory, but do we know how much the choice of footwear affects the health of our feet? In this article, we will list just some of the reasons why it is important to pay attention to the choice of footwear. We will start with the impact of quality or poor quality footwear on the health of the spine, or body posture, then we will look at the positive aspects of quality footwear to reduce pain caused by various disorders in the form of foot disease. The influence of footwear on blood circulation is also significant, e.g. as a consequence of improper footwear, impaired circulation occurs, which significantly affects the quality of life. Finally, it is important to look at common diseases, and look at the choice of footwear as a way of relieving the body, or to see how proper, comfortable and medical footwear with a cushioning effect reduces the pressure on the feet.
- Quality footwear is essential for the health of your spine.
Spine-related pain in frequency is right behind headaches and is the second most common reason why people turn to a doctor for help. They are so common that they are called the epidemic of the century. We affect the spine on a daily basis, whether we are standing, sitting, walking, lying down or playing sports. Due to our accelerated lifestyle, we start thinking about the spine only with the appearance of the first symptoms and health problems. And pain occurs sooner or later due to various causes that we could have thwarted preemptively. When that happens; it is neccessary to seek medical help, because painkillers that alleviate the symptoms, and not fix the cause, will temporarily alleviate the pain, but due to its progressive nature, the pain will return and be even more intense. We highly recommended DrLuigi’s medical footwear, as they are designed for the wearers health and comfort (hww.drluigi.us).
Most spine problems are a reflection of our living. Although we believe that lower back pain occurs mostly among the elderly population, that is not quite the case; there are patients of different ages who complain of lower back pain. Prevention should begin as early as school days when children’s backs are loaded with heavy school bags, and much of the time is spent sitting learning and diligently following classes. Therefore, it is important to constantly warn children about proper posture and direct them as much as possible in their free time to active play with a lot of movement and exercise to try to minimize their time in front of the computer and television.
Such activity remains in our habit for the rest of our lives, because most people continue a sedentary lifestyle later on at work. Yet unlike hard, wooden chairs in school, business ones are more ergonomic. If you are forced to do your job while sitting, try to get up and walk as often as possible, pay attention to posture, and if you can, replace the chair with a pilates ball. In addition, a healthy and controlled diet is important because being overweight also puts a strain on our spine.
- Footwear affects posture
Low flat shoes pull the base of the body back and pull the shoulders forward and down and position the head forward causing a bent posture. Raising the heel by 2 centimeters improves the support of the feet and gives a better posture. If we raise the heel above 6 cm, all the weight is transferred to the front part of the foot and under load the front part of the foot expands. As a result, there is pain in the foot - below the second to fourth bone of the foot, and in narrow shoes the toe is pushed towards the middle of the foot and an ugly "squeak" = hallux valgus occurs, which is already a diagnosis that needs to be treated.
Raising the height of the heel changes the inclination of the pelvic and shoulder girdle. In low shoes, the area of the sciatic bones is often underlined under the body and the shoulders are pulled forward, which gives the appearance and feeling of fatigue. Such a position is very tiring for the muscles of the legs and lower spine, so we try to stretch and lift the head up and shoulders back, which further creates pain in the area of the "lower back".
If we choose "platform" shoes with a few centimeters of height on the entire support, we have a very specific way of walking. As the bottom of the shoe cannot be functionally bent like a foot, the gait is basically laying the entire bottom of the shoe at the same time and the pattern of support and the pattern of support which is usually provided by the upper middle part of the foot and toes becomes non-existent. In this way, the thigh muscles that lift the entire lower leg are heavily loaded because the function of the ankle is reduced.
Choosing a shoe with a low part around the heel (strap or low part of the shoe) results in the need to apply effort to keep the shoe on the foot, the toes that grab the front of the shoe are strongly bent to fix it the shoe to the foot so that it does not slip. Such a challenge results in an accelerated shortening of the fascia tendons and muscles of the soles, so the foot shortens in length and the support forces increase many times over and endanger other parts of the body.
- Comfortable footwear reduces pain
Footwear made of natural materials that makes your foot “breathe” is undoubtedly the best thing you can provide for your feet. Reduced possibility of painful blisters, less sweating, and pressure will not happen as easily in such shoes. These are just some of the advantages of comfortable footwear made of extremely high quality materials.
Some of the advantages of cotton footwear are that they more comfortable to wear, retain heat, withstand high temperatures, can be easily washed at 40 ° C or 60 ° C, is suitable for allergy sufferers. Also, with cotton fabrics, the skin breathes and sweat can be evacuated by sweating.
- Improper footwear causes impaired circulation
Everyone has encountered so called “heavy” legs at least once in their life. Feeling as if all the blood, weight, stress and everything else has flowed into your feet is not at all pleasant. This is, among other things, one of the indicators that your circulation is poor. Comfortable footwear, especially medical footwear, can also help you here. With comfortable shoes, you will prevent uncomfortable swelling of your feet and it will not be difficult for you to walk, stand and perform daily duties all day long.
The most common symptoms of poor circulation in the legs are primarily cold feet and legs, frequent tingling or cramps that you may feel throughout the day, difficult and painful legs and a feeling of "fatigue". Issues of poor circulation unfortunately do not stop here, but general exhaustion during the day can also occur if the cause is fatigue or stress, headaches and water retention in the legs. Poor circulation can often be accompanied by blue (cyanotic) skin in the area of the legs, lumps in the blood vessels, and varicose veins.
Cramps during sleep or prolonged rest (in an unchanged position) are possible. Impaired circulation is a problem that more and more people face in everyday life. In addition to causing discomfort, poor foot circulation can also lead to serious health problems. DrLuigi’s Medical Footwear is designed to allow for circulation, so people with circulation issues (such as diabetics), improve their blood flow and health (www.drluigi.eu).
- Comfortable footwear relieves the body
Medical footwear was created with the aim of relieving the spine, knees, joints and feet. In order to do this job successfully, the footwear has an anatomical tread made according to the rules of orthopedic technique. Such footwear plays an important role in maintaining the proper physiology of movement, and thus the prevention of various deformations or injuries.
When your job involves spending most of your time on your feet, your feet are definitely exposed to a greater load, but also to the possible occurrence of heel spurs, corns and problems with veins.
Heel spur or calcar calcanei occurs as a result of the body's defense against long-term damage or irritation of the plantar fascia on the heel bone. The plantar fascia is a broad ligamentous structure located on the lower part of the foot and extending from the heel to the toes. Its primary role is to maintain the bony arches of the feet and cushion them when walking. Intense physical activity (prolonged running, walking or prolonged standing), with the addition of inadequate footwear or some other predisposition, can lead to inflammation of that ligament. The formation of a heel spur creates calcification on the tendon grip to prevent its eventual damage.
Calcification on the one hand prevents damage to the grip, but at the same time puts pressure on the soft and nervous tissue, thus creating inflammation and pain in the heel area. Inflammation occurs at the grip of the plantar fascia for the heel bone, so the pain is localized in the heel area and can spread to the inside or front of the foot. Namely, people who frequently perform activities related to plantar flexion of the foot and people who spend most of the day standing or walking are more susceptible to heel spurs.
Corns are a hard, inflamed, thickening of the skin of the feet that most often appear on the heel and toes. Corns are uncomfortable and often painful, but they can be treated effectively. Corns are small and develop on the toes, while blisters develop mostly on the soles. Both corns and calluses most often develop thanks to new and uncomfortable shoes. Some people have significantly less lining tissue between the bone and the skin of the foot. In this case, corns and blisters develop much more easily. Corns are a relatively common problem that occurs in almost every person sooner or later. They rarely cause difficulties that require going to the doctor. In men, however, they cause somewhat greater discomfort than is the case in women. Corns are almost completely harmless, but in case you have diabetes, deep ulcers can form under blisters and corns. The formation of thickened skin on the feet is a natural process, but abnormal walking in which specific parts of the foot suffer more, which is supported by the wrong choice of footwear, can develop deformities and various diseases.
Vein diseases, especially the so-called. varicose veins, can be recognized by these symptoms: Legs feel tired around noon and in the early afternoon. Uncomfortable feeling when standing for longer periods to the point you feel like you can’t stand anymore, heavy legs and swollen ankles during menstruation, cramps in the legs during sleep, itching in the joints, the appearance of cracked capillaries on the thighs which are the so-called "spider veins" which rarely cause complications and are mostly an aesthetic problem. However, they can also be a warning sign of possible varicose veins arterial blood flow disorders if you have cold feet, your feet feel better in winter than in summer or you have leg cramps.
- Quality medical footwear contains shock absorbers that reduce the pressure on the feet
By wearing medical footwear that is wide and soft enough, we can reduce the pressure on the foot and prevent the formation of sores or blisters on the feet. Depreciation leads to balance and contributes to load distribution and fatigue reduction. As a result, the painful sensations in the leg are reduced, the person suffers less from swelling. Load distribution reduces the risk of developing osteochondrosis, arthrosis and other diseases.