The appropriate use of shoes to treat specific lower extremity injuries and pain is almost always an instrumental part of the recovery process.  Shoes and orthotics function together to help decrease abnormal motion and pressure patterns that lead to the development of injury.

Establishing a relationship with a specialty retail shoe store is a very important part of the the shoe selection process. Specialty retail shoes stores have well trained staff and are experts in ensuring that your shoe selection is appropriate and that your orthotic fits and functions well within your shoe.

In your shoe selection you should look for shoes with removable innersoles, stiff heel counters and shoes that provide torsional stability.

Shoes with removable innersoles will often times allow your orthotics to fit well within the shoe. Many men’s and women’s dress casual shoes have removable innersoles that can be removed if needed to improve the fit your orthotics within your shoes.

The heel counter which is the back portion of the shoe should be made of firm materials and should feel stiff when attempting to squeeze it together. A firm heel counter in your shoe will allow the orthotic to support your heel position.

Torsional stiffness refers to the shoe’s ability to resist twisting of the shoe along the length of the shoe. A torsionally stiff shoe allows the orthotic to control abnormal foot motion that causes many forms of lower extremity biomechanical pain.

The San Luis Podiatry Group staff can help you purchase a shoe that will accommodate your orthotics and will have all of the design features needed to help with your lower extremity problem.