The Orthodox View
The accepted and traditional beliefs about foot health and arch supports include the following:
- Bad footwear is a major cause of foot problems
- Better, more high-tech footwear will solve the problems
- Cushioning relieves pain and pressure
- Medication, cortisone and surgery, in that order, are applied to many foot problems if all the above have failed to bring relief
Hard surfaces and stagnation seldom figure in the equation at all. Yet most foot problems, apart from injury and genetics, can be traced to excessive pressure and lack of appropriate movement.
The Alternative View
Here the following are taken into account:
- Hard surfaces, like cement, paving, tar and tiles, are more damaging to our feet than bad footwear
- Shoes do little more for your feet than keep them warm and dry
- Static arch supports do not move and hence will support problems without bringing change
- Movement brings change and can therefore correct even inherent and genetic problems
- Cushioning may bring a measure of comfort, but cannot correct or eliminate the cause
- Simple, dynamic movement, of the right nature, brings about change, correction and healing, and may avoid the need for medication, cortisone and surgery
How It Works
Hard surfaces pound the bone structure and damage our feet. Natural surfaces, like sand and grass, with ‘give’ or mobility, stimulate the moving structures in our feet, increasing strength and suppleness. A fit foot has very few problems! But running, most sports and indoor exercise programs are carried out on hard surfaces. This does not provide the stretch, massage, flex action required to keep our feet truly fit.
Vertical movement, as in high tech shoes, or on memory foam, does not provide the lengthwise stretch movement vital to the plantar fascia. Years of experience has shown that a supple, elastic foot is resistant to injury, including the microscopic tears related to fasciitis.
Shoes neutralize the effect of natural surfaces – we need to be in touch with a surface that enables the foot to use all the moving parts effectively. Happily, Step Forward brought the answer to South Africa eighteen years ago…
Soft Steps® are the perfect solution – right inside your shoes! Order a pair today and open the door to a new world of pain free movement and foot fitness.
