If you need insoles, what shoe would you put it in?

Last Wednesday I had a conversation that went a long way and that many podiatrists should read carefully.

It was at the door of the shop, with a man in his early 50s.

The man was using two crutches and was wearing a protective brace on his right foot because of an operation.

When I asked him about his foot, he told me that it had to be reconstructed, that it was not an accident, but a degeneration.

And jokingly he says: "Here I come to put my finger on the sore spot".

The thing is that this man has worn stiff, narrow, high-heeled boots practically all his life.

As time went by, his foot got worse. Each time he saw it turning inwards more and more, to the point where it was almost touching the ground with the ankle bone.

Until a few months ago they had to reconstruct his plantar arch with screws and ligaments.

And to my surprise, she tells me that this operation is more common than I think. That there are many women, and also men, with the same problem.

The issue is that her feet were turning inwards too much with each step (this is called over-pronation) and this has caused the rupture of the ligaments and the loss of all the cohesion of her foot.

This problem not only causes injuries to the foot, it could have been elsewhere, such as the knees and hips.

My point.

The point is that his foot was so bad, that although the operation was a success, it is clear to him that he is going to need extra support.

This is the crux of the matter.

That support (buttress) can be given by a reinforcement in the heel area, to limit the movement of the bone in that area (the calcaneus).

But.

The rest of the shoe must be healthy or minimalist. That is to say: wide, without a heel and that allows your toes to move.

A sort of minimalist orthopaedic shoe.

And he invites me and ZaMi to be the proponents of this idea.

The conversation continues, drifting into various points, and the man resolves my objections with mastery and wisdom. All of them except one, when I ask him that podiatrists and minimalist footwear should go hand in hand.

His argument is that podiatrists will never look favourably on minimalist shoes, because they believe it takes away from their work.

But it's the opposite, I tell him.

Insoles prescribed by a podiatrist only make sense in minimalist shoes.

I pause, look at him and see that he's listening curiously.

I continue.

What's the point of making an insole to change things in the foot, if you then put it in a shoe that also modifies the foot?

Which will act: the insole made by the podiatrist or the shoe you wear it in?

The therapeutic insole only makes sense if you are going to wear it in a neutral shoe.

One that doesn't modify your support, nor your centre of gravity, nor the curves of your spine.

And that's the point.

The important thing.

And what you should be aware of.

As far as this man is concerned, there are no minimalist shoes with a counter, but there are shoes that wrap around you, grip your ankle very well and protect you from the cold, like the Groundies Williambrug boots.


Health starts with your feet

Antonio Caballo


Pd. The only shoe that's out of the box is the Lems Trailhead v2, which has a 4mm rise and a slight counter.

This shoe can be very useful in certain circumstances. In the comments you can read what other people think about them.