June 12, 2023
If you're looking for a new pair of running shoes this summer, Asics offers some of the best footwear. Asics offers a wide range of shoes with advanced cushioning systems, stability support, durability, and comfort.
They also offer various models for runners, including neutral runners, overpronators, and those seeking lightweight shoes. Many of their lines are well past their 20th editions, meaning the shoe has undergone over 20 different iterations and improvements. Every year, shoes become more advanced and cater better to runners' needs.
Summer is also a perfect time to get outside and enjoy running. Find your perfect pair this summer with our top-7 picks. Note that there is no one best shoe. Instead, finding the right running shoe is about finding your match.
Asics Gel-Nimbus 25
Best cushioned shoe for long-distance running
The Gel-Nimbus is a premium cushioned running shoe designed for long-distance running. It features Asics' Gel cushioning technology in both the forefoot and rearfoot for exceptional shock absorption and comfort. Of all ASICS shoes, the Gel-Nimbus has the most cushioning and is best suited for neutral runners with normal arches and supinators with high arches.
Asics Gel-Kayano 29
Best for stability
The Gel-Kayano 29 is a stability running shoe with excellent support and cushioning. It incorporates Asics' Dynamic DuoMax support system to help correct overpronation and enhance stability. Of all ASICS stability shoes, the Gel-Kayano offers the most stability, support and cushioning.
Asics Gel-Cumulus 25
Best neutral shoe and the most versatile
The Gel-Cumulus 25 is a versatile neutral running shoe with balanced cushioning and responsiveness. It features Asics' Gel technology and a lightweight midsole for a comfortable and smooth ride.
Asics Trabuco Max 2
Best for trail running
The Asics Trabuco Max 2 is a rugged, plush running shoe for off-roading thanks to its thick cushioning and rubber treads. If you enjoy running on more challenging terrain, the Trabuco Max 2 is a new shoe on the market and could fit your trail running needs well.
Asics GT-2000 11
Best for overpronators and wide feet
The GT-2000 11 is a stability shoe designed for runners who need extra support. It utilizes Asics' Dynamic DuoMax system and Guidance Line technology to provide stability and a smooth transition. It is specially engineered for people who overpronate and do a lot of physical activity, providing the ideal combination of stability and flexibility.
Asics Novablast 3
Best overall for cushioning and under pronators
The Asics Novablast 3 is a new but popular running shoe with plush cushioning for neutral runners and runners under pronating. The Novablast is the best overall mix of weight, cushioning, price, and versatility. It also has a mid-rocker sole to alleviate foot pain.
Asics Noosa Tri 14
Best for triathlon-specific training
The Noosa Tri 14 is a triathlon-specific running shoe built for speed and quick transitions. It offers a lightweight, breathable design with a grippy outsole and seamless upper.
With so many shoes on the market, finding the right one for you on the first attempt takes time. We recommend a shoe fitting with a footwear assessment to help you find the right shoe. We recommend also trying the shoe on a treadmill to ensure you like the feel and fit.
April 10, 2023
Footwear is an integral part of our overall health as well - not just our foot health. Proper footwear can serve several purposes, including protection, support, stability, comfort, and cushioning, all of which can help keep foot problems and conditions such as ingrown toenails, tendonitis, blisters, and foot pain at bay.
In this article, you'll learn about five key reasons footwear is critical for short- and long-term foot health.
Protection
Shoes protect the feet from cuts, scrapes, and other injuries. They also shield the feet from outside elements like rocks, hot pavement, and cold weather. Proper footwear with protection can help prevent foot conditions, including frostbite, broken bones, stress fractures, stubbed toes, and black toenails. Protection is especially important if you have diabetes; people with diabetes should wear covered footwear both indoors and outdoors.
Protection is also about wearing the right shoes for the correct purpose. For instance, wear tough winter footwear in cold conditions to help prevent cold-related skin injuries. Relatedly, wear proper athletic footwear for various sports, including tennis, basketball, football, hockey, and running, as footwear can have specific features for the various movements you make while participating.
Support
Proper footwear supports the feet by helping distribute your body weight evenly across your legs and feet. Proper weight distribution can help prevent foot and leg pain and reduce the risk of sprains and fractures. Mainly, proper support can help prevent foot conditions, including pain from flat feet, plantar fasciitis, Morton's neuroma, Achilles tendonitis, blisters, heel spurs, and osteoarthritis.
Cushioning
Shoes with good cushioning can absorb shock and reduce pressure on the feet. Whether running, on the job or just walking around casually, cushioning can help reduce impact-related injuries such as tendonitis, osteoarthritis, plantar fasciitis, hallux rigidus, and metatarsalgia.
Stability
Shoes with a stable sole and a firm heel counter provide stability. Stability is especially important for people who overpronate or have flat feet. You can get stability from shoes with stability features in the midsole that control the movement or the foot and ankle, or from custom orthotics. Proper footwear with stability can help reduce pain associated with overpronation, like Achilles tendonitis, plantar fasciitis, and osteoarthritis.
Comfort
A critical component of footwear for foot health is comfort. Shoes should fit snugly but not tight to prevent common foot conditions like ingrown toenails, blisters, calluses, and corns. Ill-fitting shoes can add pressure points throughout your feet and toes.
By choosing shoes that provide protection, support, cushioning, stability, and comfort, you can help to prevent foot problems and keep your feet healthy and pain-free.
March 30, 2023
For those with chronic foot pain, it can be downright impossible to achieve pain management on a substantial level. But if you wear custom orthotics with your shoes, long-lasting comfort may be just around the corner.
Custom orthotic insoles are among the most popular medical devices chiropodists offer their patients. Per Harvard Health , foot specialists prescribe orthotic inserts when the "muscles, tendons, ligaments, joints, or bones are not in an optimal functional position and are causing pain, discomfort, and fatigue." The key word here is "custom," meaning these insoles are specifically designed for your unique needs and tailor-made to target each individual's chronic pain. They are not the same as insoles you can buy over the counter, which appeal to the masses.
But it's not enough to simply take our word for it. Understanding the science behind custom orthotics and how they aid so many different foot issues is important. In today's blog, we'll explore three main topics:
How custom orthotics treat chronic foot pain
What conditions can you treat with custom orthotics?
How to acquire custom orthotics
How Custom Orthotics Treat Chronic Foot Pain
Orthotics have one main job: to correct the foot's walking and standing position.
Those with a painful foot condition, or those predisposed to developing one due to flat feet or high arches, often adapt slightly unusual walking patterns to compensate for their less-than-ideal foot structure. The two main ways we do this include:
Overpronation (flat feet): When the foot and ankle roll slightly inward and downward with every step. In this case, orthotics adjust your foot's position by offering sufficient arch support.
Underpronation/Supination (high arches): When the foot's heel leans outward, putting excess weight on the outer edge of the foot. Orthotics can correct this by stabilizing the foot's steps.
Orthotics also help with chronic foot pain caused by joint and muscle conditions like arthritis and pain caused by severe foot deformities, such as bunions and hammertoes.
They do this by placing the foot in a position that reduces excess force and pressure on the foot's mot vulnerable and painful areas during movement. Not only does this relieve strain, but proper alignment of the feet can also help avoid future back, knee and hip pain.
What Foot Conditions Can You Treat With Custom Orthotics?
Custom insoles can help treat a wide array of common foot issues. Some of these:
Plantar fasciitis: Orthotics support the foot's arch and provide extra cushioning and shock absorption for the heel.
Osteoarthritis: Orthotics immobilize, support, or correct the joints' movements while stabilizing walking.
Bunions: Orthotics help reduce excessive pressure on the big toe joint.
Morton's neuroma: Orthotics prevent the rolling together of bones in the metatarsal arch (the arch responsible for distributing weight, located just behind the ball of the foot).
Metatarsalgia: Semirigid orthotics reduce pressure in painful areas and support the feet.
Achille's Tendonitis: Orthotics reduce the load and strain on the Achille's tendon while supporting the foot as the tissue heals.
Gout: Supportive orthotics with sufficient cushioning can help with gout attacks by reducing joint pressure.
Hammertoes: Orthotics counteract the muscle-tendon imbalance that causes hammertoes. They also align the bones in the foot and provide cushioning in crucial areas.
How to Acquire Custom Orthotics
The best way to secure the perfect pair of custom insoles is to schedule the appropriate appointments with your chiropodist.
They start with a thorough biomechanical assessment that includes a test of your range of motion and weight-bearing tendencies, as well as a gait analysis.
Following this, your chiropodist will use one of several casting techniques to make custom orthotics by capturing your foot in the ideal position. And lastly, you can schedule an appointment for a fitting when your orthotics arrive to ensure they're working properly.
Check out our main orthotics page to read more about securing custom orthotics. You can also learn more about the benefits of custom orthotics and the several different kinds by viewing our comprehensive guide to orthotics.
March 6, 2023
Our gait, or the way we walk, is like our blueprint. It's unique to every individual. But there are commonalities.
Gait reveals a lot about us: gait tells us how we distribute our weight when we walk, the parts of our feet which may experience too much or too little pressure, and areas of compensation. These features factor into our biomechanics – the mechanics of our body's movement.
In this article, we'll talk about how a simple biomechanical analysis can help you say goodbye to foot and ankle pain and improve your foot and ankle function.
What's a biomechanical analysis?
Biomechanical analysis is a helpful tool for identifying and improving foot and ankle function. Biomechanical analysis can explain factors contributing to foot and ankle injuries or dysfunction, and develop interventions to improve function and reduce the risk of injury.
A biomechanical analysis also determines our gait and foot type. You may overpronate or supinate, which refers to how far inwards or outwards your ankle rolls when moving. An analysis can also provide details on your foot type: you may have high, medium, or low arches (flat feet).
There are three components to a typical biomechanical analysis.
Range of motion assessment: A chiropodist examines your range of motion in the major joints of the foot, ankle, hip and knee. They will check how everything in your body is aligned and the symmetry between your body's left and right sides. Generally, a higher range of motion is more ideal as it permits muscles and joints work together in unison equally.
Weight-bearing assessment: A chiropodist investigates how your muscles and joints distribute weight through different movements.
Gait analysis: A chiropodist carefully examines your gait to see how your feet, joints and muscles move when you walk. They will also examine how you distribute your body weight during each stage of your walking motion. Video analysis may be part of the gait analysis. Video gait analysis equipment records you from different angles while you walk on a treadmill and allows for slow-motion replays to pinpoint exact flaws or trends in your movement.
Once a biomechanical assessment is complete, a chiropodist can provide a treatment and prevention plan.
How do poor mechanics lead to foot conditions?
Abnormalities in your gait can lead to several foot and skin conditions due to uneven weight distribution. Over- or under-pronating (supination) creates a chain reaction in your feet and ankles every time you step by disrupting the proper distribution of weight and impact across your joints and muscles. Over time, specific muscle groups are over (or under) worked, which can cause irritation and, ultimately, pain and discomfort.
Common foot and ankle conditions that may stem from poor mechanics include:
Bone and heel spurs
Blisters
Bunions
Achilles tendonitis
Plantar fasciitis
Metatarsalgia
Morton's neuroma
Capsulitis
How can a biomechanical analysis help your feet and ankles?
Once a biomechanical analysis is complete, clinicians and researchers can use the information to develop interventions to improve foot and ankle function. Improvements may include:
Exercises to strengthen weak muscles
Stretching to improve flexibility.
Custom foot orthotics or footwear modifications to improve foot alignment. Orthotics are custom shoe inserts specific to your feet. Orthotics aim to correct or accommodate biomechanical abnormalities, foot deformities, and a variety of joint and muscle conditions (i.e., arthritis) to improve your gait and manage pain. They do this by redistributing the force and pressure placed on our muscles and joints when we move.
Overall, biomechanical analysis can be a valuable tool for improving foot and ankle function, thereby reducing the risk of injury. By identifying factors contributing to foot and ankle problems and developing targeted interventions, clinicians and researchers can help individuals maintain healthy, pain-free feet and ankles.
Who can benefit from a biomechanical analysis?
Many people can benefit from a biomechanical analysis to better understand their feet and how they move. A biomechanical analysis can be helpful for those looking to improve their physical performance or function, whether for sports, work, or everyday activities. In addition, those who spend a lot of time on their feet, patients with physical disabilities, and anyone who experiences foot and ankle pain can benefit from a biomechanical assessment.
February 23, 2023
Foot health isn't just important because it keeps the foundation of your body in good condition. There is also a direct link between foot health and overall wellness!
Forgetting to practice foot care and foot pain management can trigger a domino effect that leads to other health problems. If you have a nagging sense that your body and mind feel generally "unwell," it could all stem from neglecting to take care of your body's foundation and lower extremities.
Here are some of the most common problems associated with poor foot health that we'll discuss today:
Back, hip and knee pain
Posture and balance
Heart health and diabetes
Mental health
Back, Hip and Knee Pain
Our body's joints, ligaments, tendons and nerves need our feet to be in good shape. If they aren't, it can lead to a concerning trickle-down (or trickle-up!) effect that jeopardizes the rest of our body. The most common symptoms of this effect are back pain, hip pain and knee pain.
First, your lower back will take a hit if you don't wear shoes with proper shock absorption and arch support. The effects will transfer upwards, resulting in low back pain. People who work long hours without the right footwear often notice this and not know the reason why.
Furthermore, if you have frequent foot pain, it will alter your gait. This means you adopt abnormal walking patterns to navigate life with chronic pain, such as using your tip-toes or the outside of the feet to bear weight. The unusual walking pattern causes extra strain on the joints and muscles in your lower body from having to move in ways they weren't designed to move. This kickstarts feelings of pain and tightness in the lower back and knees. Your ankles may also roll slightly inwards or outward while walking. People with flat feet or high arches are at risk of experiencing gait-related back and knee pain.
Plantar fasciitis and bunions can also trigger back pain. If you neglect to treat plantar fasciitis, the plantar fascia ligament can become so inflamed that other muscles have to compensate in order to support your weight. This ultimately affects your back. Likewise, bunions cause a misshapen structure in the feet, which can alter your posture and make it difficult to fit into supportive shoes.
Modifying movements due to foot pain also takes a toll on your hips. Bilateral foot pain can lead to pain in the corresponding hips, often due to multi-joint arthritis.
Photo by Karolina Grabowska from Pexels
Heart Health and Diabetes
These connections aren't as farfetched as you think!
Your heart is responsible for transferring oxygen-enriched blood and nutrients to your lower extremities, so if the heart cannot do this for any reason, your feet can mirror your general heart health and wellness. For example, illnesses like diabetes can be a major sign of extremely restricted blood circulation; foot swelling and numbness can be symptoms of this.
Your feet can also show signs of serious heart issues, like heart disease and peripheral artery disease. You may not be able to feel a pulse in your feet, or you may notice excessively shiny skin or hair loss on your toes. Heart failure can also cause foot swelling due to excessive fluid build-up. Plaque accumulation in the arteries can also lead to foot numbness and pain, warning you of peripheral artery disease.
Photo by Puwadon Sang-ngern from Pexels
Posture and Balance
There is a direct correlation between foot and ankle health and posture and balance. According to a study on gait posture published by the National Library of Medicine, poor postural balance in the upright position can pose a greater risk of sudden falls and resulting foot injuries in older people. The study found that improving toe flexor strength via foot stretches and exercises contributes to overall improved postural balance in people over 60.
But it could also be the shape of your foot that lets you down. For instance, people with flat feet risk experiencing muscular imbalances in the legs, ankles and hips. Luckily, simple and non-invasive foot clinic services can help people with flat feet curb this problem, such as wearing custom orthotics or shoes that support a flat arch.
Mental Health
Can't hike on your favourite trails due to foot pain? Or perhaps you simply struggle to get out of the house due to mobility issues.
Since our feet keep us moving, there is a clear link between mental and foot health. Time and time again, fitness proves to be helpful to those struggling with mental illness. But without cooperative feet, it can feel impossible to be physically fit, which leads to a sedentary lifestyle. Feeling stuck inside too often can also cause psychological stress and loneliness. Furthermore, the feeling of consistent pain can cause anxiety and depression.
It can also work both ways. According to a study in Arthritis Care and Research Vol. 66, chronic foot pain can also be a symptom, or manifestation, of major depression.
Photo by Suzy Hazelwood from Pexels
February 9, 2023
Toe pain can be mysterious. There are numerous causes, and sometimes you can live your life assuming you know why it's there, only to be completely wrong! Case in point: a lesser-known toe condition called capsulitis.
Capsulitis is an overuse injury that mainly targets the second toe and the surrounding area. Today we'll thoroughly dive into the topic by addressing the following:
What is capsulitis?
Symptoms of capsulitis
Causes of capsulitis
Treatment and prevention
Complications
What is Capsulitis?
Capsulitis, also known as frozen toe, hallux rigidus or turf toe, is a foot condition characterized by joint inflammation in the area where the base of the toe meets the ball of the foot. The specific area affected is called a "capsule" and is technically a dense ligament structure found at the base of the joint. According to the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons, capsulitis in the feet usually targets the second toe. However, it can sometimes affect the big toe and the third and fourth toes. Another technical term for capsulitis in the toe is metatarsophalangeal synovitis (MTP joint pain).
Healthline also notes that capsulitis is often confused with Morton's Neuroma since pain radiates toward the ball of the foot in both conditions. However, Morton's Neuroma results from compressed nerves and capsulitis from inflammation. A chiropodist can help you tell the difference between the two conditions.
Symptoms of Capsulitis
Capsulitis often worsens as time progresses. This means that symptoms can vary depending on the stages of development. It's important to be in tune with your foot health and seek help if you notice the following:
Pain in the ball of the foot.
A persistent feeling that something is "bunched up" in your shoe or the feeling that you're walking on a pebble or marble.
Swelling in the base of the affected toe.
Discomfort while wearing shoes.
Pain that worsens when you're barefoot.
Crossover toe: as degradation of the ligament progresses, the joint in the second toe can fail to stabilize (stay in the right position). This can cause your second toe to move towards the big toe and lay on top of it.
What are Some Causes of Capsulitis?
Capsulitis is technically an overuse injury that targets the ball of the foot. And as with many foot conditions, one issue can often be a risk factor in developing another.
The following may lead to capsulitis development:
There is a connection between severe bunions and capsulitis. Other prominent foot deformities like hammertoes can also be a risk factor. Both conditions can lead to too much pressure on the ball of the foot and subsequent inflammation.
Abnormal foot mechanics can put you at risk. It's important to note that this is not the same as a severe foot deformity. It simply means any mild structural factors that lead to excessive weight-bearing pressure in the ball of the foot underneath the toe.
If your second toe is longer than your big toe, you may experience capsulitis.
An unstable foot arch, like high arches and flat feet, can contribute to capsulitis.
Excessive bending of the toes. This can happen if you wear poorly designed shoes or high heels.
Capsulitis Treatment and Prevention
It's relatively easy to tackle early-stage toe capsulitis. You can purchase many items from a pharmacy, general store or foot clinic that can relieve the pain. A chiropodist can also use their unique expertise to ensure the condition improves.
Here are some effective treatment methods:
Ice or heat packs. Compression can help reduce swelling, and applying heat or ice (while resting with your foot elevated) can help with pain management.
Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) like ibuprofen.
Supportive footwear with proper arch support and strong soles. Rocker bottom-sole shoes can be especially helpful as they offset pressure away from the ball of your foot.
Custom orthotics can lessen excessive pressure on the weight-bearing foot areas.
Toe taping can align the second toe and prevent crossover toe.
Complications
Unfortunately, if crossover toe is present, it usually means that the second toe will never revert to its natural position without intervention. If this is the case, you may need surgery from a foot and ankle surgeon.
