Take a  look at these dogs

Take a good look at these shoes. Notice the wear at the heel counter. Did you notice the varus cant  of the rear foot. Good! Did you carefully inspect where the upper was attached to the midsole? Now did you notice that upper is canted in varus as well? This person DID NOT have a rear (or forefoot) varus.

Hmmm. Maybe the varus canting of the upper caused the wear on the outsole? We doubt it; most likely it was the other way around.

What sort of  symptoms so you think they had?

Do you think medial or lateral knee pain?

 Could be either.

• Lateral; knee pain from stretch on the lateral side of the knee at the lateral collateral ligament or
• medial from compression of the medial condle of the femur and medial tiibial plateau.

Anything else?

How about pain on the outside of the hip? Canting the foot laterally has a tendency to externally rotate the lower leg and thigh. This may cause shortening of the gluteals (max and post fibers of the min); difficulty accessing the gluteus minimus (its a medial rotator), shortening of the deep 6 external rotators, difficulty accessing the vastus medialis (external rotator when foot is on the ground), and the list goes on.

What’s the fix?

New shoes. Pay attention when you buy shoes. Put them up on a counter at eye level and inspet them closely. We can’t tell you how many defects we see on a daily basis; too many to count. One time at a shop, we needed to go through 10 pair before we had a good right and left.

The Gait Guys. Bald. Good looking. Smart. Increasing your “Shoe IQ” every day.

 Want to  know more? Take our National Shoe Fit Certification Program. It’s the only one of its type and the only one certified by the International Footwear and Gait Education Council. Drop us an email at: thegaitguys@gmail.com for more details or go to our payloadz store  (click here) and download it today.

All material copyright 2013 The Gait Guys/ The Homunculus Group.

ONLINE CE LECTURE TONITE

Join us tonite 8PM EST (7PM CST, 6PM MST) for a case study in gait analysis on chirocredit.com or onlinece.com. Tonite’s case involves a common neurological lesion that effects gait. In addition to a history and gait analysis, remediation of this commonly seen problem is discussed.

Hope t see you there

Ivo and Shawn

Shoe News You can Use…

The Heel Counter- the back of the upper

This is the back of the shoe that offers structure (just squeeze the back of a shoe. this is the rigid part you feel between your thumb and 1st finger, unless of course, you are using your teeth). This is often part of or integrated with the upper.

A strong, deep heel counter with medial and lateral support is important for motion control; It offers something for the calcaneus (heel bone) to bump up against when as it is everting (moving laterally) during pronation. Look at folks that have a bump on the outside of their heel (particularly the ladies(sorry, true); this is often called a “pump bump”). Now look at the inside of their shoes. See that worn away area on the inside of the back of the shoe? Now you know where that worn away area is coming from!

Lateral support especially for people who invert a great deal or when you’re going to place an orthotic in the shoe which inverts the foot a great deal.  The lateral counter provides the foot (or orthotic) something to give resistance against.  The lateral counter needs to extend at least to the base of the fifth metatarsal, otherwise it can affect the foot during propulsion. A deep heel pocket in the shoe helps to limit the motion of the calcaneus and will also allow space for an orthotic. The heel counter should also grip right above the calcaneus, hugging the Achilles tendon.

We know you want to know more. We can help. Take the National Shoe Fit Certification Program. If you like, sit for the exam and get certified as well. Email us for details thegaitguys@gmail.com

The Gait Guys. We’re your heel counter!

all material copyright 2012 The Homunculus Group/ The Gait Guys. All rights reserved. If you want to use our stuff, please ask. If not, Captain Cunieform may pay you a visit…

Another IFGEC Certification Granted!

“My name is Eric Johnson.  I’m a runner and triathlete, and manage a running store called Ultramax Sports in Springfield, MO.  I am a self-confessed exercise physiology nerd but don’t have an advanced degree in exercise science.  As a result, I’m always reading and trying to learn more.  My fascination with running, shoes, and injuries also stems from an extended bout of lower leg problems stemming from attempting to run through an injury in the early 2000’s.  I came across the Gait Guys’ tumblr blog one day and was instantly fascinated by the detailed descriptions of human gait abnormalities they wrote about but also how easy it was to apply to myself and my customers.

At our store, we pride ourselves on doing very thorough fittings, including detailed athlete history, foot and leg observations, video gait analysis, and trying on lots of shoes with close customer care.  We’ve been doing this fitting process since we opened in the late 2000’s and have built a very solid following based upon customer care and attention to detail.  We try to avoid the fads and base our process on scientifically valid methods.  Through my explorations over the past couple of years, it became apparent that some of the things we were doing were right and some were wrong. 

I had the opportunity to watch Shawn and Ivo speak at the 2011 IRRA conference and was very excited when they announced the upcoming release of a shoe fitting certification.  It took a bit longer than expected, but it was well worth it.  The three Level I videos were very clear and easy to understand, and it was an easy shift to apply the concepts to our fitting process.  I took and passed the Level I exam today in fact, and am working on the first wave of changes our store will be implementing on our shoe fitting process.  My understanding of the anatomy and physiology of human gait is incredibly better now.  In fact, I was able to apply concepts from the videos to a customer the other day whom I would not have served as completely without that knowledge.  She had been fit at our store in the past, but commented that our level of knowledge really seemed to grow in the interim.  She loved learning about why her feet her and why certain shoes felt better.  She was also very grateful to learn exercises to help her particular condition.

This certification has the potential to greatly impact the running industry in a very positive way.  I wholeheartedly recommend all of you run specialty managers/owners/staff who want to provide a more complete and accurate experience for your customers to pursue this certification.  Customers will be more impressed with your level of knowledge and your returns will reduce.”

Gait Guys. Certified! Get the edge!