Re: Carole & feet/arches

[Guest guest]

Hi Joy,

I work in a shoe store where I regularly install cookies in childrens shoes.

The reason there is less concern about flat feet is because new studies show

that most childrens arches don't fully develop until they are about 6 or 7

years old and adding arches doesn't help it develop any faster. The arch of

the foot is a muscle and it developes with exercise. Wearing very flexible

soled shoes helps to develop the arch by allowing a full range of motion for

the foot muscles. Unfortunately, children who are geneticaly predisposed to

tissue laxity are found with flat feet when it is too late to take

corrective measures. I find the most important part of a shoe, even more so

than the arch is a firm heel cup counter (the back of the shoe) this helps

to keep the feet from rolling inwards and allows the arch to develop better.

This is the drawback to inexpensive shoes , they have little or no heel

support. Gone are the days of rigid hi-top baby shoes, replaced with shoes

that are made to be most like barefoot. Nonetheless, despite the studies I

still put cookies in all of my shoes and my children's as well. So maybe

It's not helping, but it's not doing any harm. I know that contact cement

smell all too well!

Dawn

From: JSedgley@...

Reply-To: ceda

To: ceda

Subject: Carole & feet/arches

Date: Tue, 14 Aug 2001 17:24:19 -0000

My brother (suspected EDS, not diagnosed but floppier than I am)and I

always wore corrective shoes. His are flatter than mine - still

sometimes tease him and call him mudfoot. When we got out of

corrective shoes (his brown, mine always red) we could only get our

shoes at one store because they sold narrow shoes for children and

would make the special " cookies " to go in for arch support. To this

day when I smell that glue that is like model glue or rubber cement, I

always think of new shoes as all my shoes smelled like that.

has flat feet as well. It's weird, no one seems to be concerned

with flatfooted children any more. Our pediatrician wasn't - might

talk with our new one or when we see the geneticist later this year I

will mention it to him. I try to wear supportive shoes now and don't

wear heels any more. I also buy those socks that have more elastic

around the arch area so it feels supported better. Can't stand really

flat shoes, make my feet hurt too much.

Right now all I have three pairs of shoes that feel good. My running

shoes, some Birkenstock sandals and a pair of really cheap thick soled

slides from WalMart that for some reason feel really good. The

running shoes are the best because the little lift that goes in my

right heel area stays in place well and since my feet are narrow I can

lace the shoes up tight and get the support I need. Slip on shoes

tend to bow out on the sides because my ankles roll in so badly. They

also make the inner side of my knees hurt.

Joy

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