Clarks Wedge Heels - Podiatrist Recommended for some foot types.

Clarks Maritsa Lara

Podiatrist Recommended

The Clark's Maritsa Lara is a great choice for fashion and comfort for some foot types. What makes this shoe comfortable is that it meets 3 of the 4 criteria required for a shoe to be good enough for your feet. 

Most importantly, this shoe has a thick, rigid and non-flexible sole which is absolutely crucial for foot comfort. Shoes with flexible soles are horrible for your feet because a shoe that allows motion through joints causes pain, inflammation, swelling and can lead to osteoarthritic joint changes. Secondly, this shoe has a wide toe box that helps prevent the risk of hammertoes, bunions, corns, neuromas, ingrown toenails, and fungal toenails. The rearfoot strap helps to control motion which means that there will be less biomechanical strain on joints and tendons, which will help to speed the healing of pathologies such as Achilles tendonitis and plantar fasciitis. Wearing a shoe with rearfoot strapping also helps to decrease strain on the knees, hips and lower back. 

This shoe is recommended for patients with:

*Plantar Fasciitis (heel pain)

*Mild Achilles Tendonitis 

*Mild Hallux Limitus (limited range of motion through the 1st toe joint) 

*Mild Functional Hallux Limitus

*Mild Hypermobility

*Mild Over-Pronation

*Mild Morton's Neuroma

*Mild Metatarsalgia

*Mild Bunions

*Mild to Moderate Hammertoes

*Mild Capsulitis

*Mild Tailor's Bunions

*Mild Osteoarthritis (maybe) 

*History of previous Lisfranc's Injury (maybe) 

This shoe is not recommended for patients with: 

*Hallux Rigidus (no motion through 1st toe joint)

*Balance Issues

*Peripheral Neuropathy (nerve damage)

*Peripheral Arterial Disease (poor circulation)

*Diabetes

*History of Ulcerations

*Lymphedema (excessive swelling) 

*Drop Foot

*Ankle Instability 

*Severe Hypermobility

*Severe Over-Pronation

*Severe Osteoarthritis 

*Rheumatoid Arthritis 

*Charcot-Marie Tooth

*Charcot Foot 

For more information about comfortable shoes and your feet, please refer to these articles: 

My feet hurt! Top 10 things to alleviate foot pain today. 

http://podiatryshoereview.blogspot.com/2012/05/my-feet-hurt-top-ten-things-relieve.html

Shoe recommendations for patients recovering from Lisfranc's Injuries. 

http://podiatryshoereview.blogspot.com/2012/04/podiatrist-shoe-recommendations-for.html

I hope this was helpful!

Dr. Cathleen A. McCarthy

:)

Dansko Thea - Podiatrist Recommended Comfortable Women's Casual Heels

DANSKO THEA

 

The Dansko Thea is a comfortable wedge heel for patients with certain foot types. What makes it so comfortable is that it has a thick, rigid sole that offers protection for the foot joints. If you have severe Hallux Limitus or Rigidus (limited range of motion at the 1st toe joint), this may not be the shoe for you. If you have mild to moderate Hallux Limitus, this sandal may be perfect for you as it will not allow any motion across the 1st toe joint, which allows for increased comfort and it may stop or slow the progression of the injury/deformity.

The Dansko Thea also has very good forefoot, midfoot and rearfoot control, provided by the straps, that helps with biomechanical control of the foot structures. The arch support is not excellent but it is adequate for most patients. I highly recommend that if you purchase a Dansko sandal, make sure you get one that has rearfoot strapping. If you don't have rearfoot strapping, you have to grip your toes down to stay in the shoes, which causes more mechanical strain to your foot and ankle structures as well as your knees, hips and lower back.

This Shoe is Recommended For Patients with:

*Mild Hallux Limitus (Decreased motion of the 1st toe joint)

*Mild Osteoarthritis

*Mild Achilles Tendonitis

*Mild Haglund's Deformity

*Mild Hypermobility

*Mild Tendonitis

*Previous (but healed) Lisfranc's Fracture or Injury (Please check with your doctor)

*Mild Bunions

*Mild Tailor's Bunion

*Mild Hammertoes

*Capsulitis of the toe joints

*Metatarsalgia

*Plantar Fasciitis (Heel Pain) 

*Mild Over-Pronation

 

This Shoe is NOT Recommended for Patients with:

* Diabetes

*Peripheral Arterial Disease (Poor Circulation)

*Peripheral Neuropathy (Nerve Damage)

*Charcot Foot 

*Moderate to Severe Hallux Limitus/Rigidus (Decreased or no motion of the 1st toe joint)

*Severe Fat Pad Atrophy (these patients need more cushion - try the Naot Paris) 

*Severe Over-Pronation

*Severe Hypermobility

*Severe Ligament Laxity

*History of Ulcerations 

I hope this has been helpful. 

Dr. Cathleen A. McCarthy

:)

 

 

 

 

Kork-Ease AVA -- Comfortable Women's Sandal

KORK-EASE 

AVA

Comfortable Woman's Sandal...

 Quirky Colors Plus Comfort Equals 

Kork-Ease Sandals. 

These Sandals Should Work for Patients with: 

*Mild Hallux Limitus (Decreased Motion at the 1st Toe Joint

*Mild Heel Pain 

*Mild Bunions & Tailor's Bunions

*Mild Metatarsalgia

*Mild Capsulitis

*Mild Tendonitis

*Mild Hammertoes

*Mild Morton's Neuromas

This Sandal is NOT Recommended For Patients with:

*Moderate to Severe Hallux Limitus (Limited range-of-motion of the 1st toe joint) 

*Hallux Rigidus (No range-of-motion of the 1st joint)

*Degenerative Joint Disease 

*Moderate Osteoarthritis

*Moderate to Severe Tendonitis

*Moderate to Severe Hypermobility

*Diabetes

*Nerve Damage

*Peripheral Arterial Disease (Poor Circulation)

*Balance Issues
*Ankle Instability

Basically, if you know that you can wear a one and a half inch heel, this should be a comfortable wedge sandal for this summer. 

Hope all is well,

Dr. Cathleen A. McCarthy

:)

Comfortable Wedges at a Great Price.

Comfortable Wedges at Great Prices. 

Brown Wedges  

$31

Wedge Fashion Sandal 

$33

Green Wedges 

$31

Sexy Blue Wedges 

$34

Pink and Black Wedges 

$31

Apricot Wedges 

$45.99

http://www.milanoo.com/wholesale-Wedge-Shoes-c614/1.html

Using Alltop.com - I found this great website with cool, funky, fun wedges that, depending on your specific foot type, should be comfortable for most women who know that they can wear wedge heels. I'm not suggesting that these heels are appropriate for everyone but I like to have suggestions for patients who are able to wear heels. If you are able to wear high heels, I believe that a solid wedge with forefoot, midfoot and rearfoot strapping is the best choice for comfort and stability. 

If you have any limitation of motion across the toe joints (particularly the 1st toe joint) or any forefoot deformities or pain (such as capsulitis, Morton's Neuromas or metatarsalgia), these shoes are not recommended for you. 

What I like about these wedges are that they all have rearfoot control (which means more biomechanical control) which is crucial for this type of shoe to be comfortable. If a shoe has no rearfoot strapping then, when you walk, you are forcing all of your tendons, muscles, joints, knees, hips, and lower back to work harder to stabilize your lower extremities which can lead to mechanical strain and tired-leg syndrome. 

These Wedges are NOT Recommended For Patients with:

*Hallux Limitus/Rigidus (limited range of motion across the 1st toe joint)

*Metatarsalgia

*Capsulitis of any of the Toe Joints

*Bunions 

*Hammertoes

*Tailor's Bunions

*Hypermobility

*Ankle Instability

*Rhumatoid or Osteoarthritis

*Knee, Hip or Lower Back Pain

*Diabetes

*Nerve Damage

*History of Ulcers or Open Sores

*Charcot Foot

*Drop Foot

*History of Ankle Sprains

Personally, I love to wear funky cool wedges - not to mention that I was totally loving the prices! 

I hope that this has been helpful and if this is your shoe of choice - please keep a pair of good walking shoes/sneakers in the trunk of your car!  :)

Have a great day!

Dr. Cathleen A. McCarthy 

John Fluevog's Galileo...

John Fluevog's Galileo

It's a gorgeous Saturday in Arizona and my wonderful husband just booked us for our annual vacation which means - once again, I can't buy these shoes! 

I'm not complaining, I promise. In the big scheme of things, these shoes are fabulous and I would love, love, love them - but - I want vacation MORE...

And that is saying something because these shoes are fabulous...

The forefoot platform is 1.25" high while the heel is 4" high so that  you get the height while only submitting your foot to a 2.75" heel height. The rigid sole will be very comfortable assuming that you have enough motion across the toe joints to accommodate placing your foot at that angle. Patients who know they can't wear heels will, of course, not be able to tolerate this shoe. 

The Galileo has wonderful forefoot, midfoot and rearfoot control with my only concern being a possible problem with a slightly tapered toebox which could put pressure on the toes or any forefoot deformities like bunions, Tailor's bunions or moderate to severe hammertoes. 

This shoe can most likely be worn by patients with:

*Mild Heel Pain (to tolerance)

*Mild Hammertoes  

*Mild Achilles Tendonitis

This shoe is NOT recommended for patients with:

*Foot or Ankle Pain

*Hallux Limitus (Limited Range of Motion Across the 1st Toe Joint)

*Osteoarthritis or Degenerative Joint Disease of ANY of the toes joints

*Limited range of motion across ANY of the toe joints

*Moderate to Severe Hammertoes 

*Moderate to Severe Bunions

*Moderate to Severe Tendonitis

*Moderate to Severe Haglund's Deformity 

*Ankle Instability

*Moderate to Severe Hypermobility

*Knee, Hip or Lower Back Pain

*Moderate to Severe Morton's Neuroma

*Moderate to Severe Metatarsalgia

Basically, if you know that you can comfortably wear a 2.75" heel and if you know you don't have any forefoot issues that will cause the toebox to "rub" on any "lumps or bumps" (i.e. Hammertoes, Bunions, Tailor's Bunions, ect), this should be a very comfortable wedge for you.

At the $301 pricetag, I'll be fondly thinking of you wearing these fabulous shoes on your own wonderful adventures while I repeat over and over to myself, "This will pay for my vacation airfare..." 

Although, does my hubby really need cable t.v. ...?

Hmmm...

Have a wonderful day!

Dr Cathleen A McCarthy

:)