Podiatrist's Secret to Giving Your Child The Competitive Edge in Sports.

Podiatrist's Secret to Giving Your Child 
the Competitive Edge in Sports.

My name is Dr. Cathleen McCarthy and I am a doctor of podiatric medicine and I've been in private practice since October 2, 2000. I treat patients of all ages and I have the privilege of treating many pediatric patients with a wide variety of biomechanical foot types and sports-related injuries. 

You can give your child a major competitive advantage by making smart choices when shopping for athletic shoes. And the good news is you don't have to spend a fortune! All you have to do is know what you are looking for when shopping for athletic shoes. 

To simplify matters, I will be referring to the child as a 'he', but, of course, this method also works for girls.  

What makes a superior athletic shoe? 

The answer is surprisingly counter-intuitive. To give your child a competitive advantage in sports using better shoegear, we have to refer back to the 3rd century when Archimedes mathematically discovered the 'lever principle'. The lever is the most simple and perfect of human-made machines. Archimedes stated, "Give me a place to stand and I shall move the Earth with the lever."

Imagine the sole of the shoe as the rigid board in the above picture. If you put your child in a running shoe with a thick, rigid and non-flexible sole, then when he runs, the sole of the shoe will provide more snap, which translates into:

1. Mechanical Advantage.  With a rigid-soled shoe, when your child runs, he will be placing less mechanical strain through his foot structures such as joints and tendons, which gives him a mechanical advantage. Instead of the child forcing his tendons and muscles to do all the work, the rigid-soled shoe is now doing more of the work, which translates into more...

2. Efficiency! Once the rigid-soled running shoe makes your child a more efficient runner, now he can put the previously lost energy (while wearing a flexible-soled running shoe) into speed and performance. Not to mention a decreased chance of injury! 

3. Energy Conservation. If your child is running in a flexible-soled running shoe, then he is forcing the foot joints, tendons, and muscles to work harder, which means he is now expending more energy trying to stabilize his foot as well as putting more energy into compensating for an underlying foot-issue (such as flat-feet). This will make him slower, more prone to injury and can cause tired-leg syndrome. Running in a flexible-soled running shoe, your child could be wasting 15-20% of his energy in trying to stabilize his foot because he is dealing with an underlying foot issue (injury, flat feet, ect) or an old injury. 

The secret is to get your child into an athletic shoe that has a thick, rigid and non-flexible shoe. If you add arch support (orthotics or a good over-the-counter insert such as Powersteps) then that translates into superior biomechanical control of the foot and now your child can put the previously lost 15-20% of energy into speed and performance and decreased chance of injury.  

Try an experiment: Buy a pair of rigid-soled running shoes and add the Powerstep inserts and then time your child running a certain distance. Now place him into flexible-soled running shoe with no arch support and then time him running the same distance. As I always say, the proof is in the pudding. 

An intriguing study showed that children with flat feet have a higher chance of going to college. Why? When a child has flat feet (pes planus), he has to expend more energy to keep up with the other kids. The child with flat feet often feels slow, clumsy and gets 'tired-legs' that makes running an unpleasant experience. The study shows that children with flat feet tend to drop out of sports in the 6th grade. Kids do not say things like, "Mom, I don't want to play soccer because I'm slower than the other kids and my legs ache." They are more likely to say something like, "I don't want to" or simply refuse to play the sport and will not offer a logical explanation, which leaves the parents confused and frustrated. 

Once kids drop out of sports, they will get more into sedentary pursuits such as computers, the chess club or books, which is fine, but we also want to keep them having fun in sports and staying active. 

So, if your child is trying to drop out of sports when they are in the 6th grade, I recommend that you try placing them in a rigid, non-flexible-soled shoe with the Powerstep inserts. If that is not helping, then take the child to your local podiatrist for a biomechanical foot evaluation. 

Avoid surgery! Your child probably does not need surgery. Your child needs to be wearing excellent shoes with arch support. If the underlying biomechanical foot issue is severe or if they are hypermobile and have something called 'ligament laxity', I place those pediatric patients in a tri-lock brace for additional biomechanical control and support, which significantly enhances their game. I have the pediatric patient run up and down the halls of the office (or around the parking lot!) while wearing rigid-soled running shoes, arch support and a tri-lock brace. I love watching their eyes light up with happiness as they realize that they are now able to run faster! 

Recommendations for Running Shoes:

Brooks Beast
For boys - once they are in adult-sized shoes
"Brooks Men's Beast '12 Running Shoe,Deep Royal/Silver/Black,9.5 D US"

New Balance 1540 V2
Boys and girls - once they wear adult-sized shoes
New Balance Women's W1540V2 Running Shoe Running Shoe,Silver/Grey,10 B US

Nike Boys and Girls Air Max 90 Running Sneakers

Nike Men's Air Max 90 Essential White/White/Silver/Dark Grey Running Shoe 10.5 Men US

Stride-Rite Shoes (for younger kids)

http://www.striderite.com/en/home

Powerstep Kid's Arch Support

ProTech PowerKids Pediatric Orthotics by Powerstep, 3/4 Length Size Youth 3 - 4

Arch Angels Comfort Inserts for Kids

Arch Angels Children's Arch Support Youth Shoe Size 4-5, Pair

Not all Brooks, New Balance, Nike or Stride-Rite shoes are good enough for your child's feet.  When shopping, remember that you are looking for the athletic shoe with a thick, rigid sole that has the least amount of flexibility that you can find. This can be challenging as 80-90% of all shoes are too flexible and do not meet the criteria required to make a shoe good for your feet. The reason for this is that shoe companies are selling people what the want and not what they need. 

I hope that this was helpful!

Dr. Cathleen A. McCarthy 

:)

Denzel Washington kicks butt in podiatry approved shoegear in his new movie 'The Equalizer'.

Denzel Washington kicks butt in his new movie 'The Equalizer'

while wearing New Balance 1540 - 

podiatrist approved shoe gear! 

Anyone who knows me knows that I am a huge movie fan! I've always been a Denzel Washington fan and I love a great revenge flick. When I saw that Denzel was wearing the excellent New Balance 1540's that I have been recommending to patients for years, I was thrilled. 

Sure, maybe it was product placement that got the New Balance 1540's into the movie, but I prefer to imagine that Denzel had it written into his contract that he needed to wear podiatry recommended shoegear as he wreaked blood-splattering havoc on the bad guys. Maybe he's been reading my blog? Hey, a podiatrist can dream, right?

By the end of the film, Denzel switched over to a more conservative orthopedic looking black oxford and I'm hoping that they were as comfortable as the NB 1540 shoes. 

The New Balance 1540's is a running shoe and has 'roll-bar technology', which creates a thick and rigid sole for more protection to the foot joints. The NB 1540 has good heel shock absorption, which helps with anyone suffering with heel pain as well as knee, hip and lower back pain. The extra-depth toebox is made of mesh and is great for anyone who has bunions, hammertoes or prominent bone spurs. To maximize comfort, wear a custom-molded functional orthotic, which you can from your Podiatrist, or wear a good over-the-counter insert like 'Footsteps' or 'Powerstep'. 

NB 1540 is recommended for patients with:

*Bunions

*Tailor's Bunions

*Plantar Fasciitis (heel pain)

*Osteoarthritis

*Rheumatoid Arthritis

*Metatarsalgia

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

*Hallux Rigidus (no range of motion of the 1st toe joint)

*Morton's Neuroma

*Capsulitis

*Previous Lisfranc's Injury

*Over-Pronation

*Ankle Instability

*Hypermobility

*Ligament Laxity

*Posterior Tibial Tendonitis

*Peroneal Tendonitis

*History of Ankle Sprains

*Achilles Tendonitis

*Some Diabetics

*Peripheral Arterial Disease (poor circulation)

*Peripheral neuropathy (nerve damage) 

*Drop Foot (you need to wear an AFO with this condition and the NB 1540 should accommodate the it)

NB 1540 is NOT recommended for patients with: 

*Charcot Foot

*History of ulcerations (Check with your podiatrist)

When I recommend to patients that they wear the New Balance 928 or 1540 - you should see the strange grimaces and facial contortions of horror and disgust that I get in response! New Balance doesn't have the best reputation for being a 'cool' shoe and I have to convince people that 'cool' is a mental attitude and it doesn't matter what you wear on your feet. I think that's why I was so thrilled to see the uber-cool Denzel Washington in the NB 1540's! 

Thank you Denzel for making the NB 1540's cool, which makes my job of getting patients into better shoegear easier! 

Dr. Cathy McCarthy trivia:

I had a screenplay entitled 'There Goes The Neighborhood' declined by Denzel's people (I was told by my manager). My screenplay entitled 'Oh Brother' was optioned by Gold Circle Film (the company that did 'My Big Fat Greek Wedding') in 2005, but the film never went into production. My novel 'Gunning For Angels' is my latest writing and can be purchased on Amazon in Kindle or book form. 

No hard feelings, Denzel! I still love you and can't wait to see your next movie.

I hope this review was helpful,

Dr. Cathleen A. McCarthy

:)