Shoe Fitting
When you visit Walk, Run & More for shoes, expect to take about an hour! We don't mind if you do it in a business suit but you may be more comfortable in comfortable clothes. We do a field gait evaluation both on the floor and on our treadmill. The technique draws from foot mechanical analysis, and it also connects the dots from your toes, to your ankles, to your knees, to your hips, and so on. We have a video gait analysis system to help us truly understand your individual gait!
We will then ask you some questions about your history, needs and plans. Do you have any foot, ankle, knee, hip, back injuries presently or in the past? Are there any health concerns (diabetes, arthritis)? Do you have any foot issues (plantar fasciitis, bunions, hammer toes, spurs)? This helps us understand the needs of your individual foot.
According to an American College of Sports Medicine report, 85% of people wear running shoes that don't fit.
Next we ask what you plan to use the shoes for; walking, work, treadmill, aerobics, running, day to day comfort? If you are running or walking, how many kilometres do you travel in a week? If you are using them for work what does your job entail, are you standing all day or sitting at a desk, are you walking on pavement? What have you worn in the past? Did it work for you? What didn't work for you? Bring your old running shoes if you have any. Also bring in the socks you normally wear when using your running shoes. We will check your wear pattern and watch you walk or run to check for foot motion (overpronation/underpronation or rolling of the foot in or out), which can lead to injury. The next step is to measure your foot.
Armed with this information, we can narrow down a confusing sea of shoes to a few good options that fit your characteristics. This is the FUN part! You get to try out each pair, figuring out what feels good. At the same time, we will continue to watch you move, evaluating what looks supportive and what appears to meet not only the needs of your feet but also your entire body network! You get to try on a variety of shoes that we feel will work best for your individual needs. After watching you move in these shoes, we will check the fit, including the length and width, instep, rear-foot, and heel. We will also check your foot's anatomy including differences in length, arches, and even your toes. Shoes that are misfit to people's feet lead to injuries.
By now we will have narrowed the selection down to one or two pairs of shoes. We will now ask you to move to our testing centre. We have set up a treadmill in a private room for you to really try your shoes. We will help you set up the treadmill to duplicate your average workout as closely as possible. We want to make sure that we have selected the BEST PAIR OF SHOES YOU WILL EVER OWN! After all, exercise doesn't have to hurt!
