When it comes to footwear for our children, are we making “shoddy” choices?“What shoes are best
for my child?” As a physician with a specialty in the natural treatment of foot problems, this is a question I often
hear in my office. It’s a question posed by concerned parents who, themselves, are afflicted with foot ailments such
as bunions, hammertoes, fungal toenails, and plantar fasciosis. Kids, as you well know, spend a lot of time on their
feet, walking, running, and playing. In fact, an active child takes about 20,000 steps per day! Parents often wonder
about the best way to protect and support their children’s jordan shoes feet and prevent future musculoskeletal problems.
For adult foot problems, it’s usually possible to treat existing ailments without surgeries, medication, and
injections, though, unfortunately, this approach is not often practiced in mainstream medicine. A more natural
treatment approach to common foot problems involves understanding and respecting the inherent integrity of the
foot and the physiology of weight- jordan shoesbearing movement. Your foot is naturally and brilliantly designed for optimal standing and locomotion if it is
allowed to function the way nature intended. Conventional footwear actually hinders your natural foot structure
and function, and, over time, this can cause many problems in your feet and the rest of your body’s structures.
But why is this jordan shoes so?
Notice the shape of a young child’s foot. Which part of the foot is the widest? The ends of the toes, of
course! Universally! Now look at an adult’s foot. In almost everyone, the widest part of the foot is at the ball.
Why is there such a difference in foot shape between young children and adults? Is it just a normal process of
growth and development? The answer is no. Observe the shape of most adult footwear. Notice that the widest part
of the shoe is at the ball, and notice how the toe box tapers toward your foot’s midline. The similarity of adult
foot shape and shoe shape is not a coincidence. Almost everyone in the western world spends a majority of their
waking hours in shoes. This starts even before children are able to walk. Years and years of weight-bearing activity (running, walking, hiking, standing, etc.) in conventional footwear causes the shape of your feet
to change. Your feet deform to fit your shoes. This transformation has hugely negative implications for adults.
If you look at certain non-western cultures, especially groups in Africa, South America, or
India, where people spend much of their lives barefoot or wearing only sandals, you will
see that adults maintain the same foot shape as in childhood; that is, a foot that is
widest at the ends of the toes. You should also note that these same cultures have almost
undetectable instances of bunions, hammertoes, and other common lower extremity ailments.
This correlation is too important to jordan shoes ignore.
Some of you may be wondering: What does the medical literature say about all this?
Interestingly, there is much written on the subject, though, unfortunately, it’s largely
overlooked by mainstream practitioners. For one thing, there is no scientific evidence that shoes are good for
children. One study found that a staggering 80 percent of preschool-aged children had foot and toe deformities
that were not seen in unshod (barefoot) children. It is said that by the time shoe-wearing children are teenagers,
only about 33 percent will have normal feet. The good news is that these shoe-induced foot deformities and
problems can be jordan shoes prevented.
As a parent, you are in a wonderful position to help your children’s feet and bodies develop
optimally. It’s simply a matter of allowing your children’s feet to function the way nature intended. This
means selecting footwear that does not, in any way, alter your child’s foot. Your child’s footwear should not
elevate his or her heel or scrunch his or her toes together. It should not spring the toes upward either. Kids’
shoes should be lightweight and flexible, and they should not have built-in “arch support.” Your foot’s main
arch (the medical longitudinal arch) is an inherently strong and stable structure if your heel and forefoot are
level and your toes are properly spread. Footwear features such as arch support and pronation control actually
hinder the natural development of the foot, leading to lower extremity pain and other problems in later years.
My advice to parents who pose the question “What footwear should I select for my child?” is
this: Seek footwear that is completely flat, widest at the ends of your child’s toes (not just at the ball), flexible,
and lightweight. Shoes that fulfill these criteria are surprisingly difficult to find for all but the very youngest
members of our society. But your persistence in seeking these shoes will pay dividends in the appropriate and
healthy development of your child’ jordan shoess feet.
Here’s wishing children and parents alike long-term foot health and abundant, jordan shoespain-free movement!
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