Laser Spine Institute's Healthy Spine Tips Featuring Irene Rademeyer, PT.OCS.

Watch Your Step: Footwear and Lower Back Pain

Certain types of footwear have the potential to cause discomfort or intensify existing back pain. Therefore, you should be extremely careful when making shoe selections and ensure that your choices are conducive to a healthy spine.  Below, you will find an outline of important features of back-friendly footwear, including sole, support, and heel height, as well as situational factors, such as occasion and  specific activities.



Sole
Your shoes should provide - support, shock absorbency and durability. The discs in your spine allow for movement and provide a cushion to the spinal joints. Therefore, a good sole to your shoes preserve and compliment this cushion. This prevents strain and pain to your spinal ligaments and provides improved stamina and energy in your daily activities.

Support
Properly fitting shoes with arch supports help to evenly distribute your weight over the entire foot and prevents overuse one side of your body. In addition, 25% of the bones in the body are located in the foot and if they are not well supported, you accommodate these strains in the back and limbs, in order to continue moving. The correctly fitting shoe can immediately redirect your posture and gait into normal healthy patterns.

Style
High heels and uncomfortable shoes result in poor posture and altered gait patterns to accommodate the change in your center of gravity, which places abnormal stresses and strains on your spine. Choose shoes with anatomically correct, removable foot beds that offer good support, shock-absorbing heels, rubber compound shoes and roomy toe boxes. Remember, painful, cramped feet are reflected in your body posture and movement.

Occasion
Shoes should be chosen based upon specific activities. Certain types of shoes are more suitable for casual walking, running, hiking, etc. Therefore, you should select shoes that are designed for specific activities. Finally, change your shoes frequently to avoid loading your spine and joints in the same patterns.

Exercise and professions, such as chefs, nurses, teachers, doctors, require standing or walking for extending periods of time. In fact, the average person takes 5,000 to 8,000 steps daily, which adds up to about 100,000.00 miles over a lifetime.  Spending long periods of time standing adds stress on your feet, ankles, knees, hips and back. Since these activities are a part of daily living, it is necessary to take proper steps to mitigate damaging effects.

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