When people talk of ergonomics, they often immediately think about computer desk chairs and computer mice. All too frequently, people don’t give much thought about their footwear, which is equally as important as the chair you sit on all day, or the mouse you navigate your browser with. Granted, not too many of us still get a whole lot of physical exercise and we spend the vast majority of our day sitting down. But even for desk jockeys, ergonomic footwear is essential. I used to be one myself. I would spend at most a few minutes per day standing up straight and walking. I figured my footwear didn’t matter much. But all those years of spending a few minutes per day walking on low quality footwear, did in fact start busting my knees in the long run.
When I started to get serious problems with my knees, I started taking my health a bit more seriously. I moved into a cheaper home and started working part time. I also took up hiking as a hobby, because I love nature so much. Always have, actually. As a kid, I would spend many hours outside and I loved every minute of it. Taking up hiking is the best thing I’ve ever done in my entire life. But when you’re going for long hikes, then there is absolutely no getting away from the fact that you have to have darn good, supportive boots. Hiking is an incredibly strenuous activity, and you are going to have to have very ergonomic hiking boots that will give you great support and protection from mother nature’s ruthless elements. Note that by ‘ergonomic’, I do not mean footwear with toes. I am simply referring to footwear that gives lots of support and protection.
When I first started hiking, I did not take my footwear seriously yet. And guess what happened to me? I developed a nasty foot health problem called plantar fasciitis. This problem occurs when a tendon, that runs across the sole of your foot from your heels to your toes, becomes inflamed. It’s a pretty big tendon, so you can imagine that, if this becomes inflamed, it’s going to hurt pretty bad. This tendon is called the plantar fascia, hence the name. Plantar fasciitis is incredibly painful and makes you regret every step you take. If you have it, you will feel very sharp pains coming from the sole of your foot right after getting out of bed. It can also occur after getting up from sitting down for an hour or two. But whichever way you look at it, it’s a terrible condition and you will want to prevent it at any cost.
It certainly helps to get good walking shoes for policeman’s heel, as the condition is also referred to. The reason it is called this way, is probably because policemen have to be standing up and walking around for many hours a day (well… in the early days, at least). Standing up for long hours is a known cause for plantar fasciitis. In fact, any type of strain that is placed on the feet for too long a period of time is able to cause this condition. This is the reason why you see this condition a lot more often in overweight people. So, if being overweight causes policeman’s heel, then it’s better to sit around and relieve those feet from any stress altogether, right? Wrong!
If you don’t get off your behind and get some physical exercise, you are going to stay overweight for your entire life. If you’ve already got policeman’s heel, then you are never going to get rid of it, simply because the weight of your body is constantly placing strain onto your untrained feet. If you are overweight and have decided to do something about it in order to enjoy some of the benefits of being physically active (such as not suffering from policeman’s heel), then congratulations to you! The best thing you can do for yourself is to buy ergonomic walking or running sneakers for obese people and simply get a move on. When your feet hurt, your whole body hurts. It’s an old adage that still rings true to this very day. Taking care of your feet’s health is best done early on in life, although it’s never too late to start thinking about your health, of course.
Another problem that you often see with people who spend most of their lives being overweight, is that they start to get flatter feet. This, in turn, causes over pronation. That, in turn, causes bad knees. And developing bad knees is a really great way of setting yourself up for a sedentary life, meaning your chances of ever getting in shape are pretty much out the window. We all get flatter feet as we age. Gravity is merciless. But we can delay the process, and we can also limit it. If you’ve already got flat feet, then you need to make sure that you find high quality walking shoes for a flat foot. This is essential, as having low arches will cause your legs to bend inward with every step you take. This puts a big strain on your knees. Keep that up long enough, and you’re going to bust your knees for good. And as long as there is no stem cell treatment available to regrow cartilage, you will want to take care of your knees. Unless, of course, you don’t mind getting an artificial knee. And I highly recommend that you avoid this at all costs.
Too many people delude themselves into thinking that they are already perfect the way they are, and going barefoot is the way to go. But the fact of the matter is that mother nature really screwed up when she gave some of us fallen arches, because your natural stance is simply going to be unhealthy. Whether you are going to work on your health by walking, running or hiking… you will need good shoes or boots that will give you exactly the support you need and that will protect your feet from outside elements. The latter part is more essential when you are a hiker than when you are a walker. But even regular runners sometimes run through rocky terrain, meaning a person could easily hurt himself by misstepping on or near a stone.
When you are looking for good ergonomic footwear, do yourself a favor… get a pair of really great hiking boots. You can also wear these casually, around the house. Or when you are going for a walk outside. The great thing about hiking boots, is that they are made to last. In these times of economic uncertainty, it makes sense to make good investments. And hiking boots are exactly that… a sound investment that will pay back for itself many times over in the long run. Besides, many people are wearing backpacking boots as a fashion statement these days. It’s totally hip! Just have a look at some of the links in this article that lead to the Boot Bomb website, and you’ll see what I mean.
You will have to spend more than $100, though. When you spend less than that, you are not getting the quality you deserve. Cheap hiking boots have the nasty habit of falling apart within a year, even when used only moderately. More expensive backpacking boots are, by definition, more pricey. But they are well worth it. You can have really good quality boots for around $150. This might be twice as expensive as a $75 budget boot, but I guarantee you that the $150 will last more than twice as long as the budget $75 one.
Higher priced boots also offer much greater support for your feet, straight out of the box. If you want to prevent or cure the worst foot problem of them all, plantar fasciitis, then you will need a boot that has a flexible sole, so that it flexes along with the natural bending of your foot with every step that it takes. You will also need to check the insoles. Since most of the pain from policeman’s heel comes from the heel (yeah, that’s no coincidence), you will need a really great heel cup in your insoles. Those are your best chances for a healthy and pain free life of trekking the trails.
Keep in mind that stock insoles, that come with all new footwear, are never going to be as great as ergonomic insoles from manufacturers who specialize in making footwear inserts, such as for example Active Orthotics or Pro11 Wellbeing. These sorts of inserts cost only a few dollars. So if you are buying $150 camping boots, you might as well spend those extra two fivers on good inserts. Yet one level beyond these kinds of inserts, are custom made inserts. These are, as you may have already guessed, shoe inserts that have been measured to your personal feet. These will cost you a bit more, but they will give you the bees knees in comfort. You literally can’t get better support from an insole than when they are made to give you the support in precisely the places where you need them.