Dr. Jenny Sanders Shoe Blog

How many of us check the insides of our shoes? If you’re like most of us, never, right? Well, you may want to get better acquainted with the insides of your shoes.

Above is a worn pair of sock liners I removed from a pair of Rockport shoes. Even without a podiatry degree, you should be able to see significant signs of wear and tear. Amazing, how different the right and left foot wear patterns are. Notice the right sock liner with the big hole on the outside? Even if you never see the foot, you would still worry that something important alignment-wise might be happening on the right foot side. And you would be right… Achilles tendonitis on the right side. See? Worn sock liners really can be the window to your sole!

How easy is this? AK comes in today, tells me he needs to replace the above shoes because they’re worn out.

I turn the shoe upside down and the sole looks brand new. I set the shoes on a level surface and the heel counter’s are upright. Perplexed I ask “why do you need new shoes”. His reply, “these look terrible“.

Faster than the speed of light, I whip out my brown shoe polish, baby soft cotton cloth, apply a dab of polish, buff and within seconds, his shoes look brand new.

Moral of the Story: Shoes are expensive. Don’t toss a perfectly good pair of shoes out, just because the color is scuffed. My current favorite polish is WS Robson’s Finest Beeswax & Carnuba Shoe Polish. My husband likes Lincoln brand. Bottom line, the brand isn’t as important as the shine.

A patient has what my husband affectionately calls “twig legs”, AKA skinny ankles. His everyday shoes were hiking boots, which would otherwise be perfect if not for the big ol’ topline (shoe opening) which for his ankle, were way too wide. No matter how tight his laces were pulled, his boot still wouldn’t fit snug. His before boot is on the right, his after boot is on the left. If you have twig legs, you’ll want to check the shoe’s topline as well as the rest of the shoe fit, including depth, especially if your foot is narrow.

I see this at least once a week and this problem is not only unnecessary but also seems to be gender neutral. In walks a patient, with an otherwise very expensive ($400+) or even an inexpensive (<$25) pair of shoes, having an almost irreparably worn down heel.

Don’t let this be your shoe. Instead, march your excessively worn heels directly to your local shoe repair shop. They’re professionals and for less than a bargain matinee and a large bag of refillable popcorn, they can create a good as new, flat level heel. Now isn’t that worth it?

In San Francisco’s Financial District, check out Jack’s Shoe Service (415.989.9434) or Anthony’s Shoe Service (415.781.1338). I have used and recommend both. Check em’ out.

First thing Monday morning, my very stylish patient Anne arrives to pick up her new running orthotics when lo and behold, I see that she is wearing a stunning pair of Prada platform heels.

Reasons to Love Anne’s Shoes:

1. Platform design gives the illusion of added height without actually adding height.
2. Platform sole and heel are wooden and very stable (think Dr. Scholl’s wooden sandals).
3. Heel style comes straight down from counter of shoe. If given a choice, this will always be better heel design than say a kitten heel or other off center style heel.

While shopping with my husband this afternoon I looked down at his heels and noticed, he was like one of the cobbler’s children without any shoes. He was walking on the outside of the heels of his shoes to the point that he looked like he had a limp and was hobbling from side to side. When I asked him how he could possibly walk pain free in his shoes, he replied, “I can’t, so we won’t be shopping for long”.

Fortunately we were right next to Nordstrom and could buy new shoes, because we had a lot of shopping to do. Once in the men’s shoe salon I quickly wandered around and found him the following three pair of shoes. My husbands challenges are that his foot is very deep and he has a long heel to ball. Lace styles suit him best, but he is drawn to slip-ons because of the ease of getting them on and off.

He wears orthotics for functional hallux limitus, i.e. sore big toe joints and is most comfortable when the shoe is torsionally stable and has an inflexible forefoot sole. Within 5 minutes, I had the following three contentenders in hand.

1. Mephisto Gaham – Size 12

A very handsome tie shoe, wide and deep – Sticker price – $395
2. Ecco Montreal – Size 46 Euro

Beautiful slip on shoes – Sticker Price – $275
3. Merrell Jungle Moc – Size 12

Wide and deep, very orthotic friendly – Sticker Price – $79.95

Much to our dismay, when the shoes were retrieved, my husband was unable to fit his orthotics into the shoes. Although all shoes had removable foot beds, the heel cup of his orthotic was unable to seat fully back. The result, a tight fit in the vamp and excessive heel slippage in the back. It didn’t matter whether the shoes heel counter was soft or firm, the orthotic would still not seat back.

Worried that we still wouldn’t be able to shop, because it was increasingly apparent my husband wouldn’t be getting shoes, I thought AHA, I know, lets remove the custom orthotics and insert a pair of mens 3/4″ Superfeet instead.

Great for flats and slip on tennis shoes – Sticker – $19.95

Within a minute of trying these beauties on with the Merrell’s – order was restored in the world. With a kiss and hug, my prince charming had found his slipper that fit. From then on he commented more than once on how he felt as though he was walking on a cloud.

Thanks Nordstrom. Thanks Superfeet.

Three very similiar patients; one female and two male, having narrow, bony feet have all had chronic, longstanding arch and/or heel pain, accompanied by extreme plantar foot “sensitivity” and pain for many years.

Each were on the brink of disaster alignment-wise, when a seemingly benign event (new orthotic, unexpected prolonged hiking) occured, changing them forever, sending them along a downward spiral of worsening, unrelenting foot pain. All have see countless foot specialists (podiatrist,orthopedists) and have tried a bundle of different shoes and orthotics with no success whatsoever. All have also presented with shoes that are too long and deep for their bony, skinny feet.

As a board certified orthopedic podiatrist, I would have previously tried to cushion their orthotics or grind in a plantar fascial groove to offweight an otherwise tight, bow strung, plantar fascia. What I have learned instead, using F-Scan pressure mapping is that standard orthotic treatments don’t always work. Instead, fine tuning the trajectory parameter is essential to prevent excessive dorsiflexion of digits 2 or 3 during the toe-off phase of the gait cycle.

Before and after results are listed below. Symptomatic relief using these principles in my three patients has not been immediate, but over 2-3 months time, all patients were 80% improved from before the study trial.

Welcome to my blog. With 17 years of looking at feet and the shoes that brought them in, I realized that I know a thing or two about shoes and feet. In an effort to teach others what I know, I have created shoe class 101. During the class, I create personalized shoe fit guides for everyone who attends, but until now, I haven’t figured out a way to archive and organize all of this extremely useful information. So, I have created Jenny’s shoe blog for all of you, in hopes that by explaining and showing you what I have learned, the information will make you a little smarter too. Finding a stylish, well-fitting shoe isn’t rocket science, you just need an experienced guide. Which is where I come in. Shoe Class 101 blog, you’re officially alive.