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Are Your Summer Shoes Totally Wrecking Your Body? - HuffPost

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Are Your Summer Shoes Totally Wrecking Your Body? - HuffPost

Are Your Summer Shoes Totally Wrecking Your Body? - HuffPost

Posted: 24 Jul 2019 02:45 AM PDT

A favorite summer footwear option is the flip-flop. What's not to love? It's easy to put on and take off. It's often waterproof. You can wear your flops to the pool, or to get the mail very quickly, or to the beach when you need an easy-to-clean option.

But what happens when you start wearing flip-flops more frequently? Maybe to the grocery store, or to a cookout where you'll be standing around with friends, or even to work. They might be comfortable, but are they actually safe and supportive enough to wear for those longer stretches?

According to Gerardo Miranda-Comas, an assistant professor in the department of rehabilitation and human performance at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, the shoes you choose are an important component in making sound physiological choices.

"Everything is connected," he said. "Footwear is only one component ... but the footwear you choose will affect the rest of the body."

Factors to consider before deciding which shoes to wear

Some footwear can change your posture quite substantially, including flat sandals. The type of foot you have ― whether it's flat or arched ― also matters, said James Holmes, an associate professor of orthopedic surgery and a foot and ankle specialist at Michigan Medicine.

People who are flat-footed need to be particularly aware of what they wear on their feet. The condition ― and your choices of shoes ― can certainly affect your posture, depending on whether your legs curve in or out at the knee. "Both can lead to knee and hip pain," Holmes explained.

When it comes to maintaining healthy posture and preventing pain, comfort is the most important factor, Miranda-Comas said.

"The foot affects the ankle, the ankle affects the knee, the knee affects the hip, and the hip affects the spine," he said. "The body wants to be aligned, and as central as possible; it will adjust for that. A layer of shoe can help stabilize the body and improve alignment in general."

This rule goes for flip-flops, yes, but also for all shoes. High heels are something you should also be wary of when it comes to prolonged wear.

"When you're wearing a heel, you're going to end up bending the knee more to keep your center of gravity," Holmes said. "As a result of bending the knee, you're going to have to bend a bit at the hips, too. You also have to compensate for the shape of the shoe in your back." This can lead to a slew of problems, including back pain and forefoot issues.

Whether you're flat-footed or have a high arch, choosing footwear with an arch that matches your natural arch can help add a little extra support while standing or walking. This will support the body overall.

Not sure what type of foot you have? Runner's World suggests trying a simple footprint test for determining your own arch, which essentially involves getting the bottom of your foot wet and stepping on a surface like cement to see your shape.

When in doubt, though, or when experiencing back, knee or hip pain you think might be related to the shape of your foot, talk to an orthopedic specialist.

It's also important to remember that "flip-flops are not made for you to do a lot of walking on" and they are "not made to be worn all day," Miranda-Comas said. They're also not going to "correct an alignment issue" you might be having with the arch of your foot. (Just think about how easy it would be to twist your ankle on uneven terrain or by simply getting the flip-flop caught on something ... you get it.)

There are potential small perks of flat sandals

All that being said, there is some scientific evidence to suggest shoes like flip-flops can help your feet in some cases.

In one Auburn University study, researchers compared the movement of people in flip-flops with people in athletic shoes. Flip-flop wearers hit the ground with less vertical force and did not lift their toes as much as those who had on tennis shoes. This altered the normal movement of their bodies, resulting in shorter strides and a greater back-and-forth ankle motion.

It sounds bad, right? But those micro-movements might not be the worst thing in the world ― as long as you're not trying to protect your foot from injury or doing the sort of running where it's easy to lose an unsecured shoe. Flip-flops are not that far off from barefoot walking, and scientists are starting to note that there are keen differences in populations who do and don't regularly use footwear.

"If you look at populations that don't wear shoes, they have fewer issues like bunions or hammer toes," Holmes said. "When you're wearing shoes, there are muscles in the arch of the foot that don't need to work at all."

The theory there is that these muscles become weaker when they aren't working; when they are working to grip the ground, they're building up strength. The way you stride may change altogether, too. And maybe that's not a bad thing.

"Humans don't actually need shoes," Miranda-Comas said. "The barefoot functioning of the foot is actually more natural, and there are good arguments for that." Hence why there's a whole movement on choosing minimalist shoes, even for running.

Perhaps the closeness of a flip-flop to a barefoot gait, during light movement, can be a pro for wearing one. A 2013 study of healthy children walking or jogging in flip-flops found that, while the foot does compensate for holding the shoe on, "the overall findings suggest that foot motion whilst wearing thongs may be more replicable of barefoot motion than originally thought."

Holmes said he doesn't see a ton of problems resulting from flip-flop use in practice. Miranda-Comas said choosing a comfortable pair with a supportive arch for appropriate, short-term use is also OK.

But if you're going to be walking a long distance, choose ankle and posture support, and overall foot protection. "If you're going on a walk in Zion National Park, I'd suspect you'd want the tennis shoes," Holmes said.

Nike's rare 'Moon Shoe' is sold for $437,500, shattering the auction record for sneakers - CNN

Posted: 23 Jul 2019 03:23 PM PDT

Written by Michelle Lou, CNN

A rare pair of Nike's "Moon Shoe" has broken the world auction record for a pair of sneakers, according to New York auction house Sotheby's.

Collector Miles Nadal purchased them Tuesday for $437,500, Sotheby's said. Nadal plans to display the sneakers at his private museum in Toronto, the Dare to Dream Automobile Museum.

The previous world auction record was set in 2017 at $190,373, for a pair of signed Converse that Michael Jordan wore in the 1984 Olympic basketball final, the auction house said in a statement.

The waffle-soled running shoes were designed by Nike co-founder Bill Bowerman for the 1972 Olympic Trials. They're one of 12 pairs ever made and the only known unworn set.

Bowerman was inspired to create the waffle sole traction pattern for Nike's early running shoes by experimenting with his wife's waffle iron, pouring rubber into the mold to create the first prototype of the sole, Sotheby's said.

The starting price for the Moon Shoe was $80,000, and the final sale price shattered the pre-sale estimate of $160,000. The shoes were part of Sotheby's "Stadium Goods: the Ultimate Sneaker Collection" online auction.

Last week, Nadal purchased 99 other pairs of rare sneakers from Sotheby's in a private sale for $850,000.

Opinion: How Zion Williamson's Nike shoe blowout worked in his favor five months later - USA TODAY

Posted: 23 Jul 2019 12:45 PM PDT

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Marketing expert and President/CEO of United Entertainment Group, Jarrod Moses, projects that Zion Williamson will be a billionaire within five years and explains how he'll accomplish that. USA TODAY

A full 20 days had passed since Zion Williamson had been seen on a basketball court, a pained look on his face as the Nike shoe on his left foot exploded underneath him. 

So when he returned for Duke at the ACC Tournament after his minor knee injury healed, defying a chorus of cheerleaders urging him to pack it in until it was time to get paid, of course the focus was on his shoes. 

Wearing a new set of Nikes that we later learned were custom-made, Williamson went 13-for-13 from the field against Syracuse in his first game back. Immediately afterward, of course, he was asked about shoes. 

"The shoes were incredible," he said. 

That game, incidentally, was played at the Spectrum Center in Charlotte where the NBA team owned by Michael Jordan calls home. In retrospect, we should have known what was going to happen right then.

TEAM USA: Zion Williamson withdraws from training camp

Under any circumstances, it's no surprise that Williamson — the most marketable player coming out of college basketball since Kevin Durant — signed with Jordan Brand, a subsidiary of Nike. 

But under these circumstances? Williamson was quite simply a player Nike couldn't afford to lose. 

If anything, Williamson's negotiating position with Nike was only strengthened by what happened Feb. 21 when the sole of his PG 2.5 — a signature line endorsed by Paul George -- separated from the rest of the shoe during what appeared to be a routine play. 

It's unclear how much the shoe was really at fault. At 6-foot-7, 285 pounds, Williamson puts an abnormal amount of stress on his shoes, and he had worn the same pair for multiple months, perhaps contributing to some wear and tear. 

Still, even if Williamson escaped that whole situation with just a minor injury, the viral image of him on the ground with that shoe torn away from his foot was a potential disaster for Nike. Williamson, with his megawatt personality, above-the-rim game and 3.9 million followers on Instagram, is the rare kind of prospect who can easily anchor a signature shoe line before he ever plays a game in the NBA. And if he actually lives up to his potential as a pro? You're talking about a LeBron James-level marketing force. 

So the idea of Williamson doing that on behalf of Adidas or Puma or some Chinese company trying to gain a foothold in the American sneaker market — especially with the context of an image that will live forever — would have been a real potential cost to Nike's business. 

Now, it's merely a part of Williamson's legend. 

Nike was smart enough to realize those stakes and invested right away in fixing whatever problem occurred with Williamson's shoes. As Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski revealed on the night of Williamson's comeback, Nike had dispatched their "top people" to Durham, North Carolina, the very next day to look at the exploded shoe, then went to China with custom measurements to build something specifically engineered for the force Williamson was applying during games. 

"We think it's the best shoe or else we wouldn't be with them," Krzyzewski said. 

Regardless whether that was just Coach K being a loyal company man, you can imagine the impression that responsiveness and attention to detail made on Williamson, who to that point was basically wearing shoes off the rack. 

When Williamson returned, he had switched to a shoe from Kyrie Irving's signature line.

"I just know they're a little stronger than the regular Kyrie 4s, so I want to thank Nike for making these," he said. "They felt very comfortable." 

And presumably, his bank account will feel the same way. Though terms weren't disclosed, an ESPN report Tuesday suggested that Nike's competitors had been offering Williamson more than $10 million per year, which would be bigger than the deals James and Durant signed upon entering the NBA. 

Though Williamson may very well have gotten a record shoe contract regardless of the February incident, it undoubtedly put more pressure on Nike and gave its competitors a whiff of opportunity. 

Now, though, Williamson won't ever have to worry about wearing PGs or Kyries. Pretty soon, a new generation of players are going to be buying their Zions. 

Follow USA TODAY Sports columnist Dan Wolken on Twitter @DanWolken

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Thomas to wear custom shoes designed by young cancer survivor - pgatour.com

Posted: 23 Jul 2019 03:21 PM PDT

Bailey Jessop's first love was – and still is -- baseball.

The 14-year-old can't really play anymore, though. Running the bases is awfully hard when you've got a titanium bone in your left thigh and a brace on your left foot.

But Bailey, who was diagnosed with osteosarcoma in 2017, is now cancer-free thanks to the nearly year-long treatment he received at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital in Memphis, Tennessee.

So, he's playing some golf now instead of baseball. It's a great way to walk and get exercise – and still swing a bat, of sorts, at a little white ball. Graphic art classes five days a week have replaced PE classes now that he's back in school.

And earlier this summer, when St. Jude and FootJoy were looking for someone to design a pair of golf shoes for Justin Thomas to wear this week at the World Golf Championships-FedEx St. Jude Invitational, Bailey was the perfect choice.

On Tuesday, the teenager was at TPC Southwind to give the shoes to the defending champ. Thomas liked the shoes so much he plans on wearing them all four days of competition.

"I had seen a picture of them, but just, I mean the creativity that Bailey had was tremendous, and also how good of an artist he is," Thomas said. "I don't think I could draw that, anything close to as good as that. And he did the box, he did the sole, or the insole. It all was tremendous."

The shoes feature many things close to Bailey's heart – his two Boston terriers, the Memphis Pyramid, fish (he loves to cast a line out in the water) and a golf ball on a tee – across the saddle. Bailey's name is on the tongue of the shoes.

'In Our Shoes' culminates in community event Saturday offering arts, connection, education - Steamboat Pilot & Today

Posted: 23 Jul 2019 03:46 PM PDT

STEAMBOAT SPRINGS — "In Our Shoes," the two-month-long series investigating the issue of sexual assault in Steamboat Springs and Routt County, culminates on Saturday with a multifaceted event, open to all.

The series is an in-depth reporting project by Steamboat Pilot & Today, examining the issue of local sexual assault through a variety of contexts and lenses, including both data-driven articles and personal narratives of survivors.

Along the way, partner organizations — Advocates of Routt County, Steamboat Creates and Young Bloods Collectives — have hosted five open shoe art events — three in Steamboat, one in Oak Creek, one in Hayden — during which community members decorated a pair of shoes to express their experiences around or reflections about the issue of sexual assault. 

"When people do art, it's easier for them to open up and talk about a sensitive subject," said Lisel Petis, executive director of Advocates of Routt County. 

The shoe-decorating nights produced 40 pairs of shoes, covering a full range of emotion from the artist's point of view in processing through a situation, and in artistic mediums. A pair of combat boots sprouts nails every which way and is packed with dirt, in which a flower grows, and another pair of cowboy boots is shellacked in Steamboat Pilot & Today articles from the series. Each pair is accompanied by written words from the artist about what they've created. 

On Saturday, these shoes will be on display to the public for the first time. 

The doors of Library Hall will open at 4 p.m., inviting guests to take in the exhibit at their own pace, with wine and appetizers available. At 5 p.m., community members will share their reflections related to experiences with sexual assault in the form of spoken word performances, including beat poetry, essays, poems and song. The belly dance troop IBI Brigade closes out the performances with a piece choreographed in the honor of a local survivor of sexual assault.

Following the performances, there will be a panel discussion at 6 p.m., moderated by Steamboat Pilot & Today Editor Lisa Schlichtman. Panelists include Steamboat Springs Police Detective Sam Silva; Advocates of Routt County Executive Director Lisel Petis; UCHealth Yampa Valley Medical Center forensic nurse Patty Oakland; psychotherapist Carla Portigal, who's practiced in Routt County for more than 40 years; and Routt County District Attorney Matt Karzen. The panel will be speaking about sexual assault and questions from the audience will be answered.

"The event is going to be so powerful, and by the time the panel comes around, it will create an amazing, raw conversation for our community," Petis said.

People are welcome to come and go as they please, but experiencing the full sequence of the event is encouraged.

"Showing up and acknowledging the impact of this series will signal to survivors that the community is serious about this," Schlichtman said.

After their appearance at this event, the shoes will be exhibited in the Depot Art Center's Baggage Room. The show will open during First Friday ArtWalk on Aug. 2. The month-long exhibit will be accompanied by weekly events bringing connection and education to the community. These weekly events will include: a book discussion on "Beartown" by Fredric Backman; a self-defense class; an introduction to a survivor support group; and presentations about healthy relationships for parents and kids.

Due to the emotional and potentially triggering nature of the subject matter, Saturday's event and all other upcoming "In Our Shoes" events will have representatives from Advocates of Routt County present and available to talk and point anyone toward available resources. 

When August turns to September and the shoe exhibit is taken down, the In Our Shoes series will come to a close, but Schlichtman and Petis agree that aspects of the series will continue.

"We've already seen a ton of change," Petis said. "So many people are talking about sexual assault in our community right now, and that's never happened before."

She noted that the conversations have been challenging for some survivors, many of whom have gotten in touch with Advocates for resources and support.

"I feel fortunate that they felt they were able to reach out to our office, and that we were able to help them," she said. "The articles set the groundwork, and it's exciting to see our community's response to that."

Schlichtman hopes the conversation that the series prompted within the community will continue.

"One thing that I think prevents people from healing is shame, somehow thinking that they were at fault," Schlichtman said. "Journalism is so powerful in how we can pull back a veil on something that no one wants to talk about, and through reporting, education and conversation, shine a light on it. 

"When it's dark, bad things happen. When a person is stuck in that dark place, it's hard for them to heal," Schlichtman added. "But when survivors know that our community cares about this issue, I think that should give people hope and strength."

For more information and to read the full In Our Shoes series, visit SteamboatPilot.com/news/in-our-shoes/.

To reach Julia Ben-Asher, call 970-871-4229, email jbenasher@SteamboatPilot.com or follow her on Twitter @juliabenasher.
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