laura Borelli wrote:
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I have been trying for 3 years to get my children's school to abandon the "buck" shoe with the "tapered" toe style. Requests have fallen on deaf ears even though I am a pediatrician. Can you provide me with some articles to support my position on using a square toe box design?
Thanks
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I really don't see that scientific papers are necessary to conclude that the forcing of a round peg into a square hole is untoward. As many toe problems can be exacerbated and some created by the inordinate squeezing together of toes, it is simply common sense to conclude that a shoe which clearly does not fit or is not large enough to house the toes is a detriment to both comfort and normal foot function. As with all clothing, the main function of which is provide protection from the environment, shoe gear is intended to and should fit the body part which it serves.
If, however, the excessive taper of the toe box commences distal or near distal to end of the toes, there is likely no adverse effect, other than an overly long shoe which may make walking, especially the clearing of the toe of the shoe from the ground in the swing phase of gait, difficult. Of course, to extreme, even this may be a detriment, as gait changes can produce pathology proximally up the entire body. |
