CHAPTER 31

FIXING YOUR FEET STARTS WITH THE RIGHT SHOES

For millions of years, the human foot has been either bare or covered with simple material to protect the bottom of the foot. Sandals were the common covering in warmer climates, with moccasin-type shoes used in colder environments for added warmth. These sparse foot coverings were and are adequate to protect the bottom of the foot from sharp rocks and rough terrain, and didn’t interfere with foot function. Foot problems due to being barefoot consisted of the occasional laceration or deep thorn. Today, simple sandals and moccasins are still the most common footwear worldwide.

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But with the advent of today’s modern shoes came a whole array of foot problems as well as the growth of a new footwear industry that made therapeutic devices and professionals to treat such conditions. The running shoe industry has benefited the most; annual revenues now approach $20 billion.

A 1997 British Journal of Sports Medicine paper by Steven Robbins, PhD, described the hazards of deceptive advertising of athletic footwear. Writing about modern athletic shoes, Robbins stated, “Deceptive advertising of protective devices [in shoes] may represent a public health hazard and may have to be eliminated presumably through regulation.”

For most of history, shoes were made straight with left and right being identical. Records show that between the fourteenth century BC in Egypt and the mid-1800s, shoes were essentially produced the same way—by hand. For centuries, shoemakers kept secret the measurements of their clients’ feet, to help assure continued business.

In 1845, the rolling machine, followed by the invention of the sewing machine a year later, dramatically changed the shoe industry. By 1860, other more effective shoe-making machines were developed. The next manufacturing breakthrough came in 1875, when Charles Goodyear, Jr., developed a machine that made shoes using a new material called rubber, previously invented by his father.

Today, most shoes are made on machines, but they also require manual assembling. The manufacturing of many shoes, especially athletic shoes produced by big companies, is accomplished in third-world countries because it’s very cheap, often a dollar per pair or less.