Vente Pain Relief Clinic

Shoes for Pain Relief

Are there shoes for pain relief? Can shoes assist in the management of your pain? In this review I look at this question from two different angles. This is NOT intended as advice. Please consult with a healthcare professional for direction.

The first angle is as a therapist. I’ve been performing my craft for over 25 years. Over that time, working as an aggressive deep tissue therapist, you will encounter little annoying discomforts. Lower back, hip, shoulder and knee pain need to be managed. The management can include therapies, exercise and self-care tools such as proper footwear.

The second angle is also as a therapist. This time it’s more as a professional looking at it from the angle of how can this impact those that are managing pain? Can it make an impact?

Are there shoes for pain relief? Watch the video as I breakdown the Birkenstock Bend sneaker.

Background:

I had decided to do a review on shoes for pain relief using the Birkenstock Bend sneaker because of my experience using it. I thought it would be a great idea to relay my own findings.

I started doing research on shoes that would fit my needs. I had certain criteria:

1. I do a lot of standing and pushing off.
2. I need footwear that helps maintain my energy levels throughout the day and feel less fatigued at the end of my work day.
3. Potential to help with injury prevention.
4. Toronto’s Financial District have buildings that have hard surfaces such as marble or granite. There is a need for good cushioning, walking and standing on these surfaces.
5. The shoes have to be appropriate for the professional vibe of the Financial District.

8 Subjective Measures:

These are the subjective measures that I have chosen to assist with relaying my experience:

• Overall comfort during the day
• Style
• Value
• Level of fatigue after a day
• Force translation (am I able to push off the floor)
• Does it absorb the forces coming up from hard surfaces?
• Adjustment period
• Overall

Short Background of Birkenstock

Can Birkenstock design shoes for pain relief? Possibly. Birkenstock is a 252 year old German company, known for their cork footbeds that form fit to your feet. They have had an outstanding reputation for high quality footwear.

In fact there are many Massage Therapists that treat in Birkenstocks because of the comfort of the footwear. Typically Birkenstocks are known more for their sandals. In fact, I found out accidentally that they actually have sneakers.

Properties of Cork

Gradings:

1. Overall comfort during the day: These shoes provided good comfort throughout the day. The wide toe box, felt a great fit for my wide feet. It was good but I still had some (albeit minimal) discomfort of my usual areas of discomfort such as my hips and my back. Grade: B
2. Overall style: This shoe is an excellent fit for the Financial District in Toronto. It has soft leather uppers giving a professional look. Most workers in the Financial District wear business attire such as suits and ties. As a therapist, I dress mostly in business casual. This shoe matches well with dress pants but it can also be a good match for khakis. The reason that I gave the grade I gave was, ironically the wide toe box. Yes, it provided comfort but at the same time, it can look “off putting” for some. Grade: B-
3. Price vs Value: This shoe in my opinion provides excellent value. I purchased these shoes at Softmoc for $200.00 CDN. You are paying for 252 years of knowledge from Birkenstock. Footwear wisdom from years of experience. This is an investment. A good one at that! Grade: A
4. Level of fatigue: Feeling less fatigued, especially at the end of the day was noticeable. In fact, I felt very good after very busy days of treatment. Usually, I have to force myself to workout after work but when I was wearing these shoes I actually felt I had more energy to workout. The cork design probably has a lot to do with this. Grade: A
5. Force translation/grip: Being efficient at producing force is a quality that sometimes is ignored. The shoes soles are made of rubber and provides good grip versus some shoes that may slip. When this happens force translation can suffer, making you have to use up more energy. Grade: B
6. Shock absorption: The cork is amazing. With the hard surfaces I’m standing and walking on, it is ultra important to have excellent shock absorption. This is what the cork provides. If you are an office worker who works on hard surfaces, this shoe can provide comfort. The shock absorption qualities of cork help decrease the impact on my knees, hips and lower back. Grade: A
7. Adjustment period: Speaking to people that have worn Birkenstocks, the one piece of feedback that they gave me, was that there is an adjustment period. In fact there can be some discomfort as the cork and your feet adjust. Typically, from what I was told, it seems that the adjustment period is about 2 weeks. For myself, I was more patient. It took a little over 4 weeks. But once the adjustment period passed, I noticed a difference in the way I felt wearing these shoes. Grade: C
8. Overall: I think this shoe is an excellent shoe if you work at an office and require business shoes. It can be a form of preventive measure (this is along with therapy and exercises) for those that may have chronic lower back, hip, knee and foot pain. Remember you need to seek advice from a rehab professional for your particular issues. Overall I am very happy with these shoes and I hope they last for a long time. It is as close as you can probably get for shoes for pain relief. Grade: B-

More Resources:

Here is an adaptation to the typical calf stretch. If you have super tight calves, this adjustment can help! Watch it on our Pain Relief Fitness site, vprc.ca. This is one of our videos on “8 Questions about Calf Pain and Tightness. Watch now!