The innovation of customizing foot wear and the vision of improving foot care

Recently, the competition in the market for customized shoes has been put on the stage. Nike, Puma, and New Balance, one following another, launched the customization service and advertised certain shoe models on-line. Their target customers of these types of sports shoes are regular runners, a few professional athletes, and school kids, who have to take the physical education classes. The launch of customizable shoes delivered two main messages from the market. First, there is a great amount of consumers who are willing to spend money on the uniqueness of the product. Second, people have begun to realize that since everyone has different physical conditions, it is better to have products that are specifically tailored for the betterment of personal health.

Consider New Balance’s classic US574 runner as an example. The customization process includes detail steps of personalizing the shoes, such as selecting the colors of the lace and sole to name a few. The price of customization is $100+ and the delivery time is 4-8 days. In some cases, customers could also use CAD program or Photoshop to design their shoes on their computer. The Nike Air Max+ 2011 iD running shoes are also popular because of their broad selection of colors and the friendly prices. Also, with an iphone, one can download the necessary apps and easily customize his/her shoes.

 How to use iphone customize your shoes

 

(resource: Youtube) 

Use Photoshop design your shoes

(resource: Youtube)

With big brand names backing these products, the public demand for customized shoes has increased, but can the trend be extended to professional foot care?  

The structure of our feet is very complex and delicate.

http://www.footcaredirect.com/anatfoot.html

According to the research done by American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons (AAOS), one-third of the American population’s left foot is larger than the right foot. One-third has a larger right foot than the left and only the remaining one-third has feet that are the same size.  Many physical therapists, researchers and educators have been advocating raising public awareness of the anatomical complexity of feet. Some common sports injuries such as sprained ankles are easily avoidable by choosing a pair of suitable shoes. However, some physical anomalies in the feet require special soles to help owners balance their bodies better. Otherwise, many types of pain or diseases may occur.

Although the commercials of the famous foot wear companies could arouse public awareness of personal foot care, so far it has not introduced the concept of using right shoe soles. There are many obstacles that made these companies hesitate to combine the sole-manufacturing technology used in physical therapy, with their famous shoe models.

First of all, it is hard to train professionals to make customized shoe soles. To teach an undergraduate student of physical therapy how to craft a shoe prototype, the school has to first spend two years on his/her basic education. In other words, not until his/her third or fourth year of undergraduate study, will the crafting technique be taught in class. The labor cost of crafting shoe soles is quite expensive than crafting traditional shoe soles. 

Customized shoes soles could be very costly. (Price listed: $50+)

(https://secure.yoursole.com/us/)

Second, the sole consumption market is comparably small, and there is still a lot of room for improvement in physical therapy education and marketing. Recently, I read a blog (Note1) written by a physical therapist, wherein I learned much about the author’s observations and analysis of the competition between physicians and physical therapists that blocked the marketing process of physical therapy.

Usually, people are more accustomed to listen to their physicians’ advice and take it as the truth without giving it a second find. However, in many situations, it would be better a physical therapist. One can save time, money and energy, by not receiving drug prescriptions or intrusive treatment, but instead, merely changing a pair of shoes.

Third, it is difficult for the companies to find effective and efficient healthcare communication methods to avoid such sensitive topics as obesity, and to change consumption behaviors. For instance, it might be improper to put “a flat feet solution” in commercials.

Nonetheless, it is still pleasant to see the shoes markets begin to incorporate the commercialization of customized foot wear. It may be a good idea to merge or ally the famous shoes companies with the practice of shoe sole making in physical therapy, in the future. By doing so, the customers could not only benefit from the stylish personal design but also from healthier feet.  

(Note1):This is the link of the physical therapist's blog: http://www.sterlingospt.com/blog/