Personalizing Your Footwear with Custom Orthotics

If you want luxury for your feet replace a removable shoe insert with Footform Orthotics. Most mid to high-end sport specific footwear have removable inserts. Taking that shoe insert out and replacing it with a Footform orthotic gives you a custom fit that makes your footwear the foundation of a positive experience. Whether that's in the field, on a golf green, ski slope, bike, bowling alley lane or on the dance floor. During the second half of your appointments at the Footform Performance office in Bend, Oregon, we fit the orthotics to the shoes that you either wear most often, or the shoe in which you specifically intend to use the orthotic. One of our satisfied customers, Terry Scoville, of Womens Hunting Journal, shared her experience of a hunting boot she customized with a Footform orthotic.

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Review from Woman's Hunting Journal: LaCrosse AlpahaBurley Sport Insulated by Terry Scoville

I recently spoke with a representative at LaCrosse Footwear, to find out what they'll be offering women hunters this Fall. I was surprised to learn that they are discontinuing a few styles. The good news is that the model I have they are going to continue providing. Specifically the AlphaBurley Sport Insulated 18" Realtree Hardwood HD 800 Gr. boot, style #200037 (soon to be style # 200044) as of July 2008. I bought mine last Fall and used them alot throughout the waterfowl season. Firstly, they are offered in whole sizes only, so go up to the next whole size if you wear a half size. With that said, mine are awesome and show no signs of abuse after their first season afield. I replaced the factory foot bed with my own custom orthotics http://www.footform.com/ and the fit is wonderful. I found the Alpha Burley boots to be nimble, lightweight and not cumbersome. The sole has sufficient traction and support, so as not to be flimsy in any way what so ever. The fleece lining has held up to my abuse and shows no sign of wear. There is an adjustable gusset at top back with a cam buckle if you want them snugged up, for real nasty mud. They weigh in at 5.5 lbs. per pair. I used mine for late season goose hunting and my feet were toasty warm. Even late season goose hunting in my layout blind, & on snow for 4-5 hours at a time. My backside got a bit frosty, but not my feet. In conclusion for women hunters, I highly recommend the AlphaBurley boots. Especially if you're wanting something other than hip waders or your leather field boots for hunting. http://www.lacrossefootwear.com/

How to Walk Like a Very Old Person

Of course you don't really want to walk like an old person. What may surprise you is that the impression of age starts long before you get close enough to a person to see a wrinkle. A person's gait and posture conveys their strength, balance, and flexibility.

Walking is propulsion. As toddlers we all start with a stiff-legged stance and leaning forwards to create motion. I call this "The Leaning Tower Stride". Once you're past the age of three, this stride will only make you look old.

I see variations of the Leaning Tower Stride constantly in my Footform Performance clinic in Bend, Oregon. This stride uses fewer joints: the hip and toe (metatarsal) joints -- therefore a person with a injury or ache may default to this style of movement. The hip is used as a hinge joint instead of as a ball and socket. The forward momentum of the stride is created by jutting the neck and shoulders forward. This brings the top of the body in front of the feet creating a "fall" where each leg "catches up" with the rest of the body.

The result of this bio-mechanical movement is that the body is on the edge of losing balance constantly and the hip and toe joints get undue stress. All sorts of problems come with too much stress on joints.

The solution is a balanced stride. The body is in an athletic position with the knees slightly bent. Pretend you are receiving a tennis serve or flexing before a golf swing. As you go through your daily activity here are the things to keep in mind for healthy movement:

• Bend your knees and point your feet straight ahead as you walk.
• Focus on the back foot in the stride staying on the ground as long as possible and pushing you off from behind.
  
• Do a few practice hula dance movements to loosen the hips.
• Keep your abs toned (Keep your stomach muscles firm, pulling inwards towards the spine.)
• Wobble your head and shoulders loosely to feel the center of the joints. (This takes practice - a mirror and a coach helps here).
  

When you're ready for some one-on-one training, call Footform Performance and schedule an appointment. We offer stance and gait training appointments, including a private walking lesson at my clinic in Bend, Oregon
www.Footform.com 541-389-4547