Phil Oren ,
Inventor of FitSystems

HEAT FACTORY Orthotic Heated Footbeds are endorsed by Phil Oren of Fitsystems. 

Getting a Proper Fit
by Phil Oren of FitSystems

A person should get to know their feet better and understand what they have to do to get a proper fit in footwear and proper maintenance to their own feet. Since you only get one pair of feet it is important that each and ever one of us understand what we need to not cripple us as we have more birthdays. It is very frustrating to get older and not be able to do the things we want to do in life like walking and hiking to maintain the rest of our body in great shape.

First thing I would do is look around very hard for a dealer that uses a Brannock device®. A Brannock device measures not only the heel to toe measurement but additionally the heel to ball measurement. Most men are longer Heel to ball versus heel to toe. Most women are longer heel to toe versus heel to ball. That is not to say any man or women cannot be the reverse scenarios. A person needs to fit which ever is longer. If a person is longer heel to ball and you ignore this problem, then what happens is you put the ball of the foot to far forward into the toe box and this over time can create a massive foot problem.

You should have a person when you are standing with your knees bent forward till you can verily see your toes, have them try and lift up your big toe. If they cannot lift your big toe you have an over pronation problem and this makes it impossible to walk off the big toe. The person then has to alter their gait and many people abduct (walk with toes pointed out). A person with over Pronation wears out your footwear prematurely. By over running the heel counters on the inside and pushing your 5th toe to the outside compressing to the outer part of the shoe and in many cases over running the sole. If you look inside your old shoes look for any excessive wear on the inside of the heel counter, a person that has excessive pronation heel bone is thrust towards the heel as well as the foot elongating forward allowing the foot to tunnel forward in your shoes. The average person foot elongates near 1.75 sizes and this can be stabilized with a corrective orthotics or a sport footbed like SuperFeet Trim to Fit, which will solve on the norm 50 % of the person foot from elongating.

Have someone inspect the bottom of your feet and if you have massive calluses then that is also an assurance that your foot elongates and you are moving constantly in your footwear. Suggest you go to a Pedicurist and they can file or remove a high percentage of the callous, which will make more comfortable to hike or walk.

If you have any protrusions on your feet that hurt go to a specialty walking store or hiking shop and they can easily modify the various places on your footwear were ever you have pressure problems.

Is your second or third toe longer than the big toe? If so we measure to the second or third toe versus the big toe allowing more room in your footwear.

Do you have a wide forefoot and a narrow heel? You then have to purchase higher quality footwear that has a combination last with a narrow heel and a broader forefoot.

Lacing footwear is very important most people do not lace their footwear properly. The laces are a continuation of the upper and it is suppose to support your foot and prevent from moving forward within the shoe. Not tight but snug is the way to lace footwear properly.

HEAT FACTORY thanks Mr. Phil Oren for allowing reprint of this article.  For more foot care and shoe fitting tips, please visit Fit Systems Web Site

About HEAT FACTORY
Heat Factory is the Original North American Warmer Company.  Operations began in 1980 and is a full C Corporation and a Woman Owned Enterprise.  Heat Factory specializes in providing warmth and pain relief on a global level by serving retail channels such as grocery, mass merchandise stores, sporting goods, safety industry, as well as providing in-house Ad Specialty Promotions.  For more information, call (800) 993-HEAT or visit www.heatfactory.com.
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