by josie
Shoes from Integrative Footwear, a collaboration between Andrew Weil, M.D., and podiatrist Phillip Vasyli, have an orthotic footbed to correct overpronation and underpronation.
When I found myself unexpectedly having to trek a couple of miles in Santa Barbara, CA, to rent a car last week (as for the reason, let’s just say the friend I drove up with has learned the importance of paying traffic tickets on time), I was very happy to be wearing my new pair of Rhythm Walkers ($119.95). This fitness shoe is part of a footwear collection that wellness guru Andrew Weil, M.D., has launched in collaboration with Phillip Vasyli, an Australian podiatrist who created the line’s built-in orthotic, the Orthaheel.
The shoes had been sent to me as a follow-up to an event that Weil and Vasyli hosted in late January to announce the second Annual Walkabout, a challenge to walk at least 30 minutes a day for 28 days beginning on the American Heart Association’s National Walking Day April 3.
Weil’s position on walking is basically this: Do it. “Our bodies are made for walking,” Weil says. “You can do it anytime, anywhere throughout your life. It carries the least risk of injury of any fitness activity. And walking can meet all your exercise needs if you do it uphill.” What’s more, he adds, regular walking may be more effective in modulating depression and anxiety than more intense exercise.
The only hitch is that our bodies were actually designed for walking on natural surfaces and most of the world is paved. “When you walk on soil or sand the ground adapts to your foot,” Vasyli says. “But when you walk on a man-made surface, your foot has to do the adjusting.”
To reclaim stability, he says, our foot veers away from a neutral footprint. We pronate, or roll inward on the foot, causing overpronation. Or, we underpronate, rolling less than the optimal 15 percent. In both cases, our body’s alignment — from toes through our lower back — is thrown off and can lead to injuries like plantar fasciitis (a painful irritation of the ropy band of tissue that connects your heel bone to your toes) and Achilles tendinitis (an equally painful inflammation of the tendon that runs from the heel bone to the calf muscle) as well as achy knees and back pain.
Weil Integrative Footwear is designed to restore the natural biomechanics of the foot with a removable orthotic footbed — what we used to call “cookies” back in the day. It has a wedge that sits under the arch, extra padding along the forefoot and heel and flexible cushioning under the ball of the foot. The combination worked for me. My Rhythm Walkers made their inaugural outing during that Santa Barbara hike and I stayed free of the shinsplits I often experience. (The line has men’s options and also includes women’s ergonomic sandals, mules, clogs, wedges and loafers.
Proud as Vasyli is of his AMS — “aided-motion system” — he says that many people can correct pronation problems with an inexpensive drugstore orthotic. Or, you might be one of the lucky few that has perfect pronation. Try this wet footprint test from Runner’s World to find out.
Whatever your favorite walking footwear, National Walking Day is a great time to commit to 30 minutes of daily walking. You can find resources on how to start a walking club; an online activity tracker and a mobile app for discovering new walking paths near you on the American Heart Association’s Start Walking Now website.
For more comfort-conscious footwear and gear for planned hikes, check out “Take It Outside” in the latest issue of VIVmag.
