They connect us to the ground and also bear the load and weight of our entire body. What happens in our feet greatly affects the whole body, the knees, pelvis, spine, and neck.
The footwear we wear has a major impact on our health, which is why it is of great importance to us at Proalp to create footwear that positively influences health.
It is important that shoes are larger than our feet and are:
- Roomy toe box: our toes are designed to move while walking. The line at the big toe should be as straight as possible so it isn’t pushed against the other toes. It’s not just about the width at the hallux bone; toes also need enough space to splay.
- The right size: shoes that are too short push the toe joints together and prevent the instep from pressing down fully, as well as proper load transfer when walking.
- Soles shaped wide enough: roomy soles let you step steadily, without restriction, using the full surface of your feet.
About soles:
- The heel should not be elevated (or as little as possible)
- When the heel is higher than the toes, the front of the foot carries more load than the back. Throughout the entire body, the angles in the joints change according to what is natural for us. We evolved through barefoot walking and even the last few centuries of (partial) use of heeled shoes have not changed this.
- The thinner the sole, the more we feel the surface under our feet. Our soles have a huge number of nerve endings, as our ancestors, who did not live in such a “built-up” world as we do, used them to gather information about the terrain they were walking on. Our feet are still designed for walking on uneven surfaces.
