Volume 124 Issue 39
Monday, October 17, 2011
kansan.com
HEALTH
From Sole to Sole The effects shoes have on your body.and health.
Photos by Kylie Nutt
Nick Colbert, a sophomore from Overland Park, says he prefers to wear tennis shoes because they give him fewer blisters and are more comfortable.
Joni Chastain, a senior from Burleson, Texas, loves wearing flip-flops because they're low maintenance. However, her feet often hurt because flip-flops typically have little cushion and padding.
After a painless incident with a pair of joyful sandals, Alisha Kidd, a sophomore from Overland Park, now wears Sperry Top-Siders while on campus.
Eileen Remley, a senior from Concordia, Kan., switched from flip-flops to a more comfortable pair of boots now that the weather is getting chilly
"The way you walk affects the rest of your skeleton," says Johannah Youner, a podiatrist at her private practice in New York. Feet have an effect on your knees, hips, back, posture and joints. As you get older, your body can wear down quicker if you do not wear shoes that have support and cushioning.
Your feet combined have 52 bones, containing 25 percent of all the bones in your body, but only one-quarter of adults regularly care for their feet, according to a 2010 survey by the American Podiatric Medical Association.
Youner specializes in women's foot issues along with common foot ailments. Heels and the back of the foot area need the most support because it controls the foot. "If the back of the shoe is closed, you will be ahead of the game," Youner says. This means flip-flops are bad for your feet and they fail on many levels.
KYLIE NUTT
September is a busy month for podiatrist appointments, especially college students, due to flip-flop related injuries, such as arch problems. When foot arches fall, your feet hurt, causing plantar fasciitis, which is a severe inflamed arch pain, Youner says.
Flip-flops can cause a number of problems, such as arch pain, contracting germs on the street and people often fall when wearing them, Youner says.
Arches are like bridges, if the bridge isn't supported, the whole structure will cave in. Each step you take has three times your body weight weighing your foot down. So, if you weigh 110 pounds, each foot takes on 330 pounds, Youner says. Imagine how much weight your feet support after a full day of walking around campus.
There are a few easy fixes to support your arch. You can avoid wearing flip-flops, but if you must wear them, buy some with arches. They may not be as fashionable, but at least you will save your feet in the long run. There are hundreds of shoes that already have arch supports, but if they don't, it's simple enough to buy a pair of arch supports at Walgreens for $13.99.
High heels are just as bad as flip-flops, but in different ways. They can cause bunions, Neuromas, a nerve problem and affect your
back by taking it out of its normal position. But, by limiting the amount of time to less than four hours and not wearing a heel more than two inches makes them fine to wear for special occasions, Youner says.
So, what can we wear? Since feet are vital in holding our bodies up, wearing a good, fitted shoe is crucial. "As a rule of thumb: the thicker the sole, the stiffer the shoe, the better the arch support, the better the shoe is going to be," says David Laha, a podiatrist at Kansas City Foot Specialists in Overland Park.
The biggest problem for students is they do a lot of extra walking than they are used to, so having good footwear is going to make the hike around campus more comfortable and avoid injury, Laha says.
Wearing a running shoe to get from class to class is the best option. Instead of spending small amounts of money on cheap shoes, save it up and buy one good pair. Motion control running shoes are usually the best for most people because they have features that prevent the foot from rolling inward, Laha says.
Remember to buy shoes later in the day while your feet are at their largest from swelling. And when you try a shoe on, it needs to feel comfortable because if it is tight, it will cause problems, Dr. Laha says.
What students say about their shoes:
"I definitely do [wear shoes] for comfort, but I won't wear something that doesn't match," says Eileen Remley, a senior from Concordia, Kan. "When I shop it's hard because I want shoes that are comfortable, but also shoes that are fashionable." Remley says she usually wears tennis shoes or Sperry Top-Siders on campus because they are comfortable, but has already started wearing boots since the weather is getting chilly.
"When I walk a lot my feet start to hurt because with [flip-flops] there's no cushion," says Joni Chastain, a senior from Burleson, Texas. "I usually just put up with it." Chastain says she typically wears flip-flops to class because it takes less time and effort, and when she's out
with friends, she enjoys wearing high heels.
"For a long time I wore shoes that had worn out arch support and I got knee problems from it," says Scott Stoops, a sophomore from Ottawa, Kan. "I have to put insoles in all of my shoes, no matter what I wear." Stoops says he usually wears Samba soccer shoes since he is used to them, but occasionally wears Sperry's.
"I had a pair of jellies, the plastic ones, and they made my feet bleed, but I threw those away," says Alisha Kidd, a sophomore from Overland Park. "I wore them on campus and I looked down and there was blood on my foot." Kidd says after that experience she sticks with flip-flops, Keds and Sperry Top-siders even though they sometimes cause blisters on her feet.
"I usually wear sandals during the summer, but now I wear tennis shoes" says Nick Colbert, a sophomore from Overland Park. "It's definitely easier to walk in them [tennis shoes], but sandals are more trendy." Colbert says he finds sandals and Sperry Top-Siders to be comfortable and hasn't had any blisters.
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Jason Phoenix explains different gestures for responses during the demonstrations held by protestors participating in Occupy Lawrence. The local movement has expressed solidarity with Occupy Wall Street. The group is working toward promoting change in local government ordinances.
The "Russian Jayhawk," as the small carving has come to be known, was a gift of gratitude from an unknown Russian prisoner of war to Conrad Hoffman, a Kansas alumnus working with the YMCA in Germany during World War I.
Kansas, making his home first in Stauffer-Flint Hall — where he sat, forgotten, until 2009 — and then in the University Archives.
It's a symbol of the long-standing connection between the University and its students doing good in Russian and Eastern Europe, said Marc Greenberg, chairman of the Slavic department.
On Wednesday evening, he made another journey, this time to the offices of the department of Slavic languages and literatures in Wescoe Hall, where he'll live for one year in a glass display case.
The YMCA post was "an important non-governmental service performing a moral and social function during the First World War," Greenberg wrote in his article "Hoffman's Hawk."
"I want the carving to help draw attention to the things
According to the article, the YMCA worked in prisoner-of-war camps in Germany, providing education and coordinating social and athletic activities for the prisoners. The YMCA also helped prisoners develop trades and hobbies by giving them tools and arranging exhibitions and sales of their artwork.
Hoffman went to Germany in 1915, and it was common for him to receive presents, said the article, from the thankful prisoners who he worked with.
A gift of gratitude
In 1913, Conrad Hoffman became the secretary of the YMCA at the University, leaving his position as a professor of bacteriology at the University of Wisconsin.
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According to a pencil inscription on his side, the Russian Jayhawk was given to Hoffman in 1917. He was probably carved by either
SEE JAYHAWK PAGE 3
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