Vintage Nike Niobe

I best recall being told that this shoe was worn three times, the third run was a marathon, and as you can see that was its last day on the road.

This is what happens when someone who should not be in a curve lasted shoe, chooses to run in one. The Nike Niobe was a curve lasted simple shoe. It was very light weight, small stack height and narrow ramp from heel to forefoot. This was likely a fast shoe for someone, for the right foot type.

This person was obviously having some distal toe pain, so they pre-shredded the tip of the shoe to offer some “space”. Perhaps they were sized wrong, perhaps this person had a tender 2nd toe/nail. But this is not the purpose of today’s blog post.

Today we wanted to bring up shoe LASTS again.

The Last (the part between the midsole and insole)

Strictly speaking, a last is the mold or template for creating the shoe. It defines theshape of a shoe. Remember that men’s and women’s feet are shaped differently. Men (usually) have rectangular feet (the forefoot and heels are wider, or have less difference in width); Ladies (usually) have triangular feet (the forefoot is much wider than the heel). This is why it is important to know if the shoes you are fitting are a men’s or women’s specific last. Many times, the shoes come off the production line and the boy shoes are blue and the girls pink: both made from the same last.

The last determines whether a shoe is a high, medium or low volume shoe… Pretty important, if they have a high instep or flat foot. Companies like Altra have as many as 6 different, sex specific lasts. This results in a wide range of fit (and thus a bigger market share).

Take off your clients shoes and look at their feet. Note their shape and curve. Lasts need to match that “curve” so they can be relatively straight or curved (this refers to the shape of the “sole” of the shoe: see above). Turn a shoe over and look at the sole. Mentally bisect the heel with a line going to the front of the shoe. If the line bisects the front of the shoe, it is a straight lasted shoe (this corresponds to the axis of the 2nd metatarsal, or slightly lateral to it). If more of the shoe falls medial to this (more of the sole on the big toe side) it has a curved last.

Curved last shoes can vary in the degree of curvature. Curved last shoes are designed to help control pronation, as they provide medial support and slow its rate by causing a relative supination of the foot after heel strike (it weights the lateral border of the shoe for a longer period of time, theoretically allowing less pronation). Curved last shoes can put more motion into a foot, especially one with limited rearfoot motion (it still must pronate, but due to the lack of rearfoot motion, the forefoot must compensate and now must do so in a shorter period of time).The last is the surface that the insole of the shoe lays on, where the sole and upper are attached. Shoes are board lasted, slip lasted or combination lasted. A board lasted shoe is very stiff and has a piece of cardboard or fiber overlying the shank and sole (sometimes the shank is incorporated into the midsole or last) . It is very effective for motion control (pronation) but can be uncomfortable for somebody who does not have this problem. A slip lasted shoe is made like a slipper and is sewn up the middle. It allows great amounts of flexibility, which is better for people with more rigid feet. A combination lasted shoe has a board lasted heel and slip lasted front portion, giving you the best of both worlds.

When evaluating a shoe, you want to look at the shape of the last (or sole). Bisecting the heel and drawing an imaginary line along the sole of the shoe determines the last shape. This line should pass between the second and third metatarsal. If you do this to the Nike Niobe shoe you will see a nice gentle curved line, it is not as much as one would think because the severity of the carved away instep/arch gives it the appearance of a more curved last than it truly is. Drawing this imaginary line, you are looking for equal amounts of shoe to be on either side of this line. Shoes have either a straight or curved last. The original idea of a curved last (banana shaped shoe) was to help with pronation. A curved last puts more motion into the foot and may force the foot through mechanics that is not accustomed to. Most people should have a straight last shoe. Folks who have pronation challenges will do better with a semi-curved to straight lasted shoe. Few people need a truly curve lasted shoe. A general rule of thumb is: You really can’t go wrong with a straight last. It will work for all feet, especially if you are using an orthotic. This is especially important with people with forefoot abductus, moderate to severe pronators and rigid feet (rear or forefoot). A forefoot abductus and severe pronator’s feet will move laterally in the shoe, often causing crushing, rubbing, cramping and blistering of the little toe against the side of the shoe. A rigid foot, because the foot needs to be able to pronate at the mid and forefoot, will have a similar problem. You can use a curved last with people with mobile or hypermobile feet, provided their pronation is not too severe (clinical judgment, trial and error).

You won’t see any Nike Niobe’s anymore, they are even mere ghost stories even on the internet. It is cool to see where shoe fabrication logic was long ago, and to see how far it has come. RIP Niobe.

This was clearly an example of a heavy pronator (note the medial heel blow out) starting at the rearfoot heel contact. They were also likely a heel striker, but that was “the thing” back then. The gentle curve in this shoe’s last did not do this person any favors, heck this runner was likely crippled for a week with arch pain, tibialis posterior pain and medial knee pain. A shoe can really tell a story !

Want to learn more about shoe anatomy and how to pair shoes to certain foot types ? Do you find yourself wanting to know more about a forefoot varus, forefoot valgus, compensated and uncompensated variants of these or rearfoot variances ? Here is where you should start:

Gait Guys online /download store (National Shoe Fit Certification and more) :

http://store.payloadz.com/results/results.aspx?m=80204

Or, other web based Gait Guys lectures: www.onlinece.com type in Dr. Waerlop or Dr. Allen, ”Biomechanics”

Thanks to Wayne over at Dick Pond Shoes for this little gift 10 years ago. We came across it doing some thinning out of “the herd” of great shoe pathology samples we like to keep.

Shawn and Ivo, The Gait Guys

Is a flexible forefoot varus foot type going to safely perform in a bladed soccer shoe or would it do better in a studded shoe ?

Recently an independent send us several pairs of revolutionary soccer cleats to get our opinion on them since we have somewhat of a history looking at and modifying cleats for NFL players.

Soccer is a unique game. During any one game players are expected to jog, sprint, run backwards, sideways, quick cut, cross over and many other variations. The soccer cleat is supposed to be designed to help the foot engage the ground to maximize and optimize these gait variations. A good cleat will enable and not disable or increase risk of injury. Accourding to some sources, a 90 minute professional soccer match can ask a player to run anywhere from 8000 to 11000 meters. One source suggested that two thirds of the game is walking or light jogging, One thirds is cruising, backing or sprinting and of the sprinting, 800meters requires maximal bursts of 10-40 meters over a total of approximately 800 meters. Obviously, it is these 800 meters that are the critical ones that can make a game and it is at these times that the player is likely to need a good reliable cleat-ground interface to perform.

It has previously been thought that the cleat cannot be too deep and ground-engaging otherwise torsional forces from the body will not play out into the turf and will rather move up into the ankle and knee and can lead to devastating injuries. However, one can make the case that a cleat could in some instances help to block excessive motion that could lead to injury. There are many grey areas when it comes to these kinds of issues. Cleat choice for the ground type and playing conditions seems to be important. However, a small study in 2007 (1) in the American Journal of Sports Medicine author Rajiv Kaila investigated knee loading patterns during various sidestep, cutting maneuvers and found no differences in the amount of force, stress or the degree of unwanted knee movement wearing any of the four styles of shoe. The study results were also backed by another similar study in the International Journal of Sports Medicine (2). The Gait Guys still remain somewhat skeptical however as these were unfatigued players and female players were not included in the studies as was suggested by this nice brief review article by Jay Williams. That being said, there are studies that recently exist that discuss landing mechanics based upon gender, footwear, and the mode of landing as notable issues in injury incidence so not only do we need to consider the shoe, but also the person in the shoe and how they land as additionally relevant parameters.(3) When we speak of loading and landing patterns there are many issues to consider, and foot type and cleat pattern are variables to consider. According to Queen (4) significant differences in forefoot loading patterns existed between cleat types. And when you put a forefoot varus or valgus forefoot type (and, one must know if that forefoot type is rigid or flexible, compensated or uncompensated) into a cleated shoe there are many variables that can play out. A forefoot varus is less likely to inversion sprain than a forefoot valgus foot type. Again, this is why we strongly recommend everyone take the National Shoe Fit Certification Program so that all of these variables can be taken into account.

When it comes to soccer shoes, comfort and fit are critical for performance. (One must also realize that just like in hockey, soccer (we prefer to say FOOTBALL but it is not the preferred name here in the USA) players like to drop a half to full size in the shoes so that there is less foot-shoe interface slide and give. Players like the foot and shoe to perform as one because of the precision foot work and sudden pivoting that is often necessary.) The issues of last shape are always critical depending on foot types. Just like in running shoes, a more straight, semi-curved and curve lasted shoes need to be matched to the appropriate foot types. We have talked about these issues many times before in previous blog posts here on our blog. Generically, a more pronated foot will get more control from a more straight lasted shoe and a more rigid-supinated foot will like a more curve lasted shoe. This is why you MUST know the foot types and how to determine what foot type your client presents with. This is why everyone should take the National Shoe Fit Certification Program. In this program we talk about the other shoe parameters like heel counter, sock liner, uppers, last patterns, vamp etc.

There are basically three types of cleat types, blade, stud. The choice of which to use is based on the surface of play and the conditions. The surfaces are broken down into 4 basic conditions: Soft ground, hard ground, firm ground (these are in decreasing order of ground “forgiveness”) and finally turf.

Turf fields generally dictate smaller more grippy finely studded cleats that enable maneuverability.

Hard ground fields will require shorter studs with generally a more uniform pattern and they are softer to react with the firm surface.

Firm ground fields require a longer more rigid cleat or blade. This is the most common cleat used. They can range from 10-15 cleats protruding from the outsole and can vary in depth and size. Pivot-mobility points, stability points are generally considered in determining number, size, depth and location of the cleats or blades.

In soft ground or wet conditions longer cleats are often necessary and they can range anywhere from 10mm to 20mm in depth. Some types of higher end shoes (usually professional level) allow cleat selection by screwing them into the shoes and this allows size and depth specificity. Cleat numbers can vary but are often much fewer (6-8) in number and location to offer even weight distribution. A more circular forefoot cleat/blade pattern supposedly optimize directional acceleration while more laterally and linearly arranged patterns supposedly provide more laterally oriented movements. This type of cleat should not be used on other surfaces as injury risk can increase.

There is much to consider when choosing a cleated football/soccer shoe. There is the foot type, the shoe last, the playing conditions, the cleat pattern etc. The more you know, the safer you may be.

Shawn and Ivo, The Gait (and shoe) Guys.

references:

1. http://ajs.sagepub.com/content/35/9/1528.abstract