Back in March of this year in a previous blog we announced that we were introducing some further advancements in technology to our clinical practice, namely that of the Pedi-Gait system from Peditechnology. Some two months down the road we are delighted with the benefits this has brought to our Patients in our Brantford and Mississauga location. To better illustrate some the less technological and more clinical features of this system we have created and uploaded a short video to YouTube. For those of you more technologically savy than others you can follow this Peditech link to the industry video which focus more on the professional user.

Regardless we hope this will continue to prove to be a huge benefit to both our patients and all our practioners. For our existing patients returning in the future to address new structural and funtional concerns we will be incorporating this diagnostic tool into your care to better understand and treat your problems.

So I have just had the third patient of the day asking about Flip Flops and whether it's ok to wear them or not. Clearly the beautiful forecast for our May long weekend in Ontario has everyone thinking of summer.

As always in answering similar questions, a large dose of common sense is required. Flip flops were designed for two reasons. The first was financially driven for those with limited money and resources to make shoes. The second is for those living in very warm climates and especially if residing in sandy beach like environments. Subsequently they became popularized with associated surf and beach culture and a generalized lay back appearance.

That's all very well but still doesnt answer the question. Simply put, for those of us who have been diagnosed with any type of structural or functional foot problem it would be best if we limit the amount of time spent in Flip flops. By that I don't mean Never wear them, but choose your moments when they are best suited. For example going to the beach, hanging out pool side or when limited amounts of walking are planned. Even for those with "normal feet" the softer, flatter, very worn, cheaper varieties of filp flops are all believed to have harmful effects on the feet.

The good folks at the APMA have been very kind to provide a fact sheet and indeed recomend some models of flip flops over others as being more supportive than others.

This video also deos a terrific job of outlining the idea "feetures" to look for in a good Fip Flop. Have a beautiful and safe weekend where ever you are.

Another nerve racking experience at the hands of Ted Lehman from Rogers television show Inside Brant this past Tuesday May 8th. This time the subject was raising awareness of Foot Health, and more specifically this time we were addressing the heavily neglected area of childrens foot health. Even with the kind indulgence of the host we barely managed to scratch the surface in two segments of the show.

Hopefully in the very near future we will be blogging a more indepth section on this utilizing the Pedigait system to very clearly illustrate the importance and benifits of acting quickly having identified structural instability in devloping feet

Congradulations on the Kick Off for international Foot Health Month to the Ontario Society of Chiropodists. They marked the occassion with a ceremonial kick off to the event with Toronto Argonaut kicker Noel Prefontaine and a return by past Ontario College of Chiropodists president Andrew Springer. Despite the damp conditions the event was very well attended by medical professionals and political representitives.

Following our weekend participation in events hosted by New Balance at their Oakville location and the OPMA, we at The Podiatry Associates will be continuing our participation in this International Foot Health Month tomorrow. We will be devoting our monthly appearance on the daytime Rogers cable show "Inside Brant", to subject of Foot Health Month and more specifically to the subject of pediatric and juvenile foot health. Later in the month we hope to be doing a similar venture  on our monthly visit with the "DayTime" crew on Roger local television station in Mississauga.