What Makes a Good Casual Shoe?
Two local doctors offer tips for buying casual shoes that are sure to leave your feet feeling frisky by day’s end: “From a biomechanical standpoint, the shoe should feel good the minute you put it on and stand up. It should be no more complicated than that,” explains Bryan Baisinger, DC, owner of Clearwater Clinic, based in Portland, OR. “There should be an immediate, gut-level response, much like buying a mattress.” What happens when a feel-good shoe suddenly feels not-so-good? “If the shoe is a style different than what you are used to wearing, some muscles have to elongate and others contract.” It takes time, he adds, to “recalibrate” the body’s response to new shoes. Says Glenn Ingram, Jr, a naturopathic doctor who practices at Portland-based Northwest Foot and Ankle Clinic, a good shoe has no heel, a wide toe box, and encourages the wearer to “stand as if barefoot in the shoe.” A wide toe box is a function of length and width, he explains. “Most shoes are wide enough at the ball o
