A podiatrist's take on school shoes

It’s almost back to school time!

Did you know that on average, school children spend at least 30 hours a week wearing school shoes, which equals approximately 15,000 hours in their entire schooling time. Let’s make sure this time is spent in good quality shoes!

Podiatrist Tom and Ryan’s tips on what to look for in a school shoe:

Lightweight – the lighter the better!
Flexible enough that the shoe can twist and fold in all directions
Flat from the heel to the ball of the foot (minimal heel drop)
Wide at the toes, giving the toes room to spread
Avoid shoes that are stiff, have a narrow toe box or a large heel, or feel too heavy (this can be the case for many regular school shoes and what is readily available to us)

Ideally, the shoe should allow the foot to move like it would when you are barefoot, whilst protecting the foot from the weather and any rough ground.

But why?

We know that by spending time in good quality footwear, you can expect the following positive effects:

Reduced injury risk, such as ankle sprains
Better long term foot health as the joints and muscles maintain their mobility and strength, preventing issues like bunions and ingrown toenails
Better posture, balance and coordination

This study based out of The University of Sydney trialed minimalist (i.e. barefoot) school shoes versus traditional stiff school shoes over a 9-month period, and it showed that children who wore the minimalist shoes had significant improvements in:

Toe muscle strength and muscle size
Greater arch height (which is associated with less foot pain)
Greater performance in long jump
Improved balance

So which shoes should we put our kids in?

Here are some of our Shepparton Podiatrist Tom and Ryan’s favourites:

Topo ST-5 all black version (one of our all round personal favourites at GV Sportscare!)
Vivobarefoot Primus Lite (another favourite here and worn daily by Tom and Ryan)
Lems Nine2Five
BPrimal Youth MJ