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Don’t Tell the Kids:
The Charleston Gazette, Aug 28, 2006
AS KIDS SKIP or are dragged back to school today, many will be sporting the colorful, rubbery shoes that seem to have dropped up everywhere in the place of the usual summery flip-flops.
Crocs shoes and their assorted imitators have become the love-’em-or-hate-’em unisex footwear fad of the past few years, but doctors and other folks are beginning to take notice of their likely health benefits.
Is it possible that a fad shoe is good for you?
The American Podiatric Medical Association calls them a healthy alternative to flip-flops and has bestowed its Seal of Acceptance on two Crocs models, noting that the rubbery material “warms and softens with body heat and molds to the users’ feet, while remaining extremely lightweight.”
“Tendinitis, arch pain and sprained ankles are just some of the problems flip-flops can cause,” said APMA President Dr. David Shofield. “They can also make existing problems worse. Simply put, flip-flops just aren’t good for your feet. There are alternatives to flip-flops that allow your feet to enjoy summer in a more supportive shoe.”
Dr. Fred Pollock, an orthopedic surgeon with Bone and Joint Surgeons of Charleston, held a Croc for the first time in his office recently and nodded approvingly, noting the light weight of the squishy material.
“It’s not something sweeping the medical community,” he said “I’ve never heard of them.”
He told a reporter to take off his sock and proceeded with a low-tech shoe assessment.
Pollack drew a line around the subject’s foot, then he put a Croc over that outline and traced it, too. the lines were nearly identical with the foot tracing nestled snugly inside that of the shoe.
Pollock instantly gave Crocs his “good shoe” designation, noting that the shoe does not contort the foot in unnatural ways as many high heels, dress shoes and cowboy boots tend to do.
He said he liked the wide toe box, the plentiful ventilation holes that will prevent skin and fungal problems and the arch support.
He pointed to a part of Crocs he particularly likes, one that has baffled many cobblers for centuries.
The beveled heel allows the wearer to absorb less impact on each step, he said. It provides for a more natural gait.
Told about Crocs’ nonslip qualities, Pollack ponders using them on his jet ski and takes them for a test drive around the tile exam room.
Crocs got started in 2002 when some boating buddies in Colorado started a business around some slip-resistant, quick drying shoes. The goofy craze quickly spread beyond the nautical set.
Since then, legions of nurses, waiters, and Gazette copy editors have purchased Crocs, proselytizing about the comfort, wacky colors available and low cost (less than $40 for most Crocs, $20 or less for knockoffs).
Crocs is now a $1 Billion company with plenty of competitors cranking out knockoffs.
Crocs.com, through delusion or tongue-in-cheek, touts their “ultra-hip Italian styling,”
…
-Dave Gustafson
daveg@wvgazette.com
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