Nursing Trends
Crocs – Healthy footwear or just comfortable? :
Do these attractive shoes hold a place in good foot care? Here we shall find out about the reviews of both doctors and consumers at the same time.
The Crocs or the clog-like shoes with bright and vibrant colors might not be able to match each and everyone’s fashion sense or the idea of fashion in respect of footwear. But the Croc lovers swear about the comfort of their footwear. Not just that, the Croc lovers also believe in the fact that it brings about certain benefits to their health and extremities, which enables every human being to carry themselves to every place.
Are these Crocs shoes which are acclaimed by so many individuals, good for the feet in reality. Here in this article, we shall analyze and observe the true reality of these shoes.
History of the Croc:
Croc shoes came into existence in the footwear industry for the first time in the year 2002. They were initially intended to be manufactured as footwear for activities like boating due to their waterproof tendencies and non-slippery tread.
According to the words of the co-founder Lyndon V. Hanson, the Croc shoes were originally produced for the first time in Canada. He further said that they added the strap to these shoes later for utility, which also gave it a certain flair.
All the Croc shoes have been certified by the APMA (American Podiatric Medical Association) and the United States of American Ergonomics Council. However, the co-founder of the Crocs says that the Croc shoes lack value when the question comes to aesthetics. But Hanson feels that what these Crocs miss when the question comes to aesthetics is that they make up for it in respect of therapeutic benefits. The Crocs manufacturing company created something called the Rx line of models specific with the idea of healthy feet, such as Croc Cloud, Croc Silver Cloud, and Croc Relief.
In the words of co-founder Hanson, the vision behind the idea in the design and production of Crocs was mainly to eliminate the occurrence of achy feet and plantar pain. These shoes are also quite helpful when it comes to people with injured feet, diabetes, and bunions. People wearing these shoes usually get quite a considerable amount of support on the inside, messaging heel nubs and heel cups along with arch support. In other words, Crocs are ideal for people having problems with their feet.
Crocs in the clinic:
Studies have revealed the fact that even some of the doctors are recommending their patients, who are suffering from foot problems, to wear Crocs.
Dr. Harold Glickman, who is the former president of the APMA (American Podiatric Medical Association), has given a statement in which he mentioned how light and comfortable the Crocs shoes are. He further added that these shoes have a lot of room in the toe area, which in return provides the front end of the foot quite a lot of room, especially for the people who have deformities in their bones like hammertoe and bunions. Along with the Rx Crocs, the manufacturers have also lined these shoes with antibacterial materials, which would be preventing any form of bacterial or fungal infections, which is usually associated with footwear.
For people who have diabetes, Crocs offer additional value because of the products provided to them. Since people who have diabetes have reduced circulation of blood in their feet, Dr. Harold Glickman states that such individuals are at a higher risk of having wound infection and open sores. The provision for the spare room, which exists in these shoes along with their antibacterial characteristics, helps their users in overcoming these problems.
Glickman further adds to his statement that although he does not have any stock in the production and manufacturing company or even work for it, he would still recommend these shoes to the patients every time since he wears them every time as well. Glickman said that he wears these shoes when he is in the operation theatre while operating, which takes around three to four hours. It is because these shoes make him feel as if he had been standing on the water during the entire period without back pain, arch pain, and leg pain as well.
Glickman also recommends his patients and everyone else to use Crocs instead when the temperatures begin to start rising, and the standard flip-flops are abounding.
Glickman feels that Crocs seem to be offering more protection to the feet than standard flip-flops. Flip-flops usually do not provide much arch support, and on the contrary, they are open-toed for which people wearing them can stub their toes and hurt themselves accidentally. On the other hand, the Crocs offer much more protection, comfort, and stability for the individuals wearing them.
Professional skepticism:
The Crocs are transferred to the market for sale after the official approval seal is provided by the American Podiatric Medical Association or APMA, which is indicative of the fact that such shoes are proven to be quite beneficial in the promotion of good ankle care and good foot care. However, despite the anecdotes and facts mentioned above, some of the doctors have not signed or agreed about the value of the shoes on medical grounds.
According to Masters in Diagnostics Dr. Bob Baravarian, who is also the chief of the ankle and foot surgery at the UCLA Medical Center in Santa Monica, Crocs are extremely lightweight. They are perfect for people who encounter a problem while walking. These shoes are extremely stable as they do not twist from side to side or bend under pressure. He also thinks that they have a pretty good heel cup along with an arch contour, which people would not be able to find in any other kind of shoes.
According to Braverman, there seem to be many more positive aspects than negative ones, concerning Crocs. There are not any substitutes or alternatives existing in the market for the real deal. Since the shoes are considered to be of a medical remedy by the masses, Crocs are often over-utilized by the people who require much more support than one can usually get from such shoes. When the question comes to medical type or orthotic shoes, Crocs are usually not that good, and rather it is made to be seen a whole lot better than it is in reality, according to Dr. Bob Baravarian. He further adds to his statement that these shoes are not made or are not ideal for marathon wear either.
In the words of Dr. Bob Baravarian, when it comes to shoes to go to beaches and stuff, kick in and around the house, and for going shopping, Crocs are quite good. But such shoes are not at all designed or manufactured for wearing all day long during a visit to Disneyland, etc.
From the above statements, the fact becomes quite clear that Baravarian is not the only doctor with such views and opinions when the question comes to the medical advantages and comfort provided by this brand of shoes. It seems that unlike Dr. Harold Glickman and his contemporaries, some of the doctors like Bob Baravarian have not yet crossed paths with the Croc fans.
Dr. Richard Deyo, who is from Washington University in Seattle and a professor of health services and medicine and also the Master in Diagnostics, says that he has never heard of such a brand of shoes in person and he also does not have any knowledge about any of his patients who have tried them on.
Such a statement coming from a doctor of the stature of Dr. Richard Deyo at first seemed to be too good to be true until the point at which a clinical trial was published in the medical journal, which proved the above statement to be authentic and credible. Thus, it seems quite clear that Dr. Deyo would not be recommending Crocs to the patients.
Deyo has quite clearly stated the fact in public that he is a professional skeptic when it comes to recommending patients or people, in general, to wear Crocs for comfort. According to Dr. Deyo, unless the manufacturing companies which have been producing Crocs for quite a long time now undergo certain persuasive and randomized trials. He considers the therapeutic claims to be purely theoretical.
What do the Crocs fans say?
Despite the existence of so many mixed reviews and opinions, people who have been wearing Crocs over the years are absolute die-hard fans of these shoes. They find these shoes stylish, user-friendly, and also extremely comfortable to wear. They are casual and straightforward slip-on footwear, which does not have the problem of tying shoelaces, etc. People can wear them with almost any kind of outfit as these shoes are also quite fashionable, apart from providing comfort and pain relief.
