By Molly Carr - July 31, 2016
Tennis is a dynamic sport with quick direction changes and short bursts of acceleration. Most tennis players pay attention to their shoes, but not the interaction between their feet and the shoe.
How do you select a shoe and determine in-shoe support needs? Tennis shoes should have torsional rigidity, a firm heel cup/counter, and excellent lateral stability to keep the foot from rolling, and a stable medial midsole to allow for power transmission in direction changes. Also, the shoe should allow removal of the sock liner/insole for replacement of with an orthotic or insole when necessary.
Check out our neighbor in University Hills Plaza, Neil Wolkodoff, Ph.D., Medical Program Director, 303-596-6519
Neil Wolkodoff, Ph.D., is the director of Denver Orthotics. His passion for foot improvement stems from his early athletic career in ski racing and ski coaching, where foot support and orthotics are key to skiing performance. Over the past 15 years, his practice has grown in foot analysis, gait improvement, footwear recommendations, and custom orthotics. Wolkodoff has assembled a vast array of assessment and interventions for feet to improve both comfort and performance.
As a sports performance physiologist, he has expertise in how general and specific movement interacts with the feet and footwear, and exercise. He believes that an assessment that considers medical history, foot structure, movement patterns and footwear preferences yields the best information and direction about how to improve foot health and performance. On average, most podiatrists have 40-50% of orthotics returned or unusable. Wolkodoff has a 99% success rate.
LAST DAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Email this or text to your indoor sports friends please! TIA!
Play until you achieve your goals. Then set new ones. Get on the Court Friends!