Yesterday, we went to a special shoe shop. It makes special shoes for diabetics, and for folks requiring special treatment for their feet.
We had bought a pair of proprioceptive in-soles and their custom made shoes for my son back in July 2008.
It was time to get another pair as he's about to outgrow his current pair. I'm glad I made an appointment with the owner, a German man at Mid Valley, instead of relying on the saleslady I met at it's outlet in The Curve.
These were the key outcome from the meeting:
1. He's seen a lot of kids feet and said my son has got a good, strong pair of feet. He noted his arch has formed nicely (when his feet are not pronated).
He attributes it to the physio therapy, and other therapies my son does. I think it's the in-soles, the special shoes, the Neurosuit, CST & all the exercises he does (usually 2x daily to the park). I'm not doing any "conventional" physio therapy.
2. My son does not need proprioceptive insoles going forward. He says that the proprioceptive insoles we bought if worn for more than 10,000 steps, would have a lasting effect, even if he stops wearing it. My son would have walked more than 10,000 steps since we bought it according to his calculation.
3. My son's toes on his right foot are still occasionally curled & his right foot is sometimes a little pronated. So he suggests moving on to to the next stage which is a special insole to support his heel & make sure it's straight, not rotated.
4. His current insole can last 1-2mths more as it has 1-2mm space left in front. He thinned it down a little in front to make space for his little toes (he curls his toes, so those toes are rubbing the top of the shoe). He also removed the small add to the insole so that his metatarsal rests properly.
5. His current shoe just fits. It'll be time to change soon, together with the insole.
6. His feet are not as broad anymore. The current shoes are a TN8 and he thinks he can fit into a TN5. However, local shoes are about TN4. Further, he still has rather high insets (not sure of spelling) so it'll still be very difficult to find off-the-shelf shoes that fit.
7. There's a pair of display shoes which is on sale (cos discoloured) which would be just the right size. It's the next size up (25) and a TN5.
I really do hope they fit as it's at RM99 instead of RM799. It was at a different outlet, so he'll get to try it on next month. At that deeply discounted price, it'll be even cheaper than the alternative I was considering, which was to have it locally custom made, which would cost Rm200-300 I think.
8. The first thing he noted upon taking off my son's shoes & socks was his slightly inflammed right big toe. I reckon it's his ingrown toe nail. I had brought it up to his paediatrician when he was an infant but the doctor thought nothing of it & just asked to trim his nail horizontally. It's often red, slightly swollen all the while since he was born. He thinks my son may have grown used to the swelling.
He said that in Germany, the kids can go for a minor surgery to sort it out once & for all. The doctor would make a narrow deep cut at the side of the nail, right into the nail bed. Then, when the nail grows back, it wont grow curved into the flesh causing in-grown toe nail.
He cautioned that it's very easy to get infected by virus, bacteria & salmonella (!?). He suggest that perhaps when my son's a bit older, it could be done by an orthopedic surgeon. I will have to get a 2nd opinion on this.
9. The details of shop:
Shop name: Schein (it's based in Germany)
Outlets: Mid Valley, The Curve (& possibly Lot 10)
Tel: 03-2287 4940 (Mid Valley)
10. For details of the shop that locally makes customised shoes, please contact me.
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