If the shoe fits

When Pheidippides ran from Marathon to Athens to announce the Greek victory over Persia in the Battle of Marathon, we doubt he had time to choose the right pair of shoes for this arduous journey.

Today, despite having the technology to find the right boot or shoe for our chosen sport, many of us choose to be as ignorant as the father of marathon running when choosing the correct footwear and although we will probably not die like poor old Pheidippides, we are seriously hampering our performance.

Profeet foot technician Simon Bright is on a mission to get as many of us as he can into the right shoe - from runners to rugby players; skiers to tennis players.

"80% of the injuries we see can be traced back to the wrong footwear," says Bright from the Profeet shop in Fulham.

"It's not surprising when you think that rugby and football players hurt their knees and ankles.

"They do a lot of fast movements with very quick change of directions putting incredible stress on ankles and knees. They are already quite unstable -- being on studs and the boots are not exactly good shock absorbers.

"Think about it, these guys are basically balancing on six studs, so their point of balance is an inch and a half, that is why so many of them roll their knees or turn an ankle."

Correct footwear and insoles are the answer for most of us. The idea being that they work with the sports specific footwear to help cushion from harmful impacts and reduce excessive foot motion while adding support.

However these are not ordinary all size fits all insoles, these are custom made for each individual.

At Profeet the process begins by pressure mapping the foot and a video-image of how your feet perform. Once they have highlighted any bio-mechanical problems, the correct shoes can be sourced and the insoles can be moulded using the data gained from the pressure mapping and video.

State of the art lightweight materials are used to create an accurate mould of your foot, while strategically placed control and shock absorption materials provide support, protection and performance.

Whether a pair of Profeet insoles would have saved poor old Pheidippides is hard to say, but there is no doubt that proper footwear plays an important part in not only performance, but in injury prevention too

For more information on getting the correct footwear for your sports, visit www.profeet.co.uk