Orthopedic shoe

Abstract

An orthopedic shoe (88,116) and postoperative shoe (10) are disclosed. The postoperative shoe (10) maintains the foot of the wearer supported on a planar inner sole (12) without flexure of the foot while permitting the shoe (10) to roll, imitating the natural motion of the foot during walking. This permits the wearer to walk in a normal manner while controlling the flexure of the foot to permit the foot to recover from surgery or prevent aggravation of a medical condition. Straps (66,68 and 72-78) are provided to adjustably position the foot on the inner sole (12) so that the metatarsal point (20) of the foot is positioned forward of the fulcrum (16). When the wearer is standing, the weight is distributed between the heel (18) and metatarsal point (20) so that the planar portion (46) of the shoe (10) contacts the walking surface. When weight shifts toward the metatarsal point (20) as in walking, the shoe (10) rolls on the curved portion (48). The curved portion (48) has a generally uniform radius selected to provide a smooth transition from the planar portion (46) to the curved portion (48). The same principles may be applied to shoes (88,116) for use with a normal foot. In one shoe (88), the positioning of the metatarsal point (108) forward of the fulcrum (104) initiates a rolling motion of the shoe (88) on the curved surface (102) to simulate the natural motion of the foot in walking. The rolling motion provides a continuous change of pressure points on the forefoot supporting the body weight. In another shoe (116) for use with a normal foot, the rolling motion is on a curved portion (126) consisting of three curves of progressively shorter radii which are blended to form a smooth curve. The three radii permit the inner sole (118) of the shoe (116) to remain in contact with the heel of the foot during the end of the stance phase when the heel is lifted at increasing velocity.