Gary and I attended the ArthritisUK MarketPlace 2014 recently. We had a very good visit and met a number of inspirational groups, with the intention of networking and accelerating the development of our video library.
Whilst there, we became interested in a footware manufacturer, and talked at length with their team. Diana Grigaliunaite (Sales and Events Manager) was fab, really enthusiastic about the product and its potential benefits to wearers, and as well as the potential of the product in general.
At Gaitline, the company produces a unique shoe to naturalise and improve the efficiency of body motion linked to the action of the foot during walking, partly by eliminating the consequential affects of poor / learnt postures that can arise from unsupported walking.
Now, I have come across a number of good footwear products in recent years that take a novel ‘ground-upwards’ approach to reconfiguring our bodies interaction with the walking posture, such examples are ‘MBT shoes’ and `’fit`flops’. Our patients do advocate these products, so I was interested in the Scandinavian approach to walking. To cut a long story-short, after 5 minutes of standing, moving and running around in the GaitLine shoes, I knew I wanted to know more. The intuitive nature of the support and efficiency that appears to stem from the shoes was really fascinating. So……. I bought a pair……and so did Gary!
We are going to test them every-day at work for a month. Our jobs in the physio-clinic can be demanding on the body, so I think that this is a good test for the Gaitline shoe.