As a kid, my dad would tell me that if he ever wanted to know where I was or what I was up to he would just look at which shoes were NOT on my shelf. I had shoes for all occasions, shoes that met the demands and practicalities of my sports and work - and they all had to fit with just the right amount of support and cushion.
But not many shoes off the shelf (if any) had the support and comfort where I wanted and needed it most: the insole – you know, the part of the shoe that sits under your foot and actually connects your foot to the shoe. Factory insoles are typically flat, unsupportive, not well cushioned and don’t last very long. How can a shoe truly provide “support” if the surface your contoured foot sits on is FLAT? The right blend of materials and densities in the midsole might help reduce excessive movement of the shoe but there is nothing inside the shoe conforming to your foot. So I would stuff my Nike Cortez with padding and cork for more comfort and support, even before I knew what an insole was.
There is a big difference between the midsole and the insole of a shoe when it comes to support and comfort. An analogy I like to use is a bucket seat in a sports car. It doesn’t matter how good the suspension and tires are, your butt and back will appreciate the ride much more when sitting in a bucket seat vs. on a park bench. A bucket seat provides that feel-good combination of cushioned support that fits the contours of your thighs, hips, butt, and low back and it’s the same with shoes: the fit and feel of the shoe will feel much better with contoured, supportive, and cushioned insoles under your feet, no matter the quality of the midsole and outsole. The insole is a bucket seat for your feet.
As a physical therapist for more than 24 years my focus was orthopedic and sports rehabilitation with an emphasis on the feet and knees. I worked with people of all ages and from all backgrounds and spent my days treating everything from post-surgical reconstructions, to total joint replacements, and arthroscopies, to the more common soft tissue sprains, strains, plantar fasciitis’, tendonitis’, and other specific and non-specific diagnoses.
Triathlon and running were popular in my area so I worked with a lot of runners and their associated injuries, so running shoes became kind of a subspecialty for me. I understood and saw first-hand that proper footwear was often the first line of defense against some of the more common aches and pains in the lower extremity, no matter the activity.
Many of my pts would come in with $600 custom orthotics and various OTC products, complaining they didn’t help. Generally speaking, the custom orthotics were supportive but hard and void of any shock absorbing comfort, which led to complaints of increased discomfort and non-compliance; OTC products were generally too soft and didn’t provide any support, despite claims to the contrary. So when appropriate and helpful, I would cut, paste, and otherwise customize them to make sure the fit, feel, and most importantly the result, was optimal.
I worked with every material and off the shelf insole product I could find and although I knew what my design preferences were and what worked for me, it didn’t take long to figure out what patient preferences were and what worked for them. Time and time again I found that contoured support combined with shock-absorbing comfort, especially under the heel and ball of the foot, was overwhelmingly helpful for the majority and I designed Cadence with these elements in mind.
After years of research and testing what seems like all materials known to man, I decided to design an insole that offers what I believe to be an optimal blend of true support and durable, responsive comfort. I call them Cadence insoles because of my work with runners and the importance of cadence for running efficiency and injury prevention.
So that’s the story of how Cadence insoles came to be. I believe we produce a superior product at a tremendous value, and like many Cadence customers, am confident you will agree. Feel free to let me know what you think.
Sincerely,
John Hinds
Physical Therapist
Founder, Owner
Cadence insoles
