A new peer-reviewed study is praising Vionic sandals for their ability to help alleviate heel pain, making them the first sandal brand with these proven benefits.
A 150-person study published by PLOS ONE targeted heel pain sufferers averaging over the age of 50. After a trial period of 12 weeks, results showed that respondents wearing the Vionic contoured sandal were 68% more likely to report improvement in symptoms when compared to those wearing flat flip flops. Results also showed that the contoured sandal provided comparable relief to the brand’s best-selling commercial orthotic inserts in alleviating heel pain.
“Often, patients suffering from chronic heel pain are told that traditional non-supportive sandals are not a suitable option because they can’t accommodate an orthotic insert, which is often prescribed to mitigate the effects of this condition,” said Tom McPoil, professor of physical therapy at Denver’s Regis University. “These findings are significant because healthcare professionals can have confidence in supporting a patient’s decision to wear contoured sandals or in-shoe orthoses as one of the first and simple strategies to manage their heel pain.”