Whether you’re getting ready to kick off your new year’s fitness resolutions or you’re suffering from a health nuisance like plantar fasciitis, there’s a kind of product you need to know about: recovery footwear. Although there’s no electricity pulsing through it, it’s still a high-tech item, designed by chemists and engineers together. OOFOS, for example, is a brand of recovery shoes, which means they’re designed so that you wear them not when you’re running or otherwise active, but when you’re recovering from a workout, for instance.
One of the secrets with OOFOS shoes is a special foam in the heel that is unbelievably soft and comfy to wear. It’s called OOfoam and is unique to the brand, designed to provide footwear that’s both cushioning and stable. The idea is that after heavy exertions, the foam can reduce the pressure on your feet and ankles, offering them support so you feel less exhausted, or recharged, even.
OOfoam, the company claims, can absorb 37 per cent more impact than regular foam footwear materials can. In the United States, the company is based in Boston, OOFOS works with athletes including American Football players, though they’re not just the preserve of the super-fit, wanting to make sure they’re as ready to train tomorrow as they were today.
Anyone who’s on their feet all day will know how tired and achy they can feel by the evening, and OOFOS says that’s when you should slip into their slippers, sandals or clogs.
If you’ve ever had plantar fasciitis, which affects the tissue that supports the arch of the foot, you’ll know it’s annoying and painful in equal measure. It’s thought that more than four percent of people have heel pain at any one time, and of these people, four fifths are suffering from plantar fasciitis. It’s a condition which generally resolves itself over time, but waiting for it to do so is tedious, and every time your heel hurts, you’re probably slowing down the recovery.
I first tried OOFOS back in October when my plantar fasciitis was so painful it was hard to walk long distances. Switching my home footwear routine from barefoot to recovery sliders made a big difference, ending the pain when I was wearing them as though someone had turned off a tap.
Then swapping my regular trainers for OOFOS sorted things out completely, as my recent pain-free eight-mile Boxing Day hike proved.
OOFOS shoes are affordable – they start at around £50 for sandals you can wear around the house rising to £130 for lace-up trainers you can wear anywhere and which have a clever raised heel that subtly improves how you walk.
There are two downsides to the brand: first, the full range of shoes is available in the US, with a smaller selection available online or through specialist outlets like Runners Need in the UK.
And second, some of the shoes have a particular styling which won’t be to everyone’s taste. This may matter less on around-the-house footwear, of course. But the range is slowly growing and each iteration looks better and snazzier than before.
As a companion to a new-found exercise routine, recovery footwear can help you stick to your resolutions by helping you through the times you’re not working out.
