Summer Shoes

If the warmth of the last few days is any indication, it feels like summer is approaching quickly. Soon, we will be trading long sleeves and jeans for t-shirts and shorts. With a roll of Velcro and a little ingenuity, your prosthetic can be summer ready as well!

Sandals, including those without straps at the heel, can be quickly adapted for the amputee using these simple steps.

1. Clean your foot shell thoroughly. We recommend using fingernail polish remover to remove the dirt and grease that builds up over time. If your foot shell has never been cleaned before, the initial cleaning could take some time.

2. Apply self-adhesive Velcro (the hook side) to the bottom of the foot shell. Be sure to use a large strip in order to ensure a tight grip to the shoe. Applying the loop side to the bottom of the foot shell could contribute to more slipping when walking without shoes.

3. Stick the loop side of the Velcro to the inside of the desired sandals/ shoes. Allow the adhesive to rest before slipping the prosthetic into the sandal. Press the shoe firmly onto prosthetic and test for security.

4. If you want to wear sandals with a toe thong, simply cut a slit in your foot shell between the desired toes.

Although we do our best to match prosthetic sizes with the existing shoe size, sometimes variations cannot be avoided. If you require two different size shoes, you might want to consider purchasing shoes on the internet or at Nordstroms. Nordstroms, along with several online stores, will split the shoe pairs, allowing the amputee to purchase two separate shoe sizes.

Before Velcro, lower extremity amputees were limited when selecting footwear. Shoes required a strap to secure it onto the prosthesis and many sandals were inaccessible for the amputee. Now that you know how to secure a sandal to your prosthetic, it's time to go find those summer shoes !