When X-Rays were used at the Shoe Store • Hacker News Board

Re: When X-Rays were used at the Shoe Store

#31

Post by rootusrootus » Tue, Nov 03, 2020, 2:39 PM UTC

elric wrote: post #4

Tangent. People are still getting conned when it comes to shoes. Custom designed soles, with padding in the "right" places based on the shape of your foot, in order to "absorb impact" or "correct overpronation". Which is nonsense and unnecessary unless you have foot deformities. Your foot is perfectly capable of absorbing impact and whatnot. This is all marketing aimed at gullible new runners who want to go from couc…

I've had foot problems for a while, and I went to a podiatrist who suggested I wear crocs. Said that shoes were a modern creation and that our feet weren't designed to need them.

It was an unmitigated disaster. So I went to a different podiatrist. She said "let me guess, you went to Dr. So-and-so?" and I replied yes, she said "Yeah, I don't agree with him. Shoes are modern, but so are floors."

My feet are much happier now. Properly designed insoles make pretty much any shoe comfortable for me (notably, the insoles aren't really padded, they're pretty hard). Walking around on hardwood floors barefoot makes my feet hurt.

Re: When X-Rays were used at the Shoe Store

#32

Post by gwbas1c » Tue, Nov 03, 2020, 2:40 PM UTC

mrfusion wrote: post #19

Say, why can’t we recreate this with ultrasound? Actually that seems like a good idea. Should I patent it?

Now you can't, because someone will use your post to invalidate it as prior art!

Re: When X-Rays were used at the Shoe Store

#33

Post by joezydeco » Tue, Nov 03, 2020, 2:42 PM UTC

rob74 wrote: post #14

Interesting and also scary - I guess it was ok for customers, but the employees using the machines would probably over time get a serious amount of radiation literally in their face (from what it looks like)? If you think that nowadays while making X-rays the medical personnel will either wear lead-lined aprons or leave the room altogether...

My dad worked in a shoe store when he was in high school. His friends would goof around with the machine during slow periods. Thankfully my dad stayed away from the thing.

Many lost feet or parts of them, never making a connection back to the fluoroscope. Nobody knew how much radiation those things were actually putting out.

(Ironically or not, I now work in medical physics where even the slightest exposure gets noted and tracked)

Re: When X-Rays were used at the Shoe Store

#34

Post by citiguy » Tue, Nov 03, 2020, 2:48 PM UTC

dantillberg wrote: post #29

amanaplanacanal wrote: post #25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Exactly. People ran barefoot, then with a thin piece of leather strapped to their feet for hundreds of thousands of years. All this arch and ankle support of the last few decades has done nothing except cause injuries.

What about all the concrete and asphalt we run on now? Doesn't that make a difference?

Harder surfaces are actually easier to run on than dirt trails. You get much more of the energy you put down with each footfall back. This is important because your foot is basically a spring and designed to recover some of the energy put into making each step.

Re: When X-Rays were used at the Shoe Store

#35

Post by fiftyacorn » Tue, Nov 03, 2020, 2:54 PM UTC

elric wrote: post #4

Tangent. People are still getting conned when it comes to shoes. Custom designed soles, with padding in the "right" places based on the shape of your foot, in order to "absorb impact" or "correct overpronation". Which is nonsense and unnecessary unless you have foot deformities. Your foot is perfectly capable of absorbing impact and whatnot. This is all marketing aimed at gullible new runners who want to go from couc…

I've stuck with one type of running shoe all the way thru running. I just get the new version each time, and when I have changed style or brand I've got injured

Re: When X-Rays were used at the Shoe Store

#36

Post by alricb » Tue, Nov 03, 2020, 3:02 PM UTC

amelius wrote: post #11

So what could we use as a solution nowadays? UWB radar? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ultra-wideband

A Brannock device? (essentially calipers for feet) https://brannock.com/

Re: When X-Rays were used at the Shoe Store

#37

Post by HeWhoLurksLate » Tue, Nov 03, 2020, 3:03 PM UTC

rootusrootus wrote: post #31

elric wrote: post #4

Tangent. People are still getting conned when it comes to shoes. Custom designed soles, with padding in the "right" places based on the shape of your foot, in order to "absorb impact" or "correct overpronation". Which is nonsense and unnecessary unless you have foot deformities. Your foot is perfectly capable of absorbing impact and whatnot. This is all marketing aimed at gullible new runners who want to go from couc…

I've had foot problems for a while, and I went to a podiatrist who suggested I wear crocs. Said that shoes were a modern creation and that our feet weren't designed to need them. It was an unmitigated disaster. So I went to a different podiatrist. She said "let me guess, you went to Dr. So-and-so?" and I replied yes, she said "Yeah, I don't agree with him. Shoes are modern, but so are floors." My feet are much happie…

I put running insoles in a pair of really cheap steel-toes that I have to wear at work, and it made all the difference in how my legs and feet felt at the end of a shift.

Re: When X-Rays were used at the Shoe Store

#38

Post by i_am_andy » Tue, Nov 03, 2020, 3:04 PM UTC

citiguy wrote: post #34

dantillberg wrote: post #29

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What about all the concrete and asphalt we run on now? Doesn't that make a difference?

Harder surfaces are actually easier to run on than dirt trails. You get much more of the energy you put down with each footfall back. This is important because your foot is basically a spring and designed to recover some of the energy put into making each step.

Harder surfaces are a mixed bag. Yes you run faster but your feet, ankles and knees take more impact and damage.

Re: When X-Rays were used at the Shoe Store

#39

Post by at_a_remove » Tue, Nov 03, 2020, 3:08 PM UTC

Stephen King's It features one of these machines, in the 1958 part.

It's a shame, really. I was thinking about these machines recently as I was trying to come up with a method to drill through a soft and opaque material -- how would you know you were properly centered? Gosh, one of these would be handy.

Re: When X-Rays were used at the Shoe Store

#40

Post by nkrisc » Tue, Nov 03, 2020, 3:18 PM UTC

amanaplanacanal wrote: post #25

elric wrote: post #4

Tangent. People are still getting conned when it comes to shoes. Custom designed soles, with padding in the "right" places based on the shape of your foot, in order to "absorb impact" or "correct overpronation". Which is nonsense and unnecessary unless you have foot deformities. Your foot is perfectly capable of absorbing impact and whatnot. This is all marketing aimed at gullible new runners who want to go from couc…

Exactly. People ran barefoot, then with a thin piece of leather strapped to their feet for hundreds of thousands of years. All this arch and ankle support of the last few decades has done nothing except cause injuries.

And people also only lived to be 40 (if they were lucky) for hundreds of thousands of years. Just because ancient people did something doesn't somehow make it better for that reason alone.