The Future For Toning Shoes

The toning shoes are a group of shoes that are specifically designed to allegedly give a tone up to the user when wearing them

. To that they have design features that make the shoe unstable, such as a rocker sole or a wobble board type design. This instability creates a slight imbalance that makes the muscles work harder. As a result of the muscles working harder, there is supposed to be an extra workout or tone up, which is how this category of shoes got its name. There are approximately 20 brands active in this category of shoes, but the most well-known are the MBTs (Masai Barefoot Technology), the Skecher Shape Ups and the Reebok Easy Tones. The marketing of the shoes has been associated with a range of claims that result from this tone up', including claims like reducing cellulite, improving the butts, improving the circulation and improving the posture. A lot of health claims were made that were alleged to be associated with those claimed benefits. The endorsement of a number of celebrities also helps the marketing and hype up the claims.

Both the American Council of Fitness (ACF) and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) investigated the claims being made by the companies making these toning shoes and the health claims they made for them. The report from the ACF found that they did not increase the workout rate nor increase muscles activity, so the claims made were not supported by the evidence. The FTC also found that the medical or health claims for the shoes were not supported by any evidence and several of the companies had to reach multi-million dollar settlements over the lack of evidence as well as offer refunds to customers. Many of the companies are also facing individual and class action law suits. Most of these result from accidents or falls that occurred while wearing the shoes. This would be expected given the unstable design of the shoes. The courts are going to have to decide on the relative role of the shoes versus personal responsibility when wearing the shoes.

Despite this the shoes still remain popular with many users liking them. The shoes can be comfortable and useful to some people and not comfortable and not useful to other people. What is lacking is clear evidence and guidelines on who will and will not benefit from using these shoes. Many Podiatrists are now using these shoes for patients with painful osteoarthritis of the big toe joint. Some Chiropractors are trialling them in patients with chronic low back problems due to the change in walking or gait that the shoes create. The toning shoes are certainly useful and once the dust has settled from all the legal issues and better research and guidelines are available the future should be more reasonable.

by: Craig Payne

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