Footnotes - Winter 2023 - 7

WHAT YOUR SHOE GAME
SAYS ABOUT YOU
BY BENITA JEBACKUMAR, TUSPM CLASS OF 2024
Shoes are an everyday essential that embody style, culture, and protection. Beyond just their functional role,
shoes give clues about more than just your style, but about your personality. Just like the AO principle that
discusses varying types of surgeries dependent on the personality of the fracture, people vary their shoe
selection dependent on their personalities. Your shoes too depend on the personality of the feet. Are you
pronated? Supinated? Have metatarsus adductus or a bunion? Do you have a Haglund's deformity? Your shoes
have to cover all of that and still make you look good.
We are all medical professionals here, specifically medical professionals in the feet industry, so your shoes may
literally be the first thing about you that people judge. That being said, as medical professionals, we like to focus
on numbers and what exactly research says. A study conducted by the University of Kansas found that onlookers
can accurately predict an individuals' personality traits with up to 90% accuracy based on their choice of shoes
(Gillath, et. Al. 2012). Additionally, statistics show that your shoes are one of the first things people look at when
they meet a new person. Your feet and by extension your shoes act as silent role models for the people in your
personal and professional lives.
After some totally scientific research, I have curated a list of today's hottest shoes. In the words of Steve Harvey,
" We asked 100 married people... " Just kidding; I asked seven foot and ankle specialists to give us their take on
today's popular shoe gear. Have some fun and try to guess who said which quotes.
WINTER 2023
FOOTNOTES
7

Footnotes - Winter 2023

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