New Arrival Hoka...

Summer 2022 sees our newest addition to the clinic, the arrival of Hoka shoes. As a forward thinking practice, we will be the first independent clinic in Scotland to be stocking Hoka footwear. So, we thought we would take this opportunity to introduce them to you properly and tell you a little more about why they can be life changing for not only young active runners and athletes but also for our patients who struggle with painful arthritic joints.

"First Independent clinic in Scotland"

Hoka were originally designed with marathon hill runners in mind, allowing them to run more freely down hills for 100’s of kilometres – the result being multiple titles and ultra marathon wins. But we understand that these super humans aren’t our everyday patients. Based in Prestonpans we see a vast array of people from young fit gym goers with sports injuries to highly arthritic patients with daily pain. Although these patients are treated very differently, sometimes the solution can be the same.

But how?...

Our arthritic patients will be screaming “I can’t run a marathon”, and our sports injuries patients “I don’t have arthritis!” The technology behind Hoka is key to understanding how Hoka can help both groups. Firstly, there is an abundance of cushioning centralised in the midsole that absorbs shock which would ordinarily impact on the joints in the legs and lower back. Secondly, there is support, often additional cushioning can cause a shoe to feel ‘wobbly’ because the cushioning works in different directions. Hoka have built a stabilising frame around the cushioning to minimize this effect, driving foot motion forward towards the toes. But with stability there comes stiffness, and this is where Hoka have cleverly created a rocker in the midsole. The rocker means that toes don’t have to bend as much to get the same propulsion, reducing stress on stiffened joints and giving more efficiency to the normal walking or running gait. Ingenius!

Our new lines of Hoka footwear will be arriving from the start of July, so please get in touch if you have any questions.