By Serena Lombardi
La Rocca Sanitaria Ortopedia boasts consolidated experience in the field of orthopedic health aids, in particular in that of footwear.
Various types and brands of footwear are available in the store; each foot, in fact, must find the right shoe for its shape: “It is not the foot that must adapt to the shoe but rather, on the contrary, the shoe must be adapted to the foot”.
“Footwear is an innate passion in our family since we are in the third generation active in the field ” they say. “La Rocca” is not only a point of sale of sanitary items but also an upper factory: “In our laboratory in Romagna, in San Piero in Bagno, we carry out part of the production for the Ecosanit brand”.
The technical knowledge and experience gained in the footwear sector allows them to find the best solution according to the different needs of customers and, if there is no ready-made shoe, it is possible to make it with the necessary customizations. “We also offer the shoemaking service, thus being able to resole, change heel undercoats, customize and repair the uppers of your footwear,” they specify.
The close collaboration with the orthopaedic technician allows them to find the most suitable solution for different postural needs: “Very often we tend to underestimate the importance of footwear in achieving a correct posture that allows, throughout the day, to adequately deal with recurring problems – such as swollen legs, back pain or burning feet”.
The custom-made insole placed in the wrong footwear can sometimes be useless if not harmful, which is why the necessary space is already provided in medical footwear to ensure that the custom-made insole produces the most correct support possible, in order to improve posture.
In many cases, good footwear that is technically correct for our needs can also make the use of custom-made insoles unnecessary.
Creating footwear is not an easy job, behind every shoe there are many processing phases necessary to obtain a high-quality final product: “The production of footwear always starts with a design that must take into account many aspects, including the trends of the moment which, in our sector, must also be compatible with stringent technical needs. After the initial idea, the pattern maker must make the design become reality, which will be adapted to the shape with which the shoe is created”.
In medical footwear, the last is of primary importance since, as mentioned, it must be as similar as possible to our feet: “Consider that in ‘normal’ shoe stores lasts with fits from 5 to 8 are used while health shoes can have a fit from 8 to 14”. By fit we mean the circumference of the foot (this parameter does not coincide with the number of the foot which only determines its length).
Once the model has been created, we move on to the phase of cutting the materials that will make up the upper. The choice of suitable materials (leather, fabric or stretch) will ensure high durability of the final product. After cutting the components, the upper is assembled: “The hemming of the upper must be done with great precision; in fact, each seam must be made with waste that does not exceed a millimeter”.
At this point, the shape on which the insole, the upper and finally the sole will be mounted comes back into play; components that will have to fit together perfectly in order to produce a high-quality shoe.
Ten pages of this magazine would not be enough to best describe all the steps and technical attention necessary to differentiate the creation of a normal shoe from a quality shoe: “I won’t steal any more time from you, but I invite you to try our shoes in the store where we can clarify any technical curiosity”.
Info: Centro Salute “Sanitaria Ortopedia La Rocca snc” di Graziani Marco e Michele & C., Via Roma 222, Ponte a Poppi (Ar) / Tel. 0575 049031 / www.sanitarialarocca.it / info@sanitarialarocca.it