FOR the longest time, women have heard that their painful feet and other bodily aches are due to the high heels they wear.

But Phillip Vasyli, an Australian Podiatrist, has another theory. Apparently, our modern bodies - and feet - take a pounding due to the fact that we're walking less on natural ground these days, and increasingly on hard concrete or tile-covered ground.

'We're now seeing the effect of this through the foot problems we have as well as body aches like lower back pain,' says Dr Vasyli, who was in town recently to launch his latest invention, the Scholl Biomechanics orthotics.

Hence the need for orthotics in consumer footwear, he adds.

If that word gave you (shuddering) visions of clunky heels that say something's not quite right with your feet, you're half right. But don't write off Dr Vasyli's designs yet.

One of the pioneers of designing orthotics for retail, Dr Vasyli explains that an estimate of over 75 per cent of the population suffers from 'excess pronation' due to the tibial varum factor and the unnatural, hard flat surfaces we walk on daily.

The normal lower limb has a 3-4 degree tibial varum (mild bow-legged) angle when approaching the ground. Under natural circumstances when the feet strike natural surfaces like earth and sand, these surfaces give way to accommodate to the foot's strike angle.

'When we developed our human body, we were walking on soft surfaces like soil, grass, sand. When we walked on softer soil, the human foot leveraged off on those soft surfaces for a gait pattern. In other words, the footprint is an ergonomic device!' he declares.

Excess pronation is the tendency for their feet to roll inwards and flatten out more when they walk. This leads to pain in the heels and knees.

Nowadays, the ground doesn't conform to the foot, but the foot has to conform to it instead - resulting in the 'loss of our footprint' - which creates a chain reaction of problems. 'Excess pronation causes the arch to collapse and the leg to roll inward, rotating the hip and pelvic forward and knees inward. It's been shown scientifically that orthotics can correct that,' Dr Vasyli explains.

What he has done is design orthotics to realign the lower limb to its natural angle, and he also pushed orthotics to the retail front, so that people don't have to get prescribed orthotics, which is costly.

He recently sold his orthotic technology to Scholl, one of the leaders in the 'brown shoe' category which refers to healthy footwear.

'Think of Scholl's Biomechanics as an over-the-counter solution, like aspirin, as opposed to prescribed pain medication,' he quips.

Prescribed orthotic shoes tend to be harder as they're designed for higher correction so they're uncomfortable. 'But these days, there's this material called EVA (ethyl vinyl acetate) which is the material used in running shoes. EVA is what Reebok, Nike and New Balance use in the midsole of their shoes. It's lightweight and there's a degree of customisation,' he explains.

EVA is a boost for orthotics, while other materials are merely shock absorbing - being spongy and soft. 'These are based on softening the ground, and just cushioning the impact of the foot, but not realigning it,' he says.

So it doesn't mean that all soft shoes are good. 'It's like sand. If it's too soft, it's unstable,' he points out.

Women are the main target group to benefit from retail orthotics because of biology. Dr Vasyli explains that because women are made to bear children, there is a hormone released that relaxes the bones in the body. 'After pregnancy, women's feet flatten out. And women traditionally have more flexible joints, with looser hips and shoulders. So females are predisposed to have problem feet because they just tend to 'break down' over time,' he explains. The male equivalent would be overweight men, other than extreme athletes.

Putting orthotics into consumer footwear is quite revolutionary, says Dr Vasyli. What's next? He's working now on developing orthotic products for pregnant women, diabetics, and children. But fashionistas will also be glad to know that Scholl Italy and Dr Vasyli are coming up with a slimfit orthotic device to be built into fashion shoes which could be launched in 12 months time - which means that women can wear high heels comfortably without having to compromise too much on their foot health.

This article was first published in The Business Times