Skechers Shape-Ups Blamed For Hip Fractures In Lawsuit
March 1, 2011 by admin
Filed under News Stories
March 1st, 2011
ThatsFit.com
By: Deborah Dunham
Skechers Shape-up shoes claim they can tone your legs, but one woman is saying they injured hers.
Ohio resident Holly Ward has filed a lawsuit against the company stating that she developed stress fractures in both hips as a result of wearing the shoes.
Ward said that she wore the toning shoes during her job as a waitress and, after five months, developed severe pain in her hips. According to the lawsuit, the 38-year-old had no previous injuries and had a healthy bone density of a young woman, thereby alleging that the shoes were the culprits of her stress fractures.
The Shape-ups are a part of the company’s more than 3,000 styles of shoes. Their technology includes a soft kinetic wedge insert and rolling bottom to simulate walking on soft sand. There are different variations of the Shape-ups, including those made for walkers, runners, hikers and gym goers.
There is also a “for-work” Shape-up shoe, which the company’s website states is “perfect for industry professionals who want to get in shape while on the job.” These shoes are advertised to help reduce joint stress (among other things like burning calories, tightening abdominals and strengthening the back), which is the very nature of Ward’s injuries and resulting lawsuit.
“We do not know of any testing or safety studies that Skechers did to determine safety,” Ward’s attorney, Ronald Johnson, told ABC news. “If they’re going to invent a whole new way for a human being to walk, the very first thing they should do is studies to make sure that’s not going to harm their customers.”
Ward, who is now in physical therapy for her injuries and has pins in her hips due to the injuries, told “Good Morning America,” “The extended use of these shoes has injured me catastrophically.”
Ward added, “The femoral bone is the strongest bone in the human body, and I fractured not one but two of them without being in a car crash or any traumatic incident.”
The hype for Shape-ups began in 2009 when the shoes were introduced. Since then, Kim Kardashian and her mother, Kris Jenner, have been named the new faces of the brand with a campaign called “Shaping Up With the Kardashians.” Yet even with the media hype, there has been repeated controversy over whether the toning shoes do indeed work.
The thing that everyone can agree on is that Shape-ups alter your natural foot pattern and the way you walk. In fact, there is little supporting data that any of the toning shoes on the market really work, and orthopedics, in particular, have remained skeptical about their benefits.
Ward’s lawyer said he has heard from more people with fractures and reports quoting doctors who say they’ve seen other injuries like strained Achilles tendons and falls because people lost their balance in the shoes.
Meanwhile, Skechers stands by its shoes, stating “millions of people wear Shape-ups without experiencing what Ms. Ward alleges.”
I do not recommend cheap rocker bottom shoes. The oil companies worth anything are the Korean based shoe makers. At the top of the list is RYN. Highly recommended if you have pain issues foot or leg are the Z-coil shoes. Next MBT. MBT now outsources to Korea. Joya shoes wil also be good but won’t hit US retailers until 2012. This is the deal. The RYN and MBT are very high quality shoes with rocker bottom technology. I have 3 RYN’s and 4 MBT’s. You must use these gradually until your body adapts. It does give the calves hamstrings and gluts a good workout even if just casual walking. You must stretch after you use this shoes even if only for a short time. What I do is rotate the shoes. If I want more of my muscles engaged I use MBT. MBT forces you stability muscles to engage a bit more. If I want more stability I use the RYN. I then use the Z-coil the day after. RYN day, then Z-coil day. MBT day then a Z-coil day. They have not caused injury. They cannot cause hip fractures. If you fall and break your bones its not the shoes fault. Most hip fractures are suffered when wearing standard shoes. Are standard shoes the cause of the hip fractures—NO. I would not even think of using sketchers or Reebok Toners or any other cheap rocker bottom shoe. I would no wear any rocker bottom shoe every day. I would not run in a rocker bottom shoe. I would do short hike, treadmill workouts are great, and wearing them to work is also good. These are not cross trainers. This type of shoe must be respected. The referenced article is quite misleading.
I knew these shoes were crap, i wont lie, i though they looked like a cool idea but i knew something was up and it was not my shape. I bought the Vibram five fingers shoes and i love them and cant wait for winter to be over. Everyone looks at these shoes and is either blown away or completely against them and ask why would you waist money like that, i just reply “they will help my knee” and then they agree. I can say this because i dislocated my knee a little while ago and love to walk bare foot now.