SPORTINGWALES ISSUE SEVEN COVER STORY

RYAN'S FOOT JOY
Wales captain Ryan Jones hopes to return to his best form now that walking the dog had become painful, now I can function ﬁ ne - for which
he can train and play without any pain in his feet, thanks to a Welsh I'm incredibly grateful."”
specialist sports clinic.
The medical term for Ryan's foot condition is Morton's Neuroma, and is
They have created a personalised boot for the Wales No 8 using the a thickening of the tissue that surrounds the digital nerve leading to the
latest computerised scanning technology. toes.
Ace - Feet in Motion, which has clinics in Cardiff, Swansea and Bristol, The problem is compounded if a person with wide feet cannot ﬁ nd
identiﬁ ed that Ryan's feet were too wide for a regular boot, and that the appropriately ﬁ tting shoes.
tight ﬁ t was causing pressure on a nerve in his right foot.
“It's a very common problem among athletes, who experience persistent
Working with components supplied Ryan's sponsor, KOOGA, a pair of pain as a consequence, but at present only the elite have bespoke boots
tailor-made rugby boots, complete with corrective insoles, was created made for them to address the problem,” explains podiatrist Andrew
at the Ace - Feet in Motion manufacturing facility on Sanatorium Road in James, clinical director at Ace - Feet in Motion.
the capital's Canton suburb - ensuring that Ryan can play top-level rugby
without suffering persistent pain. “One of the functions of the special insole is to create more space
between the metatarsals - an exceptionally broad boot is then
“It's thanks to my new boots that I am still able to play rugby. They are speciﬁ cally designed to accommodate this feature and the wide foot,
a perfect ﬁ t and pretty much provided an instant cure, “ he explains. thus allowing the pressure on the nerve to be relieved.”
“While wearing my regular boots I always felt as though I was walking
around with a stone in my shoe because of the pressure they created in Bob Cooper, Ace - Feet in Motion managing director, said, “Incorrect
my foot. biomechanical foot function is a common cause of many sports injuries
such as shin splints, knee, ankle and foot pain. The provision of
"Nobody would know the difference but for me, but my new boots corrective insoles and the use of appropriate sports footwear can help
have transformed my playing career and have meant that no games have eliminate these problems. Which is why many sports enthusiasts from all
had to be sacriﬁ ced to this problem. I had reached the stage when even levels of sport come to see our experienced podiatrists.”
OFFICIAL PODIATRIST TO We already produce bespoke boots for top athletes, among them a
number of premier league footballers but we are looking to make this
service available to all serious sports enthusiasts”
Ace - Feet in Motion is the ofﬁ cial podiatrist to the WRU and Disability
Sport Wales.
Ryan Jones displays the bespoke
boots made for him by Ace - Feet
in Motion bootmaker Gareth
Innes, following diagnosis by
podiatrist Andrew James (rear).
sports science
sportingwales
issue7twothousand&nine
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