Shoe Background: New Balance began as a Boston-based arch support company in the early 1900s. In the 1970s, the company developed into a specialized shoe manufacturer and today is a global athletic products company with brands that include New Balance, Dunham, PF Flyers, Aravon, Warrior and Brine. The company makes several toning shoes, including one with a rocker bottom.
Design: The company website states its truebalance toning collection "makes your body work to maintain its natural balance causing you to activate your muscles and engage your core." The rounded sole of some models "encourages muscle activation and calorie burn with each step," with the goal of toning calves and slimming down.
Models: Women's models resemble walking shoes or sneakers and include the WW850, the WW860, the WW875, and the "rock and tone" WW1442, a model which features a rocker bottom. Suggested retail prices range from $84.99 to $94.99.
Uses promoted by manufacturer: The shoes are promoted for walking. The manufacturer states the WW1442 tones your muscles and burns extra calories while you walk.
Risks of toning shoes. The built-in instability of toning shoes can increase the risk of stress fractures, falling and fall injuries. Sports medicine experts say toning shoes may pose a particular risk for elderly people and those with poor balance, vertigo, lack of feeling in their feet or chronically weak ankles. Wearers who walk with feet or toes at a slight angle could potentially be more prone to tripping or falling. Injuries from the use of toning shoes include broken bones, broken or sprained ankles, broken hips from falls and pain or tightness in the heel, calf or Achilles’ tendon. Often times, toning shoe wearers go for weeks or months with muscle or bone pain unaware that the source of their problems is the toning shoe. Even some physicians may unknowingly miss these early signs of toning shoe induced injuries making the problem that much worse.
These injuries were avoidable. The shoe companies never tested their products adequately to determine whether wearing toning shoes were safe. The scientific literature has demonstrated for years about the risk of toning shoes and the long-term impact of problems that occur when a walker has an unstable gait. Yet, supported by high-profile celebrities and the alluring promise of an effortless work-out, the manufacturers have promoted their shoes as safe and reliable. Had the companies taken the time to read and understand the scientific literature, injuries caused by toning shoes would never have occurred.
Contact Our Toning Shoes Injury Lawyers Today
If you have been injured while wearing toning shoes, you may have legal rights to claim compensation. The MEDLAW legal team of Janet, Jenner & Suggs, LLC, is a nationally recognized law firm committed to assisting victims of negligently manufactured products.
Our team includes accomplished personal injury lawyers, a board-certified physician and registered nurses to help maximize our ability to recover substantial damages for those who are seriously injured by a negligently manufactured product or device.