People Paws

Alexandra Huelsman November 9, 2013

Opportunity for Innovation
Wearing high heels can be painful,
dangerous, and just annoying. Most people ignore
these aggravations in the name of fashion but the
repercussions of ignoring these can cause
permanent damage to the feet, knees and ankles.
The thin back of the heel gets stuck in dirt when
walking on natural ground, and often finds every
crack, uneven surface, grate opening, etc. on roads
and sidewalks. When that happens it throws the
passenger off-balance leading to an assortment of
potential injuries.
The severe change in angle shifts the weight
distribution to forefoot. This changes the alignment
of the spine and the higher the heel, the smaller the
Achilles tendon becomes. This alters a persons
center of gravity making balance more difficult.
Essentially, the impact of a persons weight is
applied to the ball of the foot.
Looking to Nature for Inspiration
Most mammals have paws that have a
relatively thick layer of fatty tissue to pad their feet.
The metacarpal pad

is arranged in almost a fan
shape that slightly resembles the front of our feet.
Adding a thick pad to the bottom of the shoe
to act as shock absorbers should reduce some of
the wear and tear on the joints. Also, expanding the
width of the back of the heel, at least the part that
comes into contact with the ground and adding
rounded tips should eliminate the heel getting stuck
or jostled by change in terrain.
The pads would be filled with a gel mixture
like that of a stress ball that would deform and
absorb stress and then return to its original shape.
The outside of the pad would need to be a durable
fabric or durable rubber that can handle the different
surfaces and create traction between the shoe and
the ground. The inner padding would use embryo
design by using the bodys weight to activate more
cushion where necessary and alleviate the angle of
the foot.
Biomimicry is important and exciting because
it opens the door to many simple and healthy
answers to our advanced problems.
www.healthylifestyleart.com blushlybeauty.wordpress.com

www.truegrid.com asknature.org
en.wikipedia.org

Shells are designed to protect
embryos. The fluid filled sacks
displace the fluid to the point of
impact, while pushing the
embryo to safety in the air
pocket.