APOS® Training Shoe
How does it work?
Osteoarthritis is painful because the joint surfaces of the bone are no longer cushioned by cartilage. As you walk, forces run from your foot, up into your knees and hips and one of the roles of the cartilage is to absorb these forces.
The pods on the bottom of the Apos shoe, alters the way your foot hits the floor and redirects the forces away from the damaged part of your knee. This allows you to walk without pain. One of the reasons severe osteoarthritis is hard to treat, is because exercising is painful. The pods redistribute the forces meaning there is no pain to limit your movement allowing you to strengthen.
Due to the pods being convex in shape, they create a slight wobble when you walk. This wobble wakes up the muscles of your legs and encourages them to strengthen.
This means that, over time, your leg is strengthened in the new movement pattern and you can walk without pain, even when not wearing the APOS shoes.
What happens during the assessment?
The Assessment session for the Apos shoe takes around 1.5hrs. During this time we will assess your joints and analyse how you walk.
We use an app to give us information on key walking parameters, such as how long your step length is and how long you stay on each leg while you walk. Along with your history and our physical assessment, this allows us to calibrate the pods on the bottom of the shoes. We ask you to walk in the shoes and let us know what is hurting, we then alter the pod position until we either relieve the pain, or reduce it significantly.
There is no charge for this initial consultation and it allows both us and you to check that you will benefit from the treatment.
How do you use the APOS shoes?
Once you have had the shoes calibrated and ordered them, they are shipped directly to your house already set up and ready to wear.
Initially you would wear the shoes for around an hour a day, during that hour you would do short walks around the house several times. The initial short walks allow your muscles to start to adapt, but not overwork.
Every week, you then increase the length of time you are walking in the shoes within the hour. There are 3 follow up sessions during the year long program, where we reassess your walking and alter the pods as necessary. As the program progresses, you will find less pain even when you are not wearing the shoes. By the end of the 12 months, the aim is that you are no longer in pain.
"Come and Try" the shoes
Our “Come and Try” days give you the opportunity to try on the shoes and in 15 minutes we will try to reduce your Osteoarthritic Pain.
Our next come and try day is on Sat 27th April this is a FREE session and Tea and Cakes are available and it is an opportunity to talk to us about the shoes and meet people who have already used them.
To book in contact us by clicking here.
What does the package involve?
The Apos® treatment program lasts for 12 months and includes:
- The Apos shoe All pods and accessories needed during the year
- An initial 1.5hr assessment
- 3 follow up sessions with an Apos® trained therapist.
What Our Clients Say About The APOS® Training Shoe
Anita Dalton
November 30, 2023
I don't really know how these APOS shoes work but they definitely take the pain away from my knees and I want to wear them all the time rather than the designated time. I found them too late for one knee which was really bad and was replaced in June, but the other knee is moderate and I have great hopes of avoiding more knee surgery with these shoes. Knee surgery is extremely painful and takes a lot of physio to get active so these shoes will hopefully avoid this painful experience. Thank you Gina from The Reinge Clinic for introducing and fitting them
Christine Harpur
September 18, 2023 Reinge Clinic
By 3 months I really knew that I was no longer in pain. I could feel my knees getting stronger.
Steve Edginton
September 18, 2023 Reinge Clinic
I now go to the gym everyday, do 45 mins on a spin bike. I don't have any pain at all!
Frequently Asked Questions about the APOS Shoe
The Apos shoe, is approved by NICE and are currently available in a few NHS trusts mostly in London.
NICE are encouraging NHS hospitals to use the shoes as an alternative to surgery in an attempt to lower waiting lists. See information here.
Apos are working to get more NHS trusts on board and able to provide the shoes although this may take some time.
See information on the NHS site here.
Numerous clinical studies have been done over many years to evaluate and improve the product. The latest research shows significant lowering of pain and improved mobility in people using the Apos shoe.
NICE is the main approving body for the NHS and have evaluated these shoes and concluded that they are a safe and effective alternative to knee surgery for people with Osteoarthritis. See information here.
The Apos shoe was the brainchild of two Israeli surgeons looking for a way to treat Osteoarthtitic conditions.
They understood the forces working through the leg were creating a problem and worked with a shoe and some half tennis balls to try to find a solution. The APOS shoe was born and has been fine tuned many times to get the result they were looking for.
Take a look at more information on Apos Therapy here.
Depending how severe your knee or hip Osteoarthtitis is, these shoes have been clinically proven to reduce the need for surgery.
For very severe levels of Osteoarthritis, surgery may still be needed. However, as these shoes help to relieve the pain, they will mean the wait for surgery is far more pleasant.
Similarly, surgery outcomes depend heavily on the strength of your leg and knee muscles, both going into the surgery and coming out. These shoes help to strengthen your legs and can be used both pre and post operatively, for rehabilitation, to ensure you get the best result possible from your surgery.
You will feel an instant improvement when you are wearing the shoes. They are specifically callibrated to make walking as pain free as possible.
When you are not wearing the shoes, most clients report to us that they are feeling a difference after about 3 months of the program.
The program is a year long and it is designed that by the end of the year, you can walk and complete your daily activities without feeling pain when you aren’t wearing the shoes.
