This invention generally relates to a shoe in which an orthopedic adjustment has been integrated into the construction of the shoe itself. The invention entails adjusting one or more of the soles or other construction features of the shoe itself in order to accommodate a medical condition or treatment regimen. In particular, in instances of abnormalities in the knee joint, there is a need to redistribute the weight of the body from an afflicted symptomatic medial compartment of the knee to an un-afflicted and asymptomatic, or lesser effected and less symptomatic compartment so as to relieve the pain and stress at the most afflicted and most symptomatic compartment. Benefits are also achieved by reducing a common ankle injury, and by improving lateral cutting, cornering, and push off maneuvers. The present invention achieves all this by laterally wedging the sole of a shoe, where the angle is chosen to counter and redistribute the weight of the body accordingly thereby changing the axial load on the knee and ankle joints.

A grid for selecting an appropriate embodiment of an athletic shoe having an upper and a multiple part sole forming an interior volume for receiving an individual's foot. The multiple part sole comprises an inner sole for engaging the plantar surface of the foot, a midsole attached to the exterior of the inner sole and substantially coextensive with the inner sole, and an outer sole attached to the midsole. The outer sole has a first portion extending from the toe of the shoe to a position beneath the foot selected according to the intended use of the shoe, and has a second contiguous portion extending from the selected position to the heel of the shoe, the first portion providing a landing surface for the shoe and the second portion being relatively thin as compared to the first portion thereby promoting proper posture and gait of the wearer.

A method of manufacturing footwear and an article of footwear having a tapered heel in part defining an impact point associated with a padded impact zone which first strikes a surface upon a foot plant and a plate embedded within a sole of the article such that the plate supports the heel of the sole from flexing or collapsing. The impact point is part of an impact area (F) positioned adjacent an ankle pivot axis of the wearer's ankle, and in one aspect is positioned at or slightly posterior the ankle pivot axis. In one aspect the method includes configuring a sole of the footwear based on an ankle pivot characteristic or balance pivot characteristic of a wearer in a custom manufacture or based on the same of a typical or an ordinary wearer in a non-custom manufacture.

A wedge shoe includes a sole and an upper secured to the sole. The sole has a wedge member, a wedge cushion, and an inner sole member. The wedge member has an open top cavity. The wedge cushion is in the cavity of the wedge member. The inner sole member has a central portion and a peripheral portion surrounding the central portion. The central portion has a central portion durometer hardness and the peripheral portion has a peripheral portion durometer hardness greater than the central portion durometer hardness. The upper is lasted to the peripheral portion of the inner sole member. The central portion of the inner sole member overlies the wedge cushion.

An article of footwear includes a sole structure that has a heel portion with a rear, a lateral side, and a medial side. The article of footwear includes a heel extender that has a rear segment disposed at the rear of the heel portion, a lateral arm disposed at the lateral side of the heel portion, and a medial arm disposed at the medial side of the heel portion. The heel extender has a protuberance that establishes a rearmost extent of the article of footwear. The sole structure has a first hardness and the protuberance has a second hardness greater than the first hardness.

A midsole for sports shoes having a front isolation cavity, a side cavity, and a rear isolation cavity partially separating the recessed arch portion of the midsole from the rest of the midsole.

A heel structure for an article of footwear protrudes rearward from a heel region of an article of footwear in a direction generally aligned with the longitudinal orientation of the footwear article.

A sole structure for an article of footwear is provided. The sole structure includes an outsole having a ground-engaging surface and an upper surface formed on an opposite side of the outsole than the ground-engaging surface. A first cushion is disposed proximate to a medial side of the sole structure and includes a first fluid-filled chamber attached to the upper surface of the outsole and a second fluid-filled chamber attached to the first fluid-filled chamber and disposed between the first fluid-filled chamber and the upper. A second cushion is disposed proximate to a lateral side of the sole structure and includes a third fluid-filled chamber attached to the upper surface of the outsole and a fourth fluid-filled chamber attached to the third fluid-filled chamber and disposed between the third fluid-filled chamber and the upper. The second cushion is fluidly isolated from the first cushion.

A footwear article includes a collar elevator to raise an ankle collar from a lowered position to a raised position. For example, the ankle collar may be lowered when a wearer slides a foot into or out of the footwear article. The collar elevator may include a forwardly inclined angle. In addition, the footwear article may include a doffing ledge, in some instances, which includes characteristics based on the forwardly inclined angle.

A pair of shoes that includes a left foot shoe and a right foot shoe. Each of the shoes include an upper shoe portion and a sole coupled to the upper shoe portion. The sole provides an athletic positioning of a left big toe area of the left shoe at a lower position than a left heel area of the left shoe and at a lower position than an outer small toe area of the left shoe and wherein, from an inner edge to an outer edge of the left shoe, the left heel area has substantially no slope.