Worn down shoes

There doesn't seem to be very much information written about this subject. Is it common for children with AS to rapidly wear down soles of shoes?

My son wears his shoes down heavily on the outer edges and has always done so ever since he started walking. A pair rarely lasts a year before the soles are so worn down that the shoes need to be replaced. His shoes have always been good quality makes and fit him well. I have raised the issue with his GP whilst he was at primary school but no medical problems could be found. He was then referred to the hospital where X-Rays were taken of his feet and legs. The doctors said that nothing was abnormal and there were no signs of bone deformation.

The best advice came from a tyre fitter who noticed his worn down shoes then told me that my son puts most of his weight onto the outer edges of his feet rather than evenly across his feet. The tyre fitter then showed us some tyres that were worn on the outer edge as a result of taking most of the weight of the car because the wheel alignment was not set correctly. Then he showed us how the wheels were aligned with a device that measures the forces on a tyre. Some nuts were turned in the suspension and correct wheel alignment was indicated when the forces were spread evenly over the surface of the tyre rather than concentrated towards one edge. We then began to wonder if similar machines exist to measure the amount of force on different parts of feet. There are no alignment nuts in human legs

Armed with this knowledge we approached our GP again and requested further investigations. Unfortunately, the GP dismissed the information from the tyre fitter as nonsense from somebody with no medical background.

I have encountered this shoe wear pattern before but I don't think it's connected to AS in any way. It's more likely to be the result of high arches or low muscle tone resulting in bodyweight being concentrated towards the outside edges of the feet. High arches is almost the opposite condition of flat feet. The tyre fitter makes valid points and appears to know more than the medical professionals do. I would not dismiss this advice as nonsense in future investigations.

My recommendation is that your son has an appointment with an independent podiatrist. Most towns in England have at least one practice and they are advertised in Yellow Pages or on the internet. There is no requirement to have to go through your GP for a referral but you do have to pay for each appointment.

Many thanks for this advice. I shall investigate podiatrists to see if they have any explanations. Initially I considered the problem as a minor nuisance but now I think it could have more serious long term consequences.

One thing I forgot to say is to always ensure that shoes are replaced as soon as the soles are worn to the point where it is clearly visible that they are worn when the shoes standing upright. Don't wait until the soles have worn down to the point where holes start to appear in them before replacing them. Anything more than 3mm of material worn away from the sole will cause the shoes to tilt (outwards in your son's case) and put strain on the ankle and knee joints with the potential for long term damage.