MEDICAL : Acrylic Footwear Kicks Cotton Socks in the Latest Research by Podiatrists

Podiatrists trudging around Disneyland with their families this week would be wise to wear acrylic instead of cotton socks, according to the conclusion of a study that will be presented today at the American Podiatric Medical Assn. annual meeting.

Since Thursday the American Podiatric Medical Assn. has been meeting at Disneyland Hotel in Anaheim, giving about 750 podiatrists from around the country an opportunity to bone up on the newest information about foot medicine.

Association spokesman Dean M. Wakefield said 73 research papers were scheduled to be delivered during the three-day annual conference.

Among the 23 papers to be presented during today’s concluding session, he said, one likely to generate a lot of interest among podiatrists was partly sponsored by Thornebury Hosiery Co., a Statesville, N.C.,-based manufacturer of sports socks.

That study was conducted under the supervision of Dr. Douglas H. Richie, a Seal Beach podiatrist and associate professor at the Los Angeles campus of the California College of Podiatric Medicine. But most of the work, Richie said, was done by one of his fourth-year podiatry students, Kirk Herring.

The study compared acrylic to cotton socks in reducing friction-caused blisters by testing them on 60 long-distance runners.

The acrylic socks came out the winners, Wakefield said, because perspiration evaporates from them while while cotton absorbs the moisture. The drier the socks the better, he said, because wet fibers are more abrasive to feet.