Tuesday 30 October 2012

Different words for the same thing

I have noticed over the last few years that using the word or a derivative of the word “ortho” has become far less used in the world of product promotion and marketing. Shoes, beds and all manner of high end products would prefix the item with “orthopedic” to indicate a superior performance or a greater degree of design and support for their top end models. Now that term seems to be out of fashion and instead we are seeing other creations intended to mean the same thing but, I guess, in a more marketable way.
When it comes to shoes, “easy fit” and “comfort fit” now seem to mean the same thing and only a special diabetic shoe, or one for a person with serious foot problems, is termed orthopedic!

With beds too the same change seems to have occurred. “Wellbeing” seems to be the new buzzword, even though the implications of this double term seem even more medical and even more concerned with health than the old one.

With chairs the same it true yet again. This time the word is “ergonomic” which is intended to mean a machine (or appliance) working in harmony with the body that sits on it. i.e. The chair is designed to work with both the person using it and any activity that they use that item of furniture for. This means that you can of course have an ergonomic TV seat.

Perhaps ergonomic shoes are the next step, or a comfort fit chair. There may even be room for a wellbeing shoe at some point in the future.
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