Darius Dinshaw, C. Ped (C), firmly believes that if you love what you do you will never work a day in your life. He lives for helping people, innovating, and challenging himself. As an Athletic Therapist, Darius held a wonderous fascination with the human body’s complexity, and the value that proper movement can bring to someone’s health. However, while training athletes as a Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist, he consistently observed opportunities for further improvement by addressing and attempting to optimize foot and ankle biomechanics. Darius became obsessed with comprehensively understanding lower extremity biomechanics and its influence on the entire body.
After achieving his C. Ped (C) certification, Darius began to focus his practice on running biomechanics. In the west greater-Toronto-area, he worked with a variety of recreational short to long distance runners and a handful of triathletes. After about five years into practice, Darius realized that these body alignment improvements should not be limited to just active individuals but that there was a dire need for the general public to appreciate and value the importance of footwear and its impact on improving body alignment. He co-founded Align Custom Fit Footwear & Footcare in 2013. Him and his partner worked tirelessly to source footwear that was fashionable and well-structured while challenging major footwear designers to offer options that were structurally sound. Since then, Align has developed and received patent pending status on their Pitch Perfects – orthotics designed specifically for heels. While he is not an advocate for high heel wearing, he appreciates the compliance his patients experience when their needs are understood and accommodated. His perspective is that “While footwear is medical apparel, fashion is a way our patients expresses oneself. People should feel amazing in what they wear; from both a comfort and emotional perspective.”  In late 2018, Align expanded and introduced Canada’s first luxury medical footcare spa with the same intention of compliance, preventative care and that healthcare should be an enjoyable experience.
With hopes to one day introduce environmentally sustainable solutions for the orthotic and footwear industry, Darius encourages other young medical professionals to innovate. “Evidence based research is an extremely valuable tool to help health care professionals make informed decisions about patient outcomes. It is critically necessary in the continuous advancement of our profession and must be pursued,” he says. “However, remember that just because something is not proven through research, doesn’t mean it’s not true. With technology advancing so rapidly, do not underestimate how quickly it can flip an industry upside down.”
Darius loves providing positive footcare experiences to his patients and customers. His passion for athletics carries on outside his professional life through mountain biking, snowboarding, and running.