Why Your Shoes Could Be Damaging Your Feet
Have you ever had to remove your shoes and walk barefoot or change to another shoe because of foot pain? If the answer is yes, then there are high chances that your shoe was the cause of the foot pain. Your shoes support you while standing, running, jogging, and walking. Wearing the wrong shoes in terms of fitting will interfere with your comfort and cause your feet problems like blisters, hammertoes, and bunions.
There are a lot of mistakes we make when selecting our footgear that causes foot problems. They include:
1. Wearing Worn-Out Shoes
We always have a treasured pair of shoes that we don't want to throw away no matter how old it is — but this isn’t best for your feet. Once the shoe's sole is worn out, you should throw them away. When the sole breaks down, it changes how our feet are positioned in the shoe.
Depending on how we walk, the sole might be worn out more on one side than the other, causing imbalance when we wear the shoe. This will cause our legs to bend as we walk, and it might cause pain in our ankles, knees, and back. You can replace the sole of the shoes if you consider the shoe to be still new, but if both parts of the shoe are worn, it is best to throw them away.
2. Choosing Workout Shoes Based on Appearance
One of the mistakes we make is purchasing shoes because they look good instead of purchasing based on their purpose. Sometimes we even purchase shoes simply because we saw our favorite celebrity or athlete wearing them. However, the workout shoes we purchase should depend on the type of workouts we do.
It would be best to have different workout shoes for the workouts you often do. For example, if you run 15 miles a day, the workout shoe you buy is different from the ones used by someone who does indoor squats. Wearing basketball shoes for running or running shoes for dance classes might cause leg injuries. Workout shoes are not all about the looks — but about the purpose they serve.
3. Wearing Shoes That Do Not Fit
When was the last time you got your feet measured? Most of us do not remember when we got our feet measured. The shoe fittings change with time due to many reasons. They include:
Adding weight, for instance, during pregnancy.
Rheumatoid arthritis may cause swelling in the joints.
Diabetes may cause damage to the nerves.
All this may cause stretching of your legs, and your standard shoe size might stop fitting. Most of the time, we assume this and stick to our shoe size, and wearing a smaller fit causes problems to our feet. You might get blisters on your fingers due to pressure exerted on them or pain on your joints that might transfer to your knees. Once you start feeling discomfort when wearing shoes, it would be best for you to get your feet measured, and you can do this at home.
4. Failure To Understand Our Feet Arches
You can either have high arched feet or low arched feet, and the type of foot determines the appropriate shoe to wear. If you have high arched feet, the gap between your feet and the ground is taller than those with low arched feet. In rare cases, we find people with flat feet, and their arches are flat on the ground.
When choosing shoes, you have to know your foot type. Your arches need to get support from the curve found in your shoes so that your feet can be able to support the rest of your body. When buying a shoe, it would be best to buy from a good shoe store with a specialist who can tell which shoe is best for you, depending on your arches.
5. Failure To Use Insoles
Insoles are essential to enhance comfort, ease an already existing pain, and prevent our legs from pain caused by the pressure we exert when standing or walking. The insoles that come with the shoe might not be appropriate. If that's the case, you can buy insoles depending on your feet type.
If you have flat feet, then a stiff insole would work, and if you have high arched feet, a cushioned insole is preferable. Avoid wearing shoes without the insole. The material used inside the shoe might not be friendly to your feet.
Warminster Podiatry Services
Our legs are more important than we think, and choosing the correct shoe is vital. The correct type of shoe depends on our activities, height, walking style, standing posture, and the time you spend wearing the shoe.
If you have frequent foot pain, visit our podiatry team at Bux-Mont Foot & Ankle Care Centers for proper care. To book an appointment, contact our team at (215) 392-4009