Shoes
What to look for?
- Avoid shoes that have seams over areas of pain, such as a bunion.
- Avoid shoes with heavy rubber soles that curl over the top of the toe area (sometimes on running shoes), because they can catch on carpets and cause an accidental fall.
- Flat shoes (with a heel height of one inch or less) are the healthiest shoes for your feet. If you must wear a high heel, keep to a heel height of two inches or less, limit wear to three hours at a time, and take them off coming to and from an activity.
- Laced, rather than slip-on shoes, provide a more secure fit and can better accommodate insoles, orthotic devices, and braces.
- Look for soles that are shock absorbing and skid resistant, such as rubber, rather than smooth leather.
- Shoes should be made of a soft material that has some give.
Wear Patterns
Examining old shoes before buying new ones can help you evaluate your wear patterns so that you may buy new shoes with a better fit and style that compensates for the stresses you place on shoes.
What are your shoes trying to tell you? Here is a translation of basic wear patterns:
- A bulge and wear to the side of the big toe means too-narrow fit or you have a bunion.
- Outer sole wear means you turn your foot out. Orthotics may help.
- Toe-shaped ridges on the upper means your shoes are too small or you have hammertoes.
- Wear on the ball of the foot means your heel tendons may be too tight.
- Wear on the inner sole means you pronate or turn your foot inward. Inner liners or orthotics may help.
- Wear at above the toes means the front of your shoe is too low.
Your Footprint
When you take a step, your foot typically hits the ground heel first and rolls toward your toes, flattening the arch slightly. As you push off the ball of your foot, your arch springs back and does not touch the ground. That’s how normal feet are supposed to work. Unfortunately, many feet aren’t normal.
Overpronation occurs if your foot rolls too much toward the inside. This can cause arch strain and pain on the inside of the knee. Underpronation occurs if your foot rolls too much to the outside. Underpronation can lead to ankle sprains and stress fractures. You can relieve foot pain by compensating for these tendencies, but first you need to determine which way your feet roll.
- If your footprint looks like a pancake with toes, you pronate excessively or may have flat feet. Try molded-leather arch supports, which can be purchased in many drug stores. And when shopping for athletic shoes, ask a sales clerk for styles with “control” features—soles designed to halt the rolling-in motion. If arch supports or sports shoes don’t help, please contact our office for custom molded orthotics.
- If there’s little or no connection in your footprint between the front part of the foot and the heel, you under-pronate or have a high arch. This means a lot of your weight is landing on the outside edge of your foot. Ask for “stability” athletic shoes, which are built with extra cushioning to remedy this problem. If you are prone to ankle sprains, wear high-top athletic shoes that cover the foot and ankle snugly to minimize damage from twists.
