Does it really matter what kind of shoe you wear?
A significant source of foot pain can be directly related to poorly fitting shoes. For years, physicians have been warning women of the dangers of high-heeled shoes concentrating pressure on the toes, leading to serious complications, such as bunions, hammertoes, and ingrown toenails. Unfortunately, fashion has often won out, resulting in severe foot pain being a major cause of general disability and reduced quality of life in older women.
Five-inch heels and pointy toes are not the only culprits. Our feet can suffer a lot of damage even while we are doing what is intended to be healthy activities. Any high-impact exercise, like jogging or many types of sports, can injure different parts of the feet. Some of the more common injuries include corns, calluses, blisters, knee and ankle problems and plantar fasciitis. Since we certainly don’t want to stop doing the activities we love and are so good for our hearts and general health, it’s very important to wear the right shoe so that we can reduce or, even better, eliminate these problems.
Clues That You Might Be Making Poor Shoe Choices
- Our feet change as we get older. With age, there tends to be a gradual widening, which means that you may need to buy a larger size. It is important that you have your shoe size regularly checked by a professional and not assume that, since you were a size 7 in high school, you will always be comfortable in that same size 7.
- The presence of corns, bunions or ingrown toenails are can be signs of shoes that are not fitted properly. These painful and sometimes debilitating issues often start as blisters or calluses so be careful to pay attention and correct your footwear before things escalate.
- Do your shoes tend to get more uncomfortable as the day progresses? This may be an indicator of a poor fit. Our feet tend to swell throughout the day and what felt okay in the morning may be a different story later on. You may have better success shopping for footwear toward the end of the day rather than in the morning.
- Your feet, especially your arches, aching at the end of the day is another sign worth paying attention to. Most of the time, we think of foot pain being caused by shoes that are too small but being too large can also be a problem. Constantly tightening the muscles along the bottom of your foot to keep them from sliding around with each step can lead to an overuse injury, like plantar fasciitis.
- The condition of the shoe itself can be an obvious clue. If they show signs of uneven wear, there is a good chance that they may not be the best choice and, in fact, may be doing damage to your feet over time.
Why guess or take chances that you might be wearing shoes that are actually making your foot problems worse? Not only are the professionals at Country Foot Care skilled podiatrists, offering individualized treatment plans and personal attention in a state-of-the-art facility, but the Mineola and Williston Park locations each include a medical shoe store.
To schedule an appointment at one of our Country Foot Care locations, Mineola or Williston Park, just call (516) 741-3338, or, if you prefer, use our online form by clicking here.