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The Best Footwear To Keep Your Feet Happy And Healthy

Regardless of the occasion, wearing comfortable shoes is important not just for your comfort but also for your health. That’s because wearing the right shoes will stop you from injuring yourself or from developing severe conditions like bunions and metatarsalgia1.

The good news is there are many types of shoes that you can wear that are podiatrist-approved. See what they need to have below.

Running shoes men.
Running shoes, men. Source: Depositphotos

Foot Conformity

Shoes with good foot conformity will have enough room for your toes to flex comfortably and ideally resemble your foot. To optimize foot conformity, avoid relying on size alone as size measurements vary between companies.

Besides size measurements differing, the shape or size of your foot will fluctuate over time. This means if you can’t fit a shoe, measure your feet and get specifications before you buy. 

If you can fit a shoe you want, aim to do so after work or after any form of rigorous activity like running. Your feet are usually at their largest at these times due to activity-induced swelling.

Shoes that don’t fit well can cause pain immediately or injure you over time, making it important to see professional podiatrists2 like The Feet People in Brisbane.

Remember this: the perfect amount of foot pain is none. Getting a podiatrist to treat pain as early as possible can help determine if the cause is your shoes or something serious like diabetes.

Arch Support

An important piece in keeping your feet at their best and giving you a chance to take feet pics is your shoes’ insoles because they’re the part your foot rests on. Wearing shoes with insoles that offer no support can lead to adverse effects.

The bad news is that most shoe manufacturers sacrifice foot support for fashionability. However, to aid this, some insoles can add arch support to almost any shoe they’re put in.

Putting arch supports in your shoes helps with distributing pressure from your heel and the ball of your foot to the arch. Distributing this pressure can prevent or treat foot pain and injury.

Before choosing to get arch support for your shoes, you need to consult with a podiatrist first. Arch support insoles are usually built for a purpose, and misusing them can lead to injury.

For example, there are arch supports that are specifically made for high heels and sandals, which won’t work well with work boots or sneakers.

Laces

Shoes with laces will make your feet happier than those without any. That’s because lace-up shoes can be adjusted to fit your foot just right with more precision. 

For instance, if your feet are wide, laces offer you the option to use eyelets away from the ball of your foot. Using eyelets further up your shoe will free up room for your foot to move comfortably.

There’s a lacing technique for people with narrower heels that don’t stay in place in shoes. This lock-lacing method enables you to tighten shoes by the ankles to prevent unnecessary play.

Feet with higher arches get more friction in shoes and have their own tying method called gap lacing. Gap lacing is similar to normal criss-cross lacing but leaves a gap where the feet rub against the shoe’s tongue.

Wearing shoes with laces also allows you to adjust their fit throughout the day so you can get more room at times when your feet are expanded.

Good Condition

It goes without saying that your feet will be in better shape if your shoes aren’t worn out because they normally lose their cushioning after 7 to 12 months.

Running shoes tend to lose that cushioning and support quicker since they have to endure more wear if you’re an active person or use them at work. Usually, running shoes are designed to last for 563 to 804 kilometers which can be three to six months of use.

A tip to keep in mind from Dr. Donald Pelto who is a podiatrist about a shoe’s condition is to avoid changing shoes seasonally.

He recommends this because shoes lose stretch after being left alone for long periods making them prone to causing injury.

Additionally, to get the most out of your shoes he says that rotating the shoes you wear daily will slow down the deteriorating process as some shoes need time to recover.

Conclusion

So, what shoes are best for your feet? Easy, regardless of the shoe’s cut or brand, good footwear must not constrict your feet.3

Good shoes must also be in satisfactory condition, have enough arch support, and be easily adjustable with laces to keep your feet happy and healthy.

  1. Charen, Daniel A., et al. “Overview of metatarsalgia.” Orthopedics 42.1 (2019): e138-e143. ↩︎
  2. Rönnemaa, Tapani, et al. “Evaluation of the impact of podiatrist care in the primary prevention of foot problems in diabetic subjects.” Diabetes care 20.12 (1997): 1833-1837. ↩︎
  3. Saltzman, Charles L. “If the shoe fits,….” The Iowa Orthopaedic Journal 14 (1994): 174. ↩︎

Last Updated on by Sathi Chakraborty, MSc Biology

Author

Icy Health Editorial Team

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