Have you noticed how celebrities, especially women, seem to be always wearing shoes that are a size larger? Well, some could be excused for advertising those shoes but what about those on the red carpet or events? The truth is that many people either knowingly or unknowingly just have the wrong shoes on. For starters, nobody is against that chunky pair of boots with safety shoe buckles that you wear on Halloween or late night events. The concern here is on the effects that those pointed toes, towering heels and sandals have on you’re the joints of your feet. If you are in pain after a day in a certain type of shoes, it is perhaps time to reconsider where you wear that pair of shoes anyway.
Did you know that if you wear high heels for most of your adult life, the Achilles tendon shortens and tightens over time making it prone to injury? It takes quit some effort to balance on high heels and the less surface area is covered by the heel, the more effort is required. For those who have conditioned themselves to wear high heels, conditions such as bunions, hammertoes, corns, ingrown toenails and pump bump are quite familiar. It is almost impossible to heal and erase the effects of bad shoes over time but the damage can be arrested an in turn reducing the pain. The secret is in finding comfortable shoes. That is however if you don’t have flat feet. This is not uncommon, actually, 20-30% of adults have flat feet or low arches. No matter how comfortable your shoes are your feet will hurt after an extended period of walking. If you don’t want to wear orthopedic shoes, the only solution to this problem is acquiring arch support inserts.
The perfect shoe
It is alright to like wearing high heels but it is also possible to reduce the frequency of wearing them if your feet are to be in top shape. What do you wear on occasion when not I high heels? The medically correct answer would be orthopedic shoes but the truth is that they are not for the fashion-conscious. You can either get these shoes designed specifically for you at an orthopedic center or substitute with a more stylish pair. Honestly, we are all different when it comes to our shoe preferences but much of it comes from age factor and the work we do. What will our peers think about s when we wear boring shoes to work even in the name of being kind to the feet? The perfect shoe need not be a particular design but if you pay attention to the following characteristics, they are good enough;
- A rounded toe area (to provide ample space for free toes movement)
- Ample arch support
- A flat or low profile heel (shoes must not be too flat that the entire surface of the foot is on the same level)
- Soft material (the shoe should be adequately padded to protect the foot from shocks)
You need to be even stricter on these characteristics if the shoes you want to acquire will be mostly used for walking. According to an article that was published in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, the risk of falling can be significantly reduced by wearing sneakers as opposed to any other shoe type. This is particularly good news for people who are on their feet for extended periods of time, walking or running. The downside with wearing sneakers is that they are not all-weather and not everyone has a soft spot for them. If your interest is in a good shoe that you can wear for regular activity, pick a shoe with a heel of less than an inch in height and a nonslip sole.
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