Are Your Shoes to Blame for Your Foot Pain?

We all know what it’s like to watch a woman teetering on skinny, sky-high heels and think, that’s gotta hurt! But there are other shoe-related problems that lead to foot pain you might never have considered.

The talented and caring podiatry team at Premier Foot & Ankle, with nine Texas locations, spend a good deal of time listening to their patients and educating them about good foot health, in addition to treating podiatric conditions. There are many steps you can take to prevent foot pain, and choosing the right shoes is one of the easiest!

Your shoes can cause a world of pain

How could shoes — even ones that look cushy and comfortable — be responsible for foot pain that can get so intense it hampers your mobility? What you choose to wear on your feet, day in and day out, has lots to do with the happiness of your feet.

Footwear fuels foot pain in many ways:

1. Ill-fitting shoes

Wearing shoes that are too tight or excessively loose isn’t good for your feet. Shoes that don’t conform well to the shape of your feet or are simply too small and compress your toes uncomfortably can make you even more unstable. 

Bad shoes also exacerbate foot problems you may already have, like bunions and hammertoes, and can create new ones, like cartilage loss in your toes and feet. 

Most of us know how awful toes that are smashed tightly together feel — and even your toes can develop blisters. On the other end of the spectrum, excessively loose shoes can cause blisters everywhere on your feet. 

2. The agony of stilettos

These skyscrapers for your feet are designed so that all your weight is concentrated onto one minute point, which affects your balance, positions your foot unnaturally, and strains your lower back. 

If you wear a pair of these most of the day, you’ll practically hear your tootsies crying for mercy. Take them off before they cause deformities and impair your gait. 

3. The other extreme: flats and flip-flops

Although ballet flats and other similar styles have long been favored as a choice to pair with jeans and skirts, they also contribute to foot discomfort. Ditto with your first choice for the beach, flip-flops, which also leave your feet vulnerable to cuts and scrapes. 

Since these styles offer little arch support, wearing them too often can contribute to plantar fasciitis, a condition characterized by bad heel pain from inflammation of the band of tissue that attaches your heel bone to your toes. 

4. The retro look

If you remember the days of disco, or your aesthetic is just influenced by the era, you may have sported thick platform shoes at some point. This style of shoe is pretty unforgiving, and the fact that the bottoms offer absolutely no “give” means that you can’t walk very comfortably. 

5. Get to the point

If you favor shoe styles that feature pointy toes and narrow toe boxes, your toes probably couldn’t be any unhappier. These styles contribute to the formation of bunions, hammertoes, painful blisters, and even nerve damage!

We’re not really bashing every type of shoe. If you choose chunkier, not-quite-as-high heels — two inches is much more realistic than four or more, flats with proper arch support, and shoes that have non-constricting, flexible toe boxes, you’re already on your way to much more foot comfort and seriously happy feet. 

Remember too that women aren’t the only ones suffering from shoe-induced foot pain — plenty of men are as well!

When shoes lead to more than foot pain

Foot pain is no fun, but living with diabetes adds another worry. 

Peripheral neuropathy is a condition that causes a burning sensation in your feet and numbness in your toes. These problems can make you unaware that you’ve gotten a small cut or injury in your foot. If left untreated, a foot infection can lead to amputation if you have diabetes.

Our podiatry team offers a wide range of solutions to avoid foot pain caused by less-than-ideal footwear, including:

• Custom orthotics and shoes inserts
• Specialized foot evaluation and care for people living with diabetes
• Extracorporeal pulse activation treatment (EPAT®) therapy
• Podiatherm, which employs radiofrequency (RF) energy to address foot pain
• Multiwave locked system (MLS) laser therapy

EPAT treatment helps individuals with peripheral nerve problems and plantar fasciitis pain, while Podiatherm and MLS laser therapy also relieve discomfort for plantar fasciitis and foot tendonitis discomfort. 

Get good counsel on what shoes to wear to avoid foot pain by scheduling a consultation with us. Call the Premier Foot & Ankle office most convenient to you or request an appointment online today.