Thursday 20 July 2017

Troubled with Foot Pain? 5 Shoe Types that could be the Trigger

Love wearing flip-flops when taking a walk around the neighborhood? Can’t do without your high heels at work? Most people don’t apply their mind when picking their shoes – for the workplace, a trek, or a vacation on the beach. It’s only long after pain and discomfort set in, they start searching for reasons.

More often than not wrong choice of shoes emerges as a major contributing factor. If you are one of the many suffering foot pain or other foot ailments, take a closer look to check if your shoes are your undoing.

5 Shoe types that could wreck your life

1. Flip-flops:  

Your love for flip-flops notwithstanding, you should acknowledge that they provide little support or protection to your feet. When you use flip-flops for intensive walking, you are sure to miss heel cushioning, arch support and shock absorption. This can trigger foot pain, plantar fasciitis and tendonitis. In case you trip wearing your flip-flops, you may even suffer from sprained ankles. Therefore, it’s best to think of minimal wear of this kind of footwear at the swimming pool, beach or shower.

2. Ballet flats: 

They may feel comfortable at first but in reality, they are just like wearing an extremely thick sock. With no arch support and very small padding in insoles, the ballet flats do nothing good to your feet. Walking with them can tear, overstretch, or inflame the plantar fascia. No wonder why wearing ballet flats worsens plantar fasciitis and triggers problems in your hips, knees or back. 

3. Platform shoes: 

Though they are better than high heels to add to height, they are bad to wear since they compromise your normal gait. They add height to both the forefoot and the hind foot, but decrease forefoot pressure. Additionally, the shoe’s height leads to ankle instability, which in turn can cause sprains.

4. Stiletto heels:

Despite being the stylish choice for most women, they cause your front feet tremendous pressure, which can aggravate bunions, trigger sesamoiditis (inflammation of the small bones located below your big toe), metatarsalgia (inflammation of and pain in the ball of your foot), stretched Achilles tendon and other biomechanical forefoot problems. Wearing tight heels that pinches your toes and squeezes them together can even lead to irritated and thickened nerves, or neuroma (swelling of the nerves in the ball of your foot). 

5. Worn-out shoes:  

Podiatrists advise you to throw out your worn-out shoes without any hesitation. If foot problems have already afflicted you, worn-out shoes can worsen them depending on the kind of your footwear. Since the soles of such shoes have flattened out, they offer little shock absorption, thereby making your feet prone to injuries and problems like Achilles’ tendonitis, plantar fasciitis and knee pain.

As online shopping is steadily becoming popular, many people these days tend to buy shoes going by digital pictures of fashionable wear. Unfortunately, they might end up with a very uncomfortable fit. So, choose your shoes wisely and correctly in consultation with an experienced podiatrist especially when you suffer foot ailments.