Be gentle to your feet: Choose the right footwear

Looks before health – this is the motto most of us believe in and follow in full earnestness. On the other hand, it is such a heavenly feeling to wriggle out of those pair of stylish footwear or a get a good calf and foot massage every other weekend. We are talking about those sexy heels or stylish shoes that look sexy, but are a torture for those poor feet that bear your body’s weight.

Experts claim wearing heels may make one feel tall and confident, but actually distorts the body alignment and lead to a number of health hazards. They explain “Feet are the foundation of our bodies. They hurt the knees, ankles, calf and other muscles. And when this happens you put on weight pretty fast because you tend to keep sitting most of the time to ease the tired muscles.” In the long run, the person may suffer from osteoarthritis due to poor posture, backaches and irreversibly damaged Achilles tendons.

Even totally flat footwear has their set of disadvantages. They fail to provide cushion to the feet or absorb the shock of the feet hitting the ground due to lack of cushion and the lack of arch support stretches the tendons and ligaments up to the knee.  WTN gets you more information on the problems ill-fitted footwear could cause in the long run and more.

Common foot problems

·Athlete’s foot: The fungal infection strikes in-between the toes due to soiled socks and ill fitted shoes. Contrary to the name, athlete’s foot does not only affect athletes. It is a common and contagious fungal infection.

· Bunion: The big toe is forced to bend towards the toe next to it when you wear shoes with narrow fronts. The big toe gets slanted.

· Corns: if the shoe does not have the cushion, you have painful corns. On continuous friction, there builds hard layers of cells yellow-coloured, round, kernel-like bumps to protect the skin.

· Diabetic foot: Diabetics often suffer from foot nerve damage and cannot feel skin irritations or pricks. This condition is known as diabetic foot.

· Hammer toes: Ill fitted, narrow or pointy shoes, crunch the feet and the toes start to curl up even when not wearing the shoes. The toe becomes hard and joints can get permanently dislocated.

· Heel spurs: The underside of heel bone starts to grow and gets calcified. These heel spurs may be about half an inch and cause severe pain.

· Mortons Neuroma: These are caused by pointed toe shoes. The nerves swell & there is a lot of pain while walking.

· Ingrown nails: Wearing small sized shoes digs nails back into the fingers and toes causing severe pain.

· Metatarsalgia: This is a painful condition in which the front foot (ball) becomes inflamed due to tight shoes.

How important is it for children to wear the right fit shoe?

Among kids, development of feet happens best when barefoot. And selection of shoe or footware must be keeping in mind the barefoot model.  It must be light in weight, flexible, quadrangular in shape and without arch supports. Preferably, children must be allowed to remain barefoot. If the shoes do not fit well, the children may suffer from posture, gait and neurological issues.

How do shoes affect spine and back?

Hurt or damaged feet can change the alignment of the structure above them. Ill-fitted shoes do not provide proper support to the arches, heels and toes which can start or worsen back pain.

How to buy the right kind of footwear or prevent foot problems?

· Shop for footwear during the afternoon as feet expand with use during the day

· Carry the same or same type of socks to the market that you intend to wear with the shoes

· Measure both feet while standing up

· Get measured every time you buy new shoes as feet change with age

· If one foot is larger than the other, buy a size that fits the larger foot

· Walk around for sometime to know how they feel

· The ball of your foot must fit comfortably in the shoe

· The upper part of the shoes must be soft and flexible

· Leather shoes reduce the risks of skin irritations

· Soles must not be slippery and soles must cushion the feet when walking on hard surfaces

· Low-heeled shoes are more comfortable, safer, and less damaging (maximum one inch)

-windowtonews