Footwear and its effect on your body
We spend most of the day on our feet. We walk, run, climb, stand for
long periods of time and generally abuse our feet a lot. To make matters
worse, we use the wrong type of footwear and add to the strain that we
put on our feet. Ill fitting footwear not only puts stress on the feet,
but it strains the back too. Let’s take a look at the various kinds of
footwear and its effect on our feet.
Stilettos or high heels
This is by far the worst offender. The foot is in an abnormal angle
and this strains your feet and your back, as the body tries to keep its
equilibrium. Any kind of high heeled shoes is not good for your feet and
back. Stilettos are especially bad as the chances of twisting your foot
and getting an ankle sprain or a hairline fracture is a possibility.
Most women prefer stilettos when they go to work, as it gives them more
height. If you wear stilettos on a regular basis, try to rest your feet
when you are at your table, by taking off the shoes and doing some
simple foot exercises. There are insoles available that can be fitted to
the stilettos to make it a bit more comfortable. Some common problems
that arise when using stilettos are Achilles tendon and stress
fractures.
Flip Flops
Surprisingly, flip flops which one would think is one of the most
comfortable types of footwear ranks high among foot offenders. People
tend to wear flip flops all the time, whether at home or going out. The
reason why flip flops are not the right choice of footwear for regular
use is that they don’t have an arch support.
They are also open footwear and the chances of hurting your foot are
high. You could develop chronic foot problems like tendonitis or plantar
fasciitis.
Pumps
If your pumps are high heeled, the same injuries that occur with
stilettos could happen. But high heeled pumps are worse than open toed
stilettos as the whole foot is bearing down on the pointed end of the
pump. Neuromas, which are inflammations between the toes, can occur
along with other problems like hammer toes. The pain of a neuroma could
be quite severe and you may need physical therapy or even surgery to
remove it.
Ballet shoes
You would think ballet shoes would be a good choice, but like flip
flops they do not offer any support for the arch and unlike flip flops
they don’t have cushioning under the feet. So you could develop corns
and calluses. Wearing closed ballet shoes could also give rise to
bacteria and foot infections because the enclosed shoes keep the foot
humid.
Some ways to prevent problems when using ballet shoes are by inserting
gel supports that can give your arch support and cushion your foot.
Airing your feet once in a while and using fungal powder in the morning
and night should prevent bacterial build up.
Almost all kinds of shoes do affect the feet in some way. But the
fact is, walking barefoot isn’t that great for your feet either. These
small pieces of our body support our whole weight, help us maintain
balance and are probably one of the most neglected parts of our body.
So, there is really no perfect shoe for the foot. The best thing to do
is find a shoe that you are comfortable in and use some kind of orthotic help to make sure that you are giving your foot optimum care.
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