Selecting the Right Shoes to Ease Your Heel Pain

The need to excel in every sphere of life keeps us on the move all the time. It

leads to overexertion, which can become manifest as heel pain. You may love greatly certain activities like high-intensity treks or long walks: heel pain can be a spoil sport and hinder not only those passionate activities but also simple everyday routine.

Let not your heel pain get in the way of a normal life. Here, for your benefit, is a brief on the problem of heel pain, an effective solution and the precautions you can take.

Heel pain

There is, in your foot, a thick flat band of tissue (ligament) called plantar fascia; it serves to link your toes to the heel; it extends from the heel to the front of the foot, and supports the arch. Plantar fasciitis is a foot condition wherein the plantar fascia gets damaged due to excessive strain; the ligament is weakened, swollen and inflamed.

As a result of this condition, you may experience shooting heel pain as soon as you get down from bed in the morning.  Sitting or standing for long periods can cause the pain too. Placing excessive weight on the inner side of the feet (pronation), weak calf muscles, walking barefoot and wearing incorrect shoes are some other causes of heel pain.

The shoe connection

Wearing the wrong shoe is one of the major reasons of heel pain. If your shoes are ill fitting, or do not offer good support and grip, then your heels are bound to become sore. It stresses basically the arch of the foot resulting in flat feet – lowering of the arch than normal. If you have very soft soles in your shoes, the situation can get worse.

The wrong shoes

If you’re already suffering from heel pain, then it’s time to examine closely the kind of shoes you wear, and the kind of support it gives the arch of the feet. You should make every effort to avoid using all kinds of shoes that stress overly the arch, heels and inner side of the feet. The culprits include high heels, stilettos, flip-flops, platform shoes, shoes with pointy toes, celebrity trendsetter shoes, and wrong-sized shoes,

The right shoes

When you buy new shoes, necessitated by heel pain, make sure that the back of the shoe that wraps your heel is firm. This ensures adequate ankle and foot support. Secondly, the sole should also be firm and sturdy. This prevents any overstretching of your feet. Shoes must also have heel-to-toe-rocker sole which helps your feet move forward.

Also, make sure your shoe has heels elevated by about an inch. This relieves pressure off the heels and absorbs any impact on strike. Finally it’s prudent to wear shoes with lace rather than slip-ons for a better grip. In addition, you will find different types of insoles that can be purchased separately and placed in shoes for greater comfort.

Apart from these measures, anti-inflammatory medications, calf stretching exercises and natural home remedies should relieve you of the pain to some extent. However, it’s advisable for you to check with your podiatrist to get prescriptions of appropriate medications and remedies for nagging heel pain.