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Poorly fitted shoes are damaging for the future wellbeing of your feet. 98% of babies feet are perfect at birth and yet by the time we reach adulthood over 65% of feet are dysfunctional and most of the damage is done during our teens - where foot problems are the furthest thing from our minds.
Girls wearing high heels in their teens take the huge risk of damaging their feet due to the fact that the bones of the foot are not fully ossified until their 17th/ 18th year. Therefore to try and prevent some of the future damage that regularly happens to feet - the follow advice is suitable:
Heels – Try and restrict the daily shoes to a height to no more than 1 1/2 inches. The heel takes a great proportion of the weight when heel striking, so allow the heel to have as broad a base as is possible and not to go over the 1 1/2 inch rule.
Heel Counter – This is the part of the shoe that locks the shoe to your foot – preventing the heel form sliding out of the shoe. Not all shoes have a heel counter and this is one of the most important aspects of a good fitting shoe, so try where ever possible to buy shoes that have a heel counter that follows the contours of the heel
Sole – The whole of the sole should be flat and only raising slightly up under the toes. This simply helps encourage ‘toe-off’ and prevents the wearer from tripping. However again the broader the sole for improved, pressure distribution the better.
Upper – The upper part of the shoe should ideally be leather. This is for two reasons; firstly for breath-a-bility and secondly for the moulding ability of leather, which ensures a more comfortable fit as the leather moulds to the foot shape.
Inner Lining – Should again always be leather or ‘Goretex TM’ or ‘Sympatex TM’ – and should always be completely lined in these materials to ensure the airing of the foot and breath-a-bility at all times, thus avoiding foot issues such as fungi.
Fastenings – These are essential for good fitting shoes and should be either laces, velcrox or straps – ‘slip on’ shoes are either too small or kept on by curling or spreading the toes – which leads to an abnormal gait pattern.
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