All The Issues With Badly Fitting Shoes
Some extremely terrifying statistics show that nearly half of the British population are wearing the wrong shoe size and a massive third of 2,000 people admit to wearing shoes that do not fit correctly! A further fifth of a poll of 2,000 people showed that they had not measured their feet in more than ten years, and nearly thirty million Brits had damaged their feet with ill-fitting footwear.
Simply, poorly fitting shoes cause a large percentage of foot-related health problems, so it is imperative to wear correctly fitted shoes. As parents, we are very attentive to our children’s feet, with regular visits to the shoe shop to check if they have grown. However, we seem to think that our feet magically stop growing once we hit the age of 18, and this is not the case! The changes may not be as significant, but they still happen, especially over the pandemic when we were wearing such a wide variety of footwear most of the time.
Think about what you wore on your feet on a typical workday, usually something formal? Supportive? Structured? Now think about what you’re wearing on your feet whilst working from home, slippers, flip flops or sliders? Or are you just going barefoot? Because of the decrease in activity levels throughout the pandemic, many peoples feet have become more comprehensive, their skin has softened, and the strength in their ankle joints have reduced. And, now we are approaching normality once again, more and more people are redeveloping their social lives, which means all the practical and beautiful shoes are being worn. Some helpful advice? Think about booking a measuring appointment before cramming your feet back into shoes that are too tight and do not fit properly!
Here are just a few of the foot problems that can be caused due to poorly fitting footwear:
Blisters - Unfortunately, we are all prone to a blister or two during our lifetime. The small ones aren’t too bad; however, blisters on a larger scale can become increasingly painful and, of course, are more prone to infection. Blisters are somewhat caused by friction; rubbing shoes can cause a hot spot, leading to a blister - this can happen if shoes are too tight or too loose.
Callus - These form when your body is attempting to protect itself from harm; if you insist on consistently wearing shoes that push on an area of your foot, your body will build up a callus as a buffer.
Ingrown toenails - Most of the time, ingrown toenails are genetic; however, they can also form due to poorly fitted footwear. Shoes that are too small allow your toes to bump into the front of your shoes constantly. These pressures and repeated injuries cause damage to the nail bed.
Bunions - Consistent pressure across the front of the shoes over an extended period can cause the bones inside your feet to move, causing a bunion. A bunion is a bony lump on the inside edge of your foot.
Hammertoes - If your toes cannot straighten and lie flat, you may be suffering from a hammertoe. This occurs when your toe is invariably bent and will rub in some shoes.
Back and neck pain - If your feet hurt, your body can try and counterbalance that pain by altering your posture. These changes in your posture and positioning can impact your back and neck.
Problems with your feet can be costly to fix and take a lot of time to heal; this is why it is advised to regularly measure your feet to ensure you are wearing the correct shoe size. If you feel you have already taken damage to your feet or toes, you should seek out a podiatrist. They can provide professional help and advice to get you back into your active lifestyle.