Did you know that your shoes can cause foot and ankle pain if they aren’t supportive enough for the structure of your foot? It’s true! Shoes that fit poorly or are poorly built can cause or contribute to chronic foot and ankle pain.
In this article, we’ll discuss footwear tips and how to prevent foot and ankle pain by choosing good footwear.
The Structure of Your Foot Impacts Foot and Ankle Pain
The first step to choosing good footwear is to know what kind of feet you have. Do you have a high arch or a rigid foot? In other words, does your arch stay too elevated and not go through its normal motion when you walk? Or conversely, do you have a flat foot with a caved-in arch?
You may have a pronated foot, meaning the foot goes through some excessive motion. (Actually, pronation is a normal motion of the foot; but if someone does it excessively, then they have what’s called a flat foot.)
When we pronate, the big toe side of the foot actually drops down so that we can push off the ball of the foot and propel ourselves forward. After that, the foot will go upward again. So the normal motion would be heel strike, pronation, and then elevate the foot again. And we want to support the arch throughout that cycle to prevent pain.
Then there’s the middle ground. Someone who has a normal arch can still have foot and ankle pain from repetitive trauma, overuse, or a poorly fitting shoe that does not fully support the arch during what we call the stance phase or the full weight-bearing phase of walking.
Good Shoes Can Support Your Foot and Prevent Pain
To prevent pain, you want shoes that maximally support your foot and ankle through the weight-bearing phases of the walking. This will hold your foot in a more normal or neutral position when you put your weight on it.
If you’ve got a high arch, you might need a little more support to meet the height of that arch. If you’ve got a flat foot, we may need to get you just enough support (based upon your body weight and how much your foot flattens out when you walk) to support the arch so we don’t anger the tissues in your feet.
How to Find a Good Pair of Shoes
When you go into a shoe store, you need someone who knows about foot types and the shoes that support different types of feet. Some points on a good supportive shoe are:
- The back of the shoe
We want a good firm heel counter, the part of the shoe that wraps around the rear of your foot. When the foot hits the ground, your shoe should be striking a little bit on the outside of the heel.
- The arch support
You don’t want your shoes to break down. It’s not good if you have a real floppy shoe. When the heel hits the ground, we want to get the big toe down so you can push off and elevate, but we also want good support through the bottom and arch portion of the shoe with good shock absorption.
Most of us at Rebound will usually recommend a good running shoe for someone with pain or a chronic condition. This is because good-quality running or athletic shoes are generally very supportive.
Orthotic Inserts Can Offer More Arch Support
Those with pronated feet, where the foot experiences excess motion when walking, need enough support to absorb their body weight and allow their foot to be a little flexible. Other types of feet may require more support.
Rebound offers custom orthotics designed to give your feet the support they need to reduce pain and irritation. Some of our orthotics have a plastic insert that helps slow down the speed at which the foot pronates which allows you to push off properly through your toes and propel yourself forward while maintaining good footfall mechanics.
Orthotics can be worn inside of different types of shoes, like running, casual, and dress shoes to support your feet and ankles with every step.
Shop at a Good Shoe Store
Overall, your shoes should help you control the heel, support the arch, and be nice and stable at push off. If you go into a good shoe store with someone who has a knowledge of flat feet versus rigid feet, then they’ll know:
- What kind of shoe to put you in
- What the shape of the bottom of the shoe should look like
- What the rear foot support should look like
- What kind of dynamics you should have on the inside of the shoe
Alternatively, you can get a free physical therapy screening at Rebound and let our experts give you advice on the best type of shoes for your body.
Replace Your Shoes and Orthotics Before They Wear Out
There are two things you should look at if your feet start aching a lot or you start having foot problems:
- Are your orthotics old or worn out?
- Have you recently gained or lost a lot of weight (which would impact the effectiveness of your orthotics)?
- Are your shoes old and worn out?
Looking at these possibilities can help you assess the cause of your foot pain and get it handled before it gets worse. You should also make it a habit to routinely check your shoes to make sure they are not too loose or floppy, because that can reduce the amount of support you get when walking—even if you have a good orthotic insert.
Additionally, how your shoes wear out can tell you a lot about your feet. If you’ve got a shoe that’s breaking down on the outside heel, you may be a heavy heel striker. If your shoe is breaking down or you see a lot of wear on the inside where the ball of your foot pushes off the ground, you’re excessively rolling to the inside and pushing more off the inside of your foot. These situations can definitely cause problems with the foot and ankle and lead to pain, which is why it’s important to have good, supportive shoes.
Rebound’s Physical Therapists Can Help Evaluate Your Feet and Shoes
Controlling the motion of your feet is the most important step to preventing foot and ankle pain. That’s where our physical therapists come in. We can help evaluate your foot type, how well your shoes are supporting you when you walk, and what type of shoes will give you the most support.
Give us a call at 785-271-5533 today to schedule a free physical therapy screening for foot pain relief.
Tags: Physical Therapist, pain relief, Physical Therapy Services, Ankle Pain Relief, health and wellness, Healthy lifestyle, foot pain
