Shoes offer us a lot of functionality. Not only do they help protect our feet, but they offer us much-needed cushioning and can even serve as fashion statements. However, you need to find the right shoes if you want to experience the most benefits from them. Getting poorly fitting shoes is one of the easiest ways to drive yourself to unhealthy and painful feet. Not having the right shoes can lead to bunions, calluses, plantar fasciitis, stress fractures, hammertoes, and more.
Below, you’ll find a curated list of essential tips from professional Foot and Ankle Orthopedic Surgeons to find the right shoes for yourself.
1. Have Your Feet Measured
One of the first things you should be doing is getting your feet measured. You want to measure your feet every time you go to purchase shoes. Believe it or not, but your foot size can change and so can the shape. Thus, you don’t want to base a new shoe purchase on old information.
2. Always Fit To Your Karger Foot
Ever heard the idea that one of your feet is larger than the other? This is typically true for most people. Many have different-sized feet. Therefore, you want to ensure you’re measuring both.
3. Get Measured At The Right Time
When you are looking to find the right-sized shoes, you want to ensure you are measuring them at the right time. Your feet are going to be the largest and longest at the end of the day. After all, your feet continue to swell and expand throughout the day. Therefore, you want to ensure that you are comfortable wearing your shoes even after they’ve swelled.
4. Don’t Shop Based On Size
You need to be certain that you aren’t shopping based on size alone. As with clothes and other things, you’ll find a lot of sizes to be very difficult among brands. You can find sizing inconsistent within the same brand. Therefore, you want to ensure you are only using the size as a starting point in your shopping efforts and you’re trying them on and measuring your feet. Try Gravity Defyer shoes to find a supportive comfortable shoe.
5. Take Note Of The Shape
You’ll want to ensure that you are buying shoes that are in the shape of your feet. Having the shoes fit properly is more than just finding the right size, but also the right shape because we all have different shaped feet.
6. Don’t Count On The Shoes Stretching
A lot of people tell themselves that the shoes will stretch out over time. The fact is, you don’t want to go into your purchasing decision with this philosophy. Instead, you want to have shoes that properly fit the moment you purchase them. Gravity Defyer shoes will fit perfectly from day one.
7. Check The Width
You want to ensure that you are buying shoes that are wider than the widest part of your foot. The ball of your foot is likely the point at which your foot is its widest. Therefore, you want to find a shoe that can comfortably fit it.
8. Shoe Depth
You want to ensure that the depth of the shoe is deep enough to properly fit all of your toes. This is especially important if you already suffer from toe conditions like hammertoes where your toes protrude upwards. If the toe box is too tiny for your toes, you’ll find it very uncomfortable and you’ll likely develop even more issues going forward.
9. Use Your Thumb
When you are checking to see if the shoes are long enough, try to use your thumb as a good indicator. You want a good half-inch available after your longest toe. Your longest toe is typically going to be your second toe, not your big toe.
10. Stand and Walk Around
Whenever you are going shoe shopping, you should be going to a brick-and-mortar location and doing your sizing. Also, you want to stand up and walk around the store with the shoes on. That way, you can tell whether or not they are comfortable to walk in or ride in and if they are slipping too much.
11. Matching Your Shoes To Your Activity
If you are buying shoes specifically for running, you’ll want to ensure that you are looking for shoes properly equipped for that activity. You’ll need to find shoes that have ample cushioning in the heel area for support. Whereas, if you are looking for shoes for cross-training, you’re likely going to want all-purpose shoes.
12. Identifying Good Shoe Construction
You want to find shoes that feature good construction. Certain things can pinpoint whether or not they are well made. For one, you want to look at the materials and the quality of the materials being used. Is the material breathable? Is the material soft and does it provide ample cushioning? Is there arch support within the shoe’s insert? These are the things you want to look at when you are trying to figure out whether or not the shoes are well made and built to last.