How Wearing Ill-Fitting Shoes Can Affect Your Body

It might seem that choosing shoes isn’t difficult. Many people tend to choose the same brands and models for years, and they can easily order the right pair online even without trying them on. But according to the 2016 study, about 30% of women wear ill-fitting shoes. At the same time, wearing such shoes is not only uncomfortable, this can also lead to more serious consequences than corns and blisters.

At CHEERY, we decided to find out what health problems ill-fitting shoes can cause.

Wearing shoes that are too big can lead to the formation of bunions.

Some ladies prefer to buy shoes one size larger because they think it’s more comfortable this way. Nothing rubs the skin, and blisters are less likely to appear.

But when shoes don’t fit snugly to the foot, your gait can change and become unnatural. Besides, your heel can repeatedly slip out of the shoe and you’ll have to contract your toes to hold the shoe onto your foot. In the long term, this can lead to the formation of bunions. This is why, you should buy shoes of the right size, having measured the length and width of your foot beforehand.

Classic pumps with hard heels can cause back pain.

Everyone’s gait is different. Some people seem to be dancing while walking, others strike the ground hard with every step. If you tend to strike the ground, hard soles are not for you even if the heels are not too high.

If you strike your foot hard on the heel while walking, the resulting vibrations will be transmitted up the body and can cause discomfort in the back. If so, the best option for you are shoes with heels made of a more elastic material: cork or rubber, which have shock absorption properties.

High heels can not only ruin your posture but also lead to headaches.

High heels can cause problems with coordination and you may lose balance while walking. This leads to slouching. And poor posture can cause problems with the spine. Some experts even claim that prolonged wearing of high heels can cause migraines.

But you don’t have to abandon high heels at all because you can avoid many problems by choosing the shoes with the right position of the heel. It should be right under the heel bone, not at the back of the foot. Otherwise your gait can change and you may have health problems.

If you wear shoes made from plastic for a long time, you may get a fungal infection.

Glossy, clear shoes or sandals may look attractive, but are not very healthy for your feet. This material doesn’t let your skin breathe, making your feet sweat a lot. And moist, warm environment is great breeding grounds for bacteria and fungus.

If you don’t want to throw these shoes away, just try to wear them less often and in cool weather when your feet don’t tend to sweat that much.

Flats and slippers can lead to the inflammation of the plantar fascia.

One of the main problems of flats and slippers is that they don’t provide enough support. The connective tissue which supports the arch of the foot is called the plantar fascia.

If you wear flats or slippers too often, this may lead to the overstretching or even inflammation of this connective tissue. This disorder is called plantar fasciitis which can lead to heel spurs and chronic heel pain.

These consequences can be avoided with the help of special orthopedic insoles. They will give additional support to the foot and remove unnecessary stress from the plantar fascia. Besides, the insoles provide extra cushioning, and the wearing of flat shoes becomes less traumatic.

Wearing backless shoes may lead to cracked heels.

When the heels don’t get necessary support from the back, nothing is holding the fat pad on your heel in place causing excessive tension in the skin. This is why, if you wear backless shoes for a long time, you heels are quite likely to crack.

To prevent cracks, it’s worth limiting the time you wear these shoes, and choose a model that gives at least a partial support to the heel. However, it’s better to refrain from long walks in backless shoes.

If your sneakers don’t let your feet breathe, you’re likely to get a fungal infection.

It might seem that sneakers are the most comfortable shoes that can cause no harm to feet. However, in summer, your feet tend to sweat and exude an unpleasant odor. This smell usually doesn’t indicate any health problems. But if your feet are always sweaty, this can lead to the development of fungal diseases on the feet and toenails.

To avoid these problems, it’s recommended to wear shoes with socks that absorb sweat from the skin (for example, socks made from bamboo, thin wool or materials such as Drymax or Coolmax).

Also, it’s not recommended to wear the same sneakers for more than one day in a row. After wearing, shoes should be dried in the open air under the sunlight. So, if a certain model of sneakers fits you perfectly, buy several pairs of them.

Wearing peep-toe shoes can lead to the deformity of toes.

These shoes look very elegant but it’s not so ease to find the right pair. Since they don’t provide enough support, the feet tend to slip down all the time, and you begin to contract your toes.

Wearing such shoes for a long time may cause pain in the pads, and over time, your toes may get deformed.

To avoid this problem, you can buy special shoe bumps — inserts that fit under your toe joints. They keep your feet from slipping and reduce pressure on the toes.

Comfortable and worn-out shoes can cause pain in the knees.

The good old shoes seem to be the most comfortable. They fit you perfectly, and don’t rub anywhere. But it’s best to get rid of them as soon as possible. The fact is that they don’t provide enough support for the feet, and this can lead to pain in the knees.

In addition, the sole of these shoes is most likely worn and thinned. Depending on how often you wear a particular pair, it should be changed every 6 months or year. If you really like these shoes, then buy several pairs at once.

Wearing dark shoes on a sunny day can lead to overheating of the feet.

On warm sunny days, you should pay attention not only to the design of your shoes, but also to their color. Scientists found that if you wear black sneakers in warm weather for a long time, your feet may lose their sensitivity. And this can lead to thermal injuries of the feet.

As their experiment showed, the temperature inside black shoes under intense ultraviolet rays increases in half an hour which can lead to undesirable consequences. So in the summer, it’s best to opt for white shoes.

Gladiator sandals can lead to the appearance of spider veins.

The tight straps of gladiator sandals don’t just leave marks on your legs after long wearing. Our limbs tend to swell during the day, and the straps gradually begin to dig into your skin, disrupting the natural blood circulation. And this can cause the appearance of spider veins on the legs.

If you like this shoe design, it’s better to choose sandals with adjustable and stretchable straps. In addition, it’s worth buying gladiator sandals which straps are quite loose.

To do this, just slide your index and middle fingers under the straps. If they fit easily, then the shoes will be quite comfortable.

Do you usually buy comfortable shoes, or is the shoes design more important to you? Tell us in the comments below.