When people think about their health, they don’t usually look down at their feet. However, the humble feet can actually be the root of quite a few health problems. If you want to be able to stay in good condition, you’ll need to pay attention to it.

One of the most important things that can influence the condition of your feet is your choice of shoes. Whether they are leather or rubber, tight or loose, and other factors can influence how healthy your feet will be. This is why you’ll need to ensure you’ll be selecting the right pair of shoes.

Let’s look at a few of the health conditions your shoe choice can influence.

Minor Problems

Let’s start with the minor inconveniences to your health.

Corns:

One of the more noticeable ones is the presence of corns. A corn is a hardened piece of skin that looks very unattractive.You get them by having too much pressure applied to a particular area. Your body reacts to this by increasing the thickness of a skin in a particular area.

This ensures that the skin will not end up rubbed raw. However, though this protects your skin, it can still result in problems like pain or change the way you walk.

A corn develops if you wear ill-fitting shoes. Tight shoes put the pressure on parts of your feet, while loose shoes result in particular areas experiencing friction. Both will result in corns.

Besides developing hard pieces of skin, you may also end up with fungal infections. A tight shoe results in your foot being in a dark and often humid environment. This is the sort of place where fungi behind athlete’s foot thrive.

You may scoff at the idea of athlete’s foot being a problem, but itching and inflammation is nothing to laugh at. The problem is it is very uncomfortable and makes your feet look like a wreck. You might end up embarrassed to take off your shoes and socks in public.

Ingrown Toenails:

Another problem caused by tight shoes is ingrown toenails. Your toenails keep on growing like your fingernails. The problem is that they grow constantly and adapt quickly to their locations. Tight shoes cause these nails to grow inwards.

Ingrown toenails are bad news. One reason is they can be very sharp and dig into your skin. Untreated, ingrown nails cause wounds that can result in infections or more.

Besides ingrown toenails, tight shoes can damage your nails severely. This can result in fungal infections and the need for toenail removal.

Major Conditions

It is not just minor problems that ill-fitting shoes can cause. You may end up with more serious conditions.

Collapsed Arches:

The arches of your feet are what support your body as you walk and stand. Understandably, they go through a lot of strain. One of the purposes of footwear is to provide additional support to your arches.

However, if you like wearing shoes that have no heel, this means that your arches have to do their job all on their own. This puts strain on the various muscles and ligaments that support the arches. The result is that they will end up collapsing, with flat feet being a major consequence.

That’s not all. Those collapsed arches will keep on causing you pain. Pain in your arch and heel area will become normal, unless you find a way to lessen the strain on your feet.

Back Pain:

Surprisingly, improper shoes can result in pain in other parts of your body. One of the noticeable areas where pain can start is the lower back. This is because this area connects your legs to the body and where a lot of the strain of your body goes

For example, when you wear high heeled shoes, the awkward position forces your lower back to handle some of your body weight. It also does not help that the position can cause discs in your spine to move out of position.

Joint Pains:

Shoes that do not provide much support will result in your legs and joints feeling a lot of strain. Additionally, shoes that do not help with cushioning can also result in further problems. This is because walking or running puts a lot of shock on your limbs.

For example, when you walk, each step of your foot puts your entire body weight on to your feet. Most of the force is transferred to the ground, but there is still quite a bit of shock for most of your limbs, with the knees bending more to help spread out the shock. There is even more strain on your limbs if you are running.

Because of this, constant walking without support causes your joints to have problems. You’ll need to find a pair of shoes that will help absorb the shock and provide you with the support you need.

FAQs

With all of these potential health hazards, here are some questions that people ask about getting the right shoe.