What Shoes Are Best for Avoiding Foot Pain (Including Heels)?

Look down at your feet and take a moment to appreciate how these relatively small appendages carry your much larger body through life. It’s a miracle that our feet aren’t constantly in pain, given how hard they work.

Well, maybe you’re reading this because your feet are in pain — periodically or constantly. Or perhaps you want to prevent foot pain from striking in the first place.

A good place to start with both efforts is with your shoes. As podiatry experts, Dr. John Schoppe and the team at Advanced Ankle & Foot see a fair share of patients experiencing foot and heel pain, and here’s what we tell them about footwear.

Crowding your toes

Shoes that crowd your toes are a major cause of common foot problems like hammertoes and bunions. As we’ve already mentioned, your feet are incredibly small for their job, and when you further hamper their function by wearing pointy shoes that cram your toes together, you’re throwing your feet off balance.

The reason why your feet work well is they’re balanced in a way that can support your body and help you move. For this balance to be optimal, your toes should be able to spread out so that each can do its part to carry your weight.

So, one of the best things you can do for your feet is to wear shoes with roomy toe boxes, which allow ample space for your toes to work.

The right support underneath

Another way you can support your feet is to customize your shoes with orthotics, especially custom orthotics. These inserts are designed for your feet and can support them in the ways they need. For example, if your arches are falling, we can customize your inserts to provide more support underneath your arches.

Good traction and support

To avoid foot problems like stress fractures and twisted ankles, it’s important that your shoes have good treads and that they support your feet all the way around.

This is especially true for athletes — a lot of sports injuries to the feet and ankles can be avoided by wearing the right shoes for the job. For example, you wouldn’t want to wear trail running shoes on a basketball court.

 How you wear your shoes also matters — make sure that your footwear is snug and laced all the way.

Wearing heels

As much as we want you to avoid wearing heels, we recognize that many people will ignore this recommendation.

So, we figured we could compromise. First, recognize that high-heeled shoes are a fast track to foot pain as they place all the pressure on the front ends of your feet. These shoes can also lead to tight calf muscles, which can lead to heel pain.

So, if you want to wear heels, consider platform heels that distribute the added height between the front and back of your foot. 

Ultimately, you should listen to your feet. If you sigh with relief when you take off your shoes, those shoes are probably not right for your feet.

If you’d like some more guidance on finding shoes to protect you against foot pain, we’re here to help. To get started, feel free to contact our office in Columbus, Georgia, to schedule an appointment.