Look down at your feet for a moment and consider all that these relatively small appendages are responsible for — supporting your body, balance, and mobility. Given this enormous workload, it makes sense that you do what you can to help your feet.
Unfortunately, many people end up doing the opposite by wearing ill-fitting or improper footwear. And we’re not just talking about high heels — one meta-analysis of numerous studies found that “between 63 and 72% of participants were wearing shoes that did not accommodate either width or length dimensions of their feet.”
To paint a clearer picture, the expert podiatry team at Premier Foot and Ankle Center in Worcester and Whitensville, Massachusetts, unpacks six conditions that stem from ill-fitting footwear.
People often think of bunions as just bony protrusions at the base of the big toe, but the condition is caused when your metatarsophalangeal joint is out of alignment. This misalignment can occur for several reasons, but the leading cause is shoes that crowd your toes.
Bunions cause a progressive shift in your ligaments, bones, and tendons. Switching to footwear that better accommodates your toes can prevent irreversible changes that only surgery can correct.
Another condition closely linked to ill-fitting shoes is Morton’s neuroma. This problem occurs when the tissue surrounding a nerve in the ball of your foot thickens, causing symptoms ranging from discomfort to pain. In many cases, Morton’s neuroma results from wearing high heels or shoes that are too tight.
While not medically severe (unless you have diabetes), an ingrown toenail can cause a good deal of pain. This condition often affects your big toe and occurs when your nail grows into the flesh along the sides. While some people are more prone to ingrown toenails because of overly curved nails, others develop the condition because of shoes that crowd the toes.
The formation of calluses and corns can be pretty uncomfortable. These conditions occur when there’s too much friction or pressure against a certain area (think of the balls of your feet). In most cases, ill-fitting shoes are the culprits behind corns and calluses.
When there’s an imbalance in the muscles and tendons in your foot, a hammertoe can form. Ill-fitting shoes can encourage this imbalance and aggravate existing hammertoes.
Thanks to nerve damage, people with diabetes need to be hypervigilant about the health of their feet. If someone with diabetes wears ill-fitting shoes, they run the risk of developing blisters that turn into open sores, which can become much larger problems if they don’t heal properly.
While we understand how a great pair of shoes can really make an outfit, if these shoes damage your feet, is it worth it? Besides, more manufacturers than ever make fashion-forward footwear that also checks the foot health box.
To learn more about finding the proper footwear, schedule an appointment at your nearest office today. We proudly serve the Worcester and Whitinsville, Massachusetts, areas.
