Signs You Are Wearing the Wrong Shoes for Your Feet

For many people, shoes tend to be an aesthetic choice rather than a practical one. While there’s nothing wrong with this in general, the shoes we wear can have serious effects on our health, both positive and negative, depending on the kind of shoes. Whether you need shoes to walk around in or want something supportive for running, hiking, or Pilates, be wary of these signs you’re wearing the wrong shoes for your feet.

The Arch of Your Foot Hurts

One of the main reasons we wear shoes is to support our feet, specifically the arch between the heel and ball of the foot. Foot arch pain can be seriously debilitating, and your shoes might be the source of the issue. You’ll usually find this happening if you wear shoes that are flimsier or have very thin soles. This can eventually lead to worse injury, so toss those flimsy shoes before your arches fall completely.

Tightness While Moving

Unless you need very tight shoes for a specific purpose, such as dancing, you don’t want shoes that squeeze your feet too much. The extra tension puts more strain on your feet and can also affect the circulation of blood in your feet. If you walk or move a lot, your feet may swell up slightly over time, making even properly fitting shoes too tight. If the shoes are fine, but your feet get too big throughout the day for them to be comfortable, donating those shoes can be an excellent alternative.

New Calluses or Blisters

A clear sign that you’re wearing the wrong shoes for your feet is when you can feel new blisters, calluses, or even bruises starting to form on the parts of your feet that rub up against them. This is another indication that your shoes are a little too tight for comfort. Your best bet is to go up in shoe size or to find the same shoe in a wider variant that gives your foot more room to move around.

Pain From Scrunched Toes

Your toes should be able to spread out a reasonable distance, even when inside a shoe. Poorly fitting shoes, usually ones that are too short or narrow, will scrunch up your toes and painfully push them into one another. If stretching your toes after removing them from your shoes hurts quite a bit, you’ll need to find a longer shoe that gives your toes some more breathing room.

Shoes can play such a crucial role in our overall health, especially if they make moving so painful that you don’t want to exercise and stay fit. Don’t wear shoes that cause these issues for too long, or you’ll end up with some nasty injuries.