If there's one area of a child's growth parent's pay particular attention to it's the feet. Nationwide, Mums and Dads ensure their little ones get properly fitted shoes as they develop. Unfortunately, in many cases this 'foot care' is not carried through into adulthood and it's thought that between 50-70% of all adults either don't know their actual shoe size or they wear the wrong size on purpose to either make their feet look bigger or smaller. Either or, wearing the wrong shoe sizes is bad for the feet period.
Unless you have to wear a dress shoe, it's recommended that you try to wear sneakers or running shoes as often as possible as they are much kinder to our feet overall. This is especially important when exercising, although I've never actually seen anyone jogging in stilettos or doing aerobics in flip flops. But that said, there are still a lot of people training in fashion footwear giving priority to appearance over safety, and I'm not just referring to the youth here!
When out shopping for new footwear, always look for shoes that preferably have arch supports. Arch supports are important because they help support, protect, and strengthen your arch while on the move. Apart from muscular problems and troubles associated ligaments (a band of fibrous tissue that connects bone to bone or cartilage to bone ), other common problems associated with wrong fitting shoes are bunions, corns, calluses, athletes foot, and toe fungus.
Prevention is far better than cure here, and along with the right fitting footwear, you should also protect your feet with breathable socks, pantyhose or stockings depending on your gender of course! Also, if you suffer from sweaty or smelly feet or feet odor, always try to find footwear that is light and airy, especially during warm weather.
If you love to wear shoes with a heel, no more than one inch is your best option. Why? Because years of walking and running can wear down our feet, and can be particularly hard on the heels. Many find that after some time they're unable to wear their favorite shoes anymore because the pain coming from the ball of the foot, the arch, or the heel has just become too tender.
If you do not suffer from any 'foot' problems, then now is a great time to start taking care of your feet before you do. If you are beginning to feel a little discomfort wearing shoes then take heed. Ask yourself if the shoes you wear support and pad both your heel and your arch and have enough room for all your toes without putting a squeeze on them.
Try to wear shoes that have a good level of breathability and give you good flexibility but without being to big. If in doubt, seek advice from the professional in the shoe store as they have surely been well trained on foot care.
And finally, although cost may be an issue with some folks, try not to skimp on your footwear and avoid shoes made of vinyl or plastic wherever possible unless they are some kind of open toed water shoe or Wellington boot that does not get worn frequently.
By Andy Maingam
Read more on the importance of quality footwear including a review of the British Clarks Shoes at http://www.hipfootwear.com/. There's also a look at the Easy Spirit Shoes, plus other shoe types at Hip Footwear dot com
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