Your feet help support your entire body. But you need to support your feet with properly fitting shoes. If you don’t, pain and discomfort can result.
Our expert team at Apple Podiatry Group in Arlington, Fort Worth, and Flower Mound, Texas, is pleased to diagnose and treat shoe-related foot problems so you can go about your days with ease.
Take a few moments to learn about six common conditions fueled by ill-fitting shoes.
When you have an ingrown toenail, the nail has grown into the skin surrounding your nail bed.
Numerous factors can cause the pain, swelling, and tenderness of an ingrown nail, including wearing overly narrow or tight shoes. Cutting your nails too short or too rounded can lead to these issues too.
Ingrown toenails are one of the most common issues linked to high heel shoes. In addition to narrow toe beds, high heels place undue pressure on the tissues in your toes.
Wearing properly fitting shoes is the best way to prevent blisters and scrapes, which can lead to infected wounds known as foot ulcers.
Avoiding ill-fitting shoes is especially important if you have diabetes since related nerve issues can make it difficult to notice when you have a foot sore. Some 25% of people with diabetes develop a foot ulcer at some point, and those ulcers are the leading cause of amputation.
Poorly fitting shoes commonly fuel chronic heel pain. The wrong shoes can also worsen heel pain related to conditions like plantar fasciitis, stress fractures, and tarsal tunnel syndrome.
Other symptoms related to heel pain conditions that can benefit from smarter shoe choices include aching or burning sensations, reduced range of motion, swelling, and trouble bearing weight on your feet.
Little can worsen bunion pain more than a tight, narrow, or pointy shoe. The bump at the base of your big toe, which is your joint jutting outward, intensifies with added pressure from the shoes.
While shoes may not cause bunions on their own, they can exacerbate bunion symptoms related to genetics or arthritis. Wearing appropriate footwear with a flat or low heel is one of the most helpful steps to reduce mild bunion pain.
Toenail fungus causes your nail to become brittle, misshapen, yellowish, and thick. And if you hope to avoid it, changing your shoe choices can go far. Pressure from poor-fitting shoes is a leading factor behind this common problem.
If your feet are moist within those shoes, your chances of toenail fungus are even higher.
Hammertoe is a condition that affects the joints in your second, third, fourth, and fifth toes, causing one or more of them to bend abnormally. As a result, your toes might curl up and feel uncomfortable.
To prevent or manage these issues, your feet need space from shoes with a wide toe box. Narrow and pointy shoes, on the other hand, make hammertoe symptoms worse.
If you’re dealing with symptoms of a painful foot condition or wondering if your shoe choices are making matters worse, our team can help.
In addition to treating any underlying or related condition, we can create custom orthotics to ensure the best possible foot support. We can also make specific shoe recommendations.
To learn more about problems caused by ill-fitting shoes or to get the care you need, call the Apple Podiatry Group location nearest you or request an appointment online today.
