Everybody will agree that if your feet hurt, the life is not good! I am sure every one of us has had a moment when we wanted to take off our shoes - right now! And oh, boy, it feels like you were just reborn or you took a mountain off your shoulders!
Roles of the feet
Your feet carry you around, carry your weight and they connect you with the ground, map of your organs with a lot of reflexology points.
They handle a ton. Heavy duty responsibilities. If something goes wrong with them, you are in trouble. You are at a higher risk of injury already.
Lets start with the first thing you need to provide for your feet - good shoes! Shoes highly affect your feet's health and also your overall health which is one of the key points for a good posture and proper movement patterns.
5 things to have in mind when it gets down to make the right decisions
Buy comfortable, good quality shoes for everyday and work outs - they are your feet's bed and you want them to be extra comfy. Do not ignore the fact that your feet spend more than half a day in shoes. Do not go by famous brands, fashion or advertisement. Find your shoes.
Start wearing them for a few hours at first and increase the time in them slowly and gradually. Breaking in your feet and your body, smooth transition over a couple of weeks, your old ones will last longer and your body and feet will have more time to adjust to the new ones smoothly - make them yours.
Buy 2-3 pairs and alternate them every day. This increases their life, you will enjoy them longer as well as give them a rest and time to dry (moist damages the material). Something else - mix and match them with different outfits - boom!- welcome variety and spice up your appearance to the world.
Replace them as soon as you notice any wear or tear signs - that means you are ready for new ones. They already lost their support, shape and comfort. They are not serving your needs anymore. The average life of your shoes is 8-12 months or 300-500 miles but depends on the following:
your weight
how heavy is your step
what activity you need them for
how often you use them
the care you provide for them
biomechanics of the body
Take good care of them - give them time to dry to avoid fast moist damage and deformity.
What happens when your shoes lose their qualities:
less re-bounce of the midsole
less impact protection when foot strikes the ground
less shock absorption during activity
less arch support , less achilles and ankle support - everything is less
How this affects you:
Changes your form, how you carry your body and perform activities
Unlocks compensatory mechanisms - weight distribution, muscle balance and body alignment- more muscle and joint stress
The lack of support makes your activity unsafe - balance challenges you even more than usual
Blisters, callus build-up
More aches and pains, more soreness
Higher risk of injury- nothing goes right and therefore you are not happy!
Go and check on your shoes - are they still good or do you need to go shopping!
To be continued..
Happy feet, happy you
Photo by Steve Halama on Unsplash