“Shoes should follow the natural shape of the foot and offer uncompromising toe freedom, thereby strengthening the body as a whole”
— Christian Baar
Healthy feet require healthy footwear. When the natural shape of the foot is jammed into shoes that are too tight and/or too loose the ability of the feet to maintain the natural weight bearing structure, use intrinsic muscles of the foot and connect with the rest of the body becomes dysfunctional. Think of it like putting your hands in a really tight gloves and expect them to work as normally as they do when they are free and open to move. We don’t do that with our hands so why do we do that with our feet?
Next time when you are buying new shoes consider these simple guidelines below.
4 general consideration when purchasing functional footwear:
1. It can bend heal to toe
Shoes need to bend from toe to heel to allow for the rocking, heel to toe motion of the foot to have propulsion to move forward.
2. Can It Twist
3. Zero Heel to Toe Drop
All the pressure goes into your toes when the heel is higher than the toes (i.e. when wearing heels)
Heel and Forefoot are the same distance from the ground
4. Toe Box Width
For the small, intrinsic muscles of the foot to be strong they need to have the proper amount of splay and mobility. Pro tip: When buying shoes take the insole of the shoe out and stand on it. If any part of your foot spills outside of the insole then you need to find a wider and/or longer shoe.