Cyber Monday Means Let Your Fingers Do the Walking, Not Your Feet

No matter what type of foot problem you may have, when you place arch supports in your sandals, high heels or running shoes your foot will automatically become more supported, comfortable and improve the wear pattern of your shoes.
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How to keep your party shoes on during the holidays and not switch to flats!

Fashion footwear may be on your cyber list of things to buy today, there are many great deals too choose from but once the purchase is done and the partying begins, how do you keep your party shoes on?

"Bad Foot Genes" are the reasons why foot problems occur. Yes, "blame it on Mom and Dad." Arch supports can counteract the predisposition of developing foot problems when wearing fashion footwear and allow you to keep your party shoes on throughout the holidays. They reduce the triggering mechanism to foot pain, bunion pain, joint pain, heel spur pain and arch pain when shopping, dancing and partying this holiday season. Arch supports also will prevent abnormal foot pronation, arch cramps and muscle spasms in the foot from occurring because they support as well as stabilize the joints in the mid-foot (mid-tarsal joint) and hind foot (subtalar joint) from collapsing. The majority of shoe wear worn today has very little arch support built into the construction of their shoes. Therefore, feet can take a beating.

Flat feet are very common and are a byproduct of "Bad Foot Genes" it is present at birth and one does not acquire or catch this type of foot problem from someone else. If you are born with flat feet they can haunt you for a lifetime. When the foot hits the ground everything changes, mainly the arch of your foot will collapse. This collapsing is known as abnormal pronation, a three plane motion that causes the flattening of the foot to the ground. Instant arches®, orthotics or other over the counter arch supports can help prevent foot problems in children and adults by slowing down abnormal pronation. They will help eliminate the development of low back pain and many other orthopedic lower extremity aches and pains.

Why are arch supports so important for your feet when wearing shoes?

No matter what type of foot problem you may have, when you place arch supports in your party shoes, open or closed shoe styles, sandals, high heels, walking, tennis or running shoes your foot will automatically become more supported, comfortable and improve the wear pattern of your shoes.

All shoes will eventually brake down and force you to take them to the shoe repair shop. The most common shoe repair on a shoe is the heel counter, secondly is the sole of the shoe. Normally, when shoes ware down it is at the outside aspect of the heel, the heel wares down because the instability of the joints in the foot and muscle imbalances in the arch of the foot. During the normal walking cycle your foot hits the ground in an inverted position and then proceeds to collapse towards the ground. When the shoe hits the ground the ware pattern travels towards the ball of the foot and eventually out under the toes. The degree of collapsing that occurs as the shoe approaches the ground will first wear down the outside edge, then the sole and finally the toe area of the shoe. The friction and scuffing of the sole of the shoe due to rough walking or exercises surfaces such as pavement, asphalt or tile floors is the reason why the heel and outer sole of the shoe wears out.

Without proper arch support, regardless of style, there is a greater tendency for the outer sole of the shoe to wear out. This could lead to soft tissue injuries in the foot and lower legs from repetitive overuse activities of wearing unsupported and worn out shoes. Shin splints, metatarsalgia (ball of the foot pain) and plantar fasciitis are some of the different types of soft tissue injuries that can occur.

Plantar fasciitis

Fascia is a specialized connective tissue that protects, separates structures and keeps them in place. Plantar fasciitis is a stain or partial rupture of the plantar fascia ligament that originates in the heel bone and inserts into the ball of the foot. The cause of injury to this ligament is repetitive over stretching due to repetitive movements of the foot flattening out or arch collapse. Using an arch support will prevent the collapse of the arch and reduce the probability of plantar fasciitis from developing.

Metatarsalgia

Burning pain in the ball of the foot due to repetitive continues micro trauma to the metatarsal heads. The trauma can cause metatarsal head bursitis and or periostitis. Commonly found when women wear high heels and have a long metatarsal bone. Predominately found plantar to the second and third metatarsal bones because those metatarsals are often times longer than the 1st, 4th and 5th metatarsals. The downward pitch of a high heeled shoe forces the metatarsal bones downward towards the floor surface of the shoe in the toe box. Most fashion footwear does not have adequate support in the arch area of the shoe or cushioning in the toe box. The metatarsal bones become inflamed and very painful. The addition of an arch support in a high heel shoe will reduce the impact load on the ball of the foot and spread out the weight distribution among the metatarsal heads.

Shin Splints

Problems of the fascia in the lower leg brought on by repetitive activity causing pain. It is frequently associated with flat feet or arch collapse. The flattening of the arch overpowers the muscles in the lower leg causing muscle imbalances and abnormally stretches the muscle attachments to the lower leg bone. Wearing arch supports to prevent the arch from flattening will reduce the chance of occurrence of shin splints.

By wearing arch supports in your shoes there is a much greater chance of not developing these problems and reducing shoe wear and tear. Now that is how to keep your party shoes on during the holidays and not switch to flats!

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