Ready to buy some new shoes? 

Carry out these five steps first, to ensure your feet stay healthy and well protected.

Many people underestimate the impact ill-fitting shoes with inadequate support can have on the healthy function of your feet, ankles, knees and legs.

Step 1: PUSH

Want to see how much support your shoes provide?

Push the back ends of your shoes inwards.  If the back stays firm, the heel counter is robust and will provide significant support to your feet.  If the back end bends inwards, the heel counter is flexible.  This means you either have a light-weight training shoe meant for activities that don’t require support, or you may need to re-think your footwear purchase!

Step 2: BEND

Want to check your shoe is flexible where it counts?

Bend it where your toes will go.   Your foot naturally bends & flexes at your metatarsal joints, located just behind your toes.  Having a shoe that bends with your feet is important not only for comfort but also for facilitating training routines.  The more flexible & elastic your shoe is where the metatarsal joints bend, the greater your ability to activate & act on the muscles in your foot.

Step 3: TWIST

Want to make sure your foot is supported during the physical activities?

Ensure the middle section of your shoe can’t twist.  You should not be able to twist your shoes through the middle, instead it should remain firm and stable.  This is essential for supporting your foot arch and when bearing the weight of your body.

Step 4: TIE

Want to make sure your feet are firmly secure in your shoes?

Tying laces can help.   If you don’t want laces, then buckles or velcro can achieve the same result.  By securing your feet it helps to keep your toes from jamming into the front end of your shoes – and it increases support, which can help relieve pain in your feet.

Step 5: THE RULE OF THUMB

Want to ensure your shoes fit correctly?

Look no further than your thumb.  You should leave about one thumb-width (2cm) of space between the tip of your longest toe & the front end of the shoe you are fitting for.  This is because as you move, your foot slides forward.

If your toes are touching the front end of your shoes, then they are too small!  Remember – your longest toe may not necessarily be your big toe!

When you’re on your feet all day serving customers, running after your children, or pounding the pavement for your next half-marathon, the right shoes can make all the difference.

Comfortable, well-designed footwear will make your life easier by doing the following:

• Providing adequate arch support
• Spreading pressure more evenly
• Promoting healthy blood circulation
• Reducing fatigue and discomfort

Croydon Total Footcare delivers the entire foot care package including expert footwear advice and a wide range of fashionable and comfortable footwear for all occasions.

Comfort footwear

We supply a wide range of comfortable supportive footwear for all your requirements including casual, dress shoes, sandals, slippers, walking shoes, trainers and running shoes for men and women.

At last you can put your best feet forward in comfort and style. Plus, we have a selection of footwear to cater to a range of budgets.

You can choose from our wide selection from some of the most highly regarded and fashionable brands available such as:

• Dr Comfort
• Revere
• Anodyne
• Archies (Arch support thongs)

We also stock a range of support hosiery and gorgeously comfortable bamboo socks. Appropriate footwear is particularly important if you suffer from poor circulation or diabetes.

Footwear advice

Whether you’re looking to reduce foot fatigue at the end of another day in the office or you want some really supportive shoes to optimise your new custom orthotics come and talk to us.

We can help you with expert, friendly advice about your current footwear, the impact your footwear is having on your daily activities and show you how the right footwear can make life easier.

We can explore options such as stretching and adding inserts or padding to make the most of your current footwear as well as fit custom made orthotics to your shoes.

Lacing techniques

The way you tie your shoe laces can have an enormous impact on the effectiveness of your shoes and your comfort levels at the end of the day. When you stand, walk, and run your feet are subject to enormous pressure and this directly impacts on the nerves and blood supply to the feet.

We’ve listed some helpful techniques below but you can learn about a wide range of other lacing techniques here:

https://www.fieggen.com/shoelace/locklacing.htm

Slippery heels

Use this lacing technique if your heels slide around in your shoes. This technique allows you to tighten the top of the shoe and hold the heel in place without over-tightening the bottom section.

Lace the shoe normally until the second to last set of eyelets. Take each lace end up to the last eyelet (without crossing sides) and thread the lace down into the top eyelet. Take each lace end across to its opposite side and thread it under the vertical section between the last two eyelets. Pull and tie normally.

Running shoes

To maximise a secure supportive fit with your running shoes try this.  Once you have laced the shoe, feed the lace end back through the last hole to form a loop. Do this on both sides of the shoe. Now feed each loose end through the loop on the opposite side, tighten and knot for a really secure fit.

Wide forefoot or high instep

We have shoes specially designed to fit a wide forefoot. But this technique can also be very helpful.  From the lowest eyelets run the laces up each side of the shoe bypassing the eyelets until you come to the final three eyelets where you can use the normal criss-crossing technique. Tie the knot as normal.

A modified version of this lacing technique is also great for people with a high instep. Lace your shoes as above but ignore all the eyelets until you reach the final two eyelets. Thread the lace through, tighten for comfort and tie laces as normal.

There’s no need to put up with painful feet. Come and see the team at Croydon Total Footcare; we put the care back into your feet.