Buying Shoes for a Healthy Gait

A well-aligned skeletal system starts from the bottom up. Think about it: if there’s a misalignment in your foot or ankle bones, everything above them can be off-center enough to cause chronic soreness and fatigue. We perform extremity adjustments at the ACT Wellness Center in Woodbridge and provide customized foot orthotics, allowing our patients to recover from imbalances in their knees, hips, and lower backs. But since we’re in the holiday shopping season, we thought we’d share some tips for buying shoes that will provide you with better support.

One of the most common mistakes people make when buying shoes is not getting both their feet measured. Often, people’s left and right feet are slightly different sizes, so they should know from the start whether they’ll need supportive orthotics for at least one shoe. They should also wear socks of a similar thickness to the ones they expect to wear with certain shoe types, and may want to go later in the day, when their feet have spread out a bit from bearing their weight.Shoe manufacturers are making more flip-flops, sandals, and dress shoes with arch support, but buyers still need to take care that both the bottom and side of their foot will be supported. Athletic shoes should also provide cushioning and stability to the ankle. 

If used daily, athletic shoes will probably be worn out after a few months, at which point they will need to be replaced. In general, shoes need to be replaced when their treads no longer have grip or when the shape of their cuff is distorted enough to stop providing ankle support. Buyers should remember to lace the shoe the way they intend to wear it, but if a shoe is uncomfortable after being worn in the store for ten minutes, it is unlikely to get any better.

If you still have doubts about how your gait is affecting your extremities, come in for an assessment at the ACT Wellness Center at 14111 Minnieville Road, Woodbridge, Virginia. To schedule an appointment with Dr. Carmelino Caratozzolo, call 703-491-9355 or visit ACT Wellness.