Shoes and Foot Pain: how to ease the discomfort

“I just rescued a pair of shoes. They were trapped in a store.”

I must have been Cinderella in my past life because my go-to fashion accessory is always shoes… those tall, skinny three-inches (or more) high heels. They may be painful to wear but my shoes have gotten me cool jobs, allowed me to meet amazing people, taken me to awesome places, partied with the well-heeled crowd, impressed my dates, and so much more. But at the end of the day, I’m exhausted. My dainty, little feet are just begging me to take those killer shoes off and give them a break.

Pretty as they are, those sky-high heels when worn too long can actually cause long-term pain not only on the feet but also on the knees and back which then leads to discomfort when standing and walking. Stilettos challenge the body’s ability to balance, and all of the muscles of the legs must work to stabilize the ankle.

Walking is split into two phases. The swinging phase and stance phase. Any shoe that inhibits the weight from falling where it should as we walk, can lead to pain. Clearly high heels are the main culprit because both ‟push-off” and ‟heel-strike” happen mainly on the ball of the foot with little or no support at the ankle. But even those cute little ballet flats, mules, or sandals that don’t offer support to the ligaments of the arch, toe joints, or…