Are you Looking for the Perfect Heels for your Wedding or Day-to-Day?

A recent article was released by the Milwaukee Wisconsin Journal Sentinel discussing tips for shoe selection for brides on their wedding day. In the article, Dr. Jacqueline Sutera, a spokesperson for the American Podiatric Medicine Association offered her advice on what you should be looking for in a shoe.

Some of the important points that are cited within the article include lower heels, rounder toes, some give within the material, and shopping for your shoes in the afternoon. Lower heels are a must when you will be on your feet the majority of the day. Higher heels (above 2 inches) cause you to walk on the heads of your metatarsals. Your metatarsals are the five long bones in your foot that connect your toes to your rearfoot. Since this is not a natural position for you to be in, you’ll often notice that after a day of wearking high heels all day you will have soreness right along the ball of your foot. This pain is due to the excess pressure being placed where your body is not used to supporting it. Rounder toed shoes are important because the narrow pointy shoes push your toes together in a position they are not supposed to be in. This can cause blisters on the inside of your big toe and the outside of your pinky toe. This position has also been shown to be the cause of some bunions. A more flexible material for your shoes will allow your foot to spread out and contract the way that it normally does while you are walking. If you use a really stiff and rigid material, your foot will be held in one position inhibiting your foot from expanding through your gait cycle. Finally, you should shop for your shoes in the afternoon because everyone’s foot expands throughout the day. So, by the end of the day, your foot may be an entire size wider or longer depending on your foot type. As a result, if you shop in the morning and get smaller shoes your foot will be scrunched up by the end of the day.

All of these points that were discussed in the article are key to having comfortable feet. Many women feel that their feet should be in pain if they are looking fabulous, or that they will be able to break the shoes in over time. The reality is that any shoe that you buy should be comfortable in the store before purchase because it really will not improve with wear.

If you are having difficulty with shoe fitting and finding a comfortable pair of shoes, Dr. Wachtel would be more than happy to measure your foot and suggest some shoe brands that would have the best results for you. Our offices serve the Methuen, Lowell, Tewksbury and North Andover, Massachusetts areas and our staff would be more than happy to help schedule you an appointment.