Footwear and physical activity

Shoes do not cure plantar fasciitis or a neuroma, but they can be what keeps them going. A new training block, a stiffer sole, a different drop or a narrower last can change foot load within days. In clinic we often see “unexplained” injuries that coincide with brand-new trainers, too little rotation of pairs, or a fashionable model that does not hold the rearfoot.

At Podología Priego we ask for the pair that hurts and the pair you wear the rest of the day. The foot does not live only in the running shoe: it spends eight hours at work, at school or in a dress shoe. Treating only “sport footwear” leaves half the story out.

What an activity shoe should offer

• A last that matches the real forefoot width, not only the catalogue size. Many “size 42” pairs crush a wide 42 forefoot.
• Enough heel hold: a collapsing heel counter does not control rearfoot valgus.
• A sole that flexes where the foot flexes (the metatarsophalangeal joints), not in the middle of the arch.
• Cushioning and stability that match body weight, surface and the task (walking, running, cutting).
• Room for the toes when running and braking. Black nails and recurrent ingrown nails often start here.
• If you wear custom orthoses, enough depth to house them without the foot floating or the instep being strangled.

Minimalist, maximalist and mixed rotation can all be reasonable. What is not reasonable is jumping from one extreme to the other in a peak week. The foot, soleus and Achilles need adaptation time. A “miracle shoe” does not correct a sudden jump in kilometres.

Work, sport and everyday life

Someone who stands in a shop, a kitchen or a classroom needs a different criterion from someone who runs three days a week. The same foot may be fine in a trainer and poor in a narrow dress shoe for eight hours. Occupational heel and forefoot overload is as clinical as road running; only the story changes.

Check sole wear every few months. A very asymmetrical pattern, push-off only on the inner edge, or a heel eaten on one side is information, not dirt. So is a shredded lining, a factory insole concertinaed, or a last that drives the hallux into the toe box.

In children, school and club shoes wear out fast. A small pair or a heel counter that has already opened explains rubbing, ingrown nails and end-of-day complaints. You do not need the most expensive model; you do need a size and hold that match this term, not last Christmas.

When to come in

If you have changed sport, volume or shoes and heel, Achilles, shin or forefoot pain has appeared, do not insist another four weeks “to get used to it”. A gait assessment and a footwear review can stop an acute overload becoming a chronic tendinopathy. The same applies if nails always ingrow with the same pair or if insoles “no longer fit”.

Book via contact and bring the painful pair, daily shoes and any orthoses. Changing the shoe without looking at the foot is as incomplete as looking at the foot without looking at the shoe.

General footwear advice. Prescription of orthoses or therapeutic shoes follows examination.