Avoid back pain and do not wear these shoes.

Many people buy shoes because they look trendy. Or they are the colour they are looking for. Or even because they are the fashionable brand.

Surely no-one in their right mind would select shoes because they give pain?

Although I do know people who buy tight shoes hoping they will stretch into a more comfortable shape. All that apart, though, there are certain type of shoes which will – and do – cause pain. ( photo credit )

Don’t Wear These Shoes – Protect Yourself

In a study called “Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise”, researcher Dr. Catrine Tudor-Locke found that, on average, men took 7,192 steps each day. Women took fewer, at 5,210 steps a day.

You can imagine that if, each time you take a step you contribute towards a muscle problem… and then you repeat that step thousands of times each and every day, it will soon cause imbalances and problems in your body.

Unfortunately the place where most of these “step problems” occur are in your back.

Avoid Back Pain and Do Not Wear These Shoes

The shoes most likely to cause pain are:-
=  Flip flops
=  Flat shoes
=  High heels, and
=  Toning shoes

Flip Flops

I must confess that I used to wear flip flops around the house. They are so easy to slip on and off.

But they did not do my feet or my back much good.

The problem with flip flops is that you need to use your toes to grip the shoes to stop them from falling off… and doing this stops your toes from doing what they are intended to do which is helping to propel you forwards as you walk along.

Because your toes are bunched, your hips become compromised in that the hips will now move awkwardly. And the result is tired hip and leg muscles, and lower back muscles that are forced out of balance.

The soles of your feet also get minimal cushion and protection from flip flops and so your spine suffer more impact on each step. And then, just to flip the problem to a higher level, your feet receive no support or stability.

And so the advice has to be to flop the flips into the bin except for the occasional beachwear.

Flat shoes
The main trouble with flat shoes is that many typical fashion styles offer but little support for the feet. And added to that, the typical shape of the flat shoe causes more impact pressure with each step.

The result is increased impact pressure each time you walk or run in them.

Impact pressure strikes the hips and lower back which builds up to lower back pain. Add poor arch support and anyone with a weakness in the foot will more easily be able to develop fallen arches and the pain and discomfort this will cause.

High heels
Most people think of ladies´shoes when they think “high heels”, but the truth is that these shoes are worn by men and women alike. We are all familiar with what women’s high heel shoes look like, but men’s boots and shoes with Cuban heels and supports have exactly the same effect.

This unwanted effect is that the back becomes curved and with the knees bent forward, causing calf muscles to shorten, knee caps to stress and the front thigh muscles to work harder than is good for them.

The result is poor posture and back pain

Toning shoes
These shoes are advertised as exercising the ankles and legs as you walk, resulting in tones and shapely legs.

Wrong!

Because the soles of these shoes are rounded and not stable, they cause the legs to work overtime in maintaining balance. During research tests by the Exercise and Health Program at the University of Wisconsin, La Crosse, it was found that the main side effects of wearing toning shoes were tender joints and aching muscles.

An added minus point with most toning shoes is that they have foot arches that could not curve properly, which results in higher impact.

Tender and painful leg joints and lower back is the inevitable result

The Best Shoe Types For Our Feet

Ideal shoes should :-

Have a supportive insole to encourage the arch to keep its shape
Have a heel of a couple of centimetres high
Bend with the foot as you walk, and
Fit comfortably when you buy them. Don’t bank on them stretching to fit – buy them because they fit and have space enough for your toes to move around.

Some people find it difficult to believe that anyone can avoid back pain by making sensible shoe choices.

But you can.  Avoid back pain and do not wear these shoes!

Please leave a comment below. What do you think?