Here is another image of a shoe that is too deep. Notice how much excess upper there is?
If your upper does not form fit to your foot then the shoe won’t stay on. It doesn’t matter if you use a tongue pad or wear really thick socks, the result will be the same. A sloppy, poor fit. You’re feet deserve better.
Posted in Foot Pain, Narrow Feet, Shoe Fit
This person’s foot size measured a 7 1/2 narrow. Imagine my surprise when I placed her current shoes side by side, end up and discovered the following:
The Nike Air Pegasus on the left was sized 7 1/2, while the New Balance 992 on the right was sized a 7.0. Even though the New Balance was lasted smaller, it was easily a size longer and considerably deeper than the other shoe.
When shopping for shoes it is important to keep in mind, that size is an approximation only, and not necessarily consistent from shoe to shoe. In the case the size 7 1/2 Nike shoes fit like a glove, whereas the size 7.o New Balance were much too long and deep.
As with everything. Buyer beware – you can’t judge a shoe by a manufactures designated size.
Posted in Narrow Feet, Shoe Fit, Shoe Review
Yes, I know Crocs clogs have been all the rage for quite sometime. Yes, they’re lightweight and slip on and off easily, which are all big plusses for those of us who hate tying our shoe laces.
The problem is, for most of us, they’re WAY too big. And if you have a narrow foot – don’t even think about buying this particular style.
If you’re foot fits in your Crocs like this foot, then you may be doing more harm than good. In the above picture, even thick socks won’t help you keep the shoe on.
A foot that fits properly in a shoe, should be going straight ahead, not side to side, and not up and down, which is what the foot in the above shoe does. The result – callous, forefoot and even heel pain, all because the clog doesn’t fit right.
Posted in Foot Pain, Narrow Feet, Shoe Fit, Shoe Review
Narrow feet have a hard time when it comes to hiking boots. Most hiking boots are made wide and deep, making it hard for narrow feet to get a snug fit.
One way you can get the ankle support you need is to modify the lacing as follows. It’s easier than it looks if you follow each step.
1. Undo all the laces except for the 1st 2 or 3.
2. Instead of crossing over to next upper eyelet, re-lace parallel and into the adjacent eyelet
3. Repeat with side lace, same as above. Laces should criss-cross at this point
4. Pull both laces snug
5. Continue remainder of lacing as usual
Now, the laces which would otherwise slide because the eyelets are loops instead of holes, are secure and snug.
Posted in Narrow Feet, Shoe Fit
This week I recommended Brooks Adrenaline running shoes to three different runners, each having narrow, shallow feet. One runner was a female, the other two runners were male.
Not surprisingly, each runner had a different injury (neuroma, Achilles tendonitis, plantar fasciitis), which wasn’t getting better, because their running shoes didn’t fit right . For these anatomically challenged feet, few running shoes fit.
Most running shoe uppers are made too wide and/or deep for narrow feet. Unfortunately, this is true, even if the running shoe is sized in a narrow width. Given this frustrating state of affairs, what’s a narrow foot to do?
Enter Brooks Adrenaline GTS to the rescue…
On the left is the Adrenaline and on the right is the Addiction. Even though both shoes are made by Brooks and both are sized medium width, they are entirely different shoes. The Adrenaline is narrow and shallow. The Addiction is wide and deep.
If your foot is narrow and you are a runner, then the Brooks Adrenaline is definitely a shoe you should try. Women with narrow feet usually do better in a 2A width and men with narrow feet usually do better in the D width of this shoe. Unsure of what width to get, try both in narrow and medium and let your feet decide!
Posted in Narrow Feet, Shoe Fit, Shoe Review
Dansko clogs are great for lots of painful foot conditions providing your foot is the right type. If you have pain in the balls of your feet (metatarsalgia), Dansko clogs are terrific because they don’t flex. People having plantar fasciitis (arch/heel pain), can also benefit from Dansko clogs, because of their built in arch support and torsional stability.
However, if you have a narrow or shallow foot, then this is not the shoe for you. Even if you buy the narrow width version, they will generally still be too deep, for a narrow foot.
If on the other hand you have a wide foot or a medium height arch, then this is a great shoe for you.
The following young woman came into my office today having plantar fasciitis, wearing Dansko clogs. Even though she has a wide forefoot, her overall foot depth is flat and shallow. In her case, she was swimming in the clogs, especially on the right side, which had the arch pain.
Because of the excess room and heel slippage she was experiencing in the above Dansko clogs, I showed her several pair of non-Dansko clogs on Zappos. com, that will give her the extra height she’s looking for, without adding excess depth in the vamp.
Posted in Foot Pain, Narrow Feet, Shoe Review
If you have a narrow foot then you need to pay attention to the outsole width. A narrow foot typically needs a narrower outsole then a wide foot. Here are two medium shoe outsoles which illustrate the difference.
This person has a narrow foot and the shoe on the right was too wide (even though it’s a medium width) creating side to side motion in the shoe, resulting in plantar fasciitis and achilles tendonitis. Both of these conditions were non-existent in the narrower (also medium) shoe, pictured above on the left side.
Having a shoe that it too wide can be just as bad as a shoe that’s too narrow. Best to match the width of your foot to the width of the shoe.
Posted in Narrow Feet, Shoe Fit
Zappos. com is one of my favorite places for hard to fit feet. I especially like the multi-view feature to help evaluate a shoe’s width, depth and design.
Last week I picked out a dozen pair of men’s dress shoes for Jonathan, and today he showed up with a box of 7 pair to evaluate. All, were very handsome, but only the following two pair made the cut. An added bonus, they even worked with his bulky orthotics!
Even though Jonathan has a narrow foot, he could wear these shoes which came in a medium width, because of their shallow depth.
Johnston & Murphy – Bickel Panel Toe
Johnston & Murphy – Gosney Moc Toe Lace-Up
Posted in Narrow Feet, Shoe Fit, Shoe Review
If you find that there’s little to no room between opposite eyelets when lacing your shoes, then your shoe’s probably too wide for your foot. Ditto if you can pinch folds of cloth between your first and second fingers in the toebox.
Conversely if your shoes upper when looking down, appears to be all shoelaces then your either have a really high arch, or your shoe is too narrow for your foot.
Shoe lacing patterns can tell you a lot about whether or not your shoe’s upper is the correct fit.
Posted in Narrow Feet, Shoe Fit
Dr. Jenny Sanders Shoe Blog 