Incorrect footwear choice might result in back, ankle, and other health issues. The choice of footwear is important for everyone, not just athletes.

Footwears that are too tight, too loose, or without enough support, can contribute to undesirable stress on your feet, ankles, lower leg, hip, and spine. This constant stress may result in discomfort and injuries that restrict or eliminate involvement in job, sports, and hobbies.

High heels are referred as by foot and ankle doctors as “shoe-icide.” With the rise in popularity of online shopping, there is more of a temptation to buy and wear shoes that seem stylish but might not fit well. By wearing the following soft footwears, you may end up experiencing ankle problems.

Sharp, slender shoes

Particularly women are more prone to buy shoes with pointy bellies that are overly small and tight in the front. This kind of footwear may result in corns, bunions, and other toe abnormalities like hammertoes, cross toes, and ingrown toenails that may need surgery to rectify.

In heels

Wearing high heels can cause anything from ankle sprains to persistent pain in the shoulders, back, heels, and knees. Women who wear high heels five days a week for two years had 15% shorter calf muscles and 15% stiffer and thicker Achilles tendons than those who did not.

High heels specifically can lead to the following:

• Pump Bump: a painful knot or enlargement on the heel’s back.
• Unnatural foot position strains the smaller toe joints and the ball of the foot, resulting in foot pain and discomfort.
• Ankle sprains: Ankle sprains and ankle fractures are risks that are increased by all high heels. An extreme sprain may cause ligament tears. Recurrent severe ankle sprains or fractures increase the chance of developing osteoarthritis of the ankle.
• Women who wear high heels frequently experience plantar fasciitis, a condition that causes pain on the bottom of the heel.

Ballet flats

Walking on cardboard is what feels like wearing tiny flats. There is no arch support, which prevents the feet from working properly and can cause knee, hip, and back issues. Plantar fasciitis, a painful heel ailment, is also connected to inadequate arch support.

Flip-Flops

Flip-flops provide very little defense. When the feet are exposed like this, there is a greater chance of acquiring splinters or other foot injuries. Flip-flops should not be worn by diabetics as minor cuts and scrapes might cause major consequences. Furthermore, many flip-flops don’t have any arch support. They can exacerbate plantar fasciitis much like flats.

Platform shoes

Platform shoes and wedges frequently have inflexible foot beds that disrupt normal walking biomechanics. Your foot is attempting to bend in a particular direction, but the hard shoe is resisting your efforts. The shoe also produces all the issues associated with high heel shoes if the platform’s heel is significantly higher than the toe region.

Wearing the incorrect footwear might also result in the following:

• Athlete’s foot is a skin condition that is brought on by a fungus that thrives in wet conditions, such as on sweaty feet. Prevention measures include donning clean, airy shoes.
• Bunions and corns: Tight or pressure-producing shoes may be the source of this lump (bunion) and thicker skin patch (corn).
• Wearing shoes that are excessively tight might result in hammer toes, which are toes that bend at the joint.