Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: TUESDAY, October 17, 1995 TAG: 9510170028
SECTION: EXTRA PAGE: 1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: JANE E. BRODY
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
This seems to be the motto of millions of American women who have suffered debilitating problems as a result of wearing ill-fitting shoes. Although shoes are meant to protect the feet from injury, for many women they do just the opposite.
The American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons reports that more than 43 million Americans, most of them women, have trouble with their feet, usually from wearing shoes that do not fit.
Women are nine times more likely than men to develop problems like bunions, corns, calluses, hammertoes and neuromas (a pinched and painfully inflamed nerve in the foot). As evidence of chronic injury, the incidence of foot problems rises with age in women but not in men.
Orthopedic experts say these problems result primarily from one or more of these factors: shoes that are bought too small or that become too small as the foot expands with age, pointed-toe shoes that squeeze the forefoot into an unnatural shape and shoes with high heels that place undue pressure on the toes and forefoot.
Nearly all these problems can be avoided. By opting for comfort over conformity, women should begin dictating footwear design instead of leaving it up to men, who would never dream of walking around with their feet in a torture chamber.
Happily, changes in fashion have made this the best year in more than half a century for women to find and wear shoes that are both comfortable and stylish.
More and more shoes are being sold today with rounded toe boxes that are both wide enough and high enough to accommodate a normal woman's toes and forefoot. Many of today's styles have heels that are lower and wider, and therefore less likely to thrust a woman's weight unnaturally forward and cause instability that can result in twisted, sprained or broken ankles.
And, in a fashion trend that began years ago with a New York City transit strike and has since swept the country, millions of women nationwide now travel to and from work in sneakers and don their dress shoes only at work, limiting the time they spend standing or walking around in footwear that is harmful to their feet.
On average each woman buys 5.6 pairs of shoes each year. Although probably no one has as many shoes as Imelda Marcos, most women have closets filled with ill-fitting shoes.
Always buy for fit, not size. There are no uniform size standards that shoe manufacturers follow. Also, foot sizes change. Feet naturally get bigger as you get older. Through use, the ligaments that hold together the 26 bones in the foot stretch, resulting in feet that are wider and longer. Shoe size is most likely to change if you gain weight.
It is best to buy shoes when you are not rushed or desperate to find something to wear right away. Buy shoes at the end of the day, when your feet are largest. Walk around in the shoes for at least five minutes in the store and if you are the least bit uncertain about comfort, do not buy them. Walk around in them again indoors at home, and if you doubt the fit and comfort, return them.
Never buy shoes that feel tight or that need to be ``broken in'' because chances are your feet will break before the shoes do. Dr. Francesca M. Thompson, an orthopedic surgeon at St. Luke's-Roosevelt Hospital in New York, suggests that before shopping for shoes, measure your feet by making an outline of each bare foot while standing.
Either cut out the drawings and take them with you to the shoe store, or measure both feet at their widest and longest points and write the measurements on a piece of paper that you carry in your wallet.
Fit your larger foot. A strapless dress shoe should be no narrower than one-quarter inch to one-half inch smaller than the widest part of your foot; better yet, try the new Mary Jane and T-strap styles or shoes with buckles across the vamp.
With these styles, you can buy shoes with a wider toe box without having them slip off when you walk. Running and walking shoes and any shoes that are laced should always be as wide as your feet. And no shoe should be less than one-half inch longer than your foot. Your toes should not hit the end of the shoe (this will save your stockings as well as your feet), and you should be able to wiggle your toes inside the shoe while standing. The heels should not slip when you walk.
Avoid shoes with pointed toe boxes, unless that happens to match the shape of your foot. And stay away from heels higher than two and one-quarter inches; higher heels endanger the ankles and put too much pressure on the balls of the feet, which can result in calluses, blisters, bunions and hammertoes.
Select shoes with soft leather or suede or, better yet, elastic in the toe box, which will conform better to the shape of your feet.
If you have bunions - they appear on the side of your foot where the big toe meets the foot - avoid shoes with seams in the toe box that press on that area.
The American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons has begun a campaign to help people select shoes that fit properly.
The academy offers a new brochure, ``If the Shoe Fits, Wear It: Steps to Proper Shoe Fit,'' available free by calling 800-824-BONE (824-2663) or by sending a self-addressed, stamped business-size envelope to If the Shoe Fits, Wear It, American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons, P.O. Box 1998, Des Plains, Ill. 60017.
by CNB