What are the Worst Shoes for Tailors Bunion Sufferers?
In many cases, tailor’s bunions form due to a poor choice of footwear. Footwear choice is associated with a range of foot problems, and if you want to avoid tailors bunions you need to be careful what you put on your feet. But what are the worst shoes for tailor’s bunions?
Good for Your Fashion Sense ¦ Bad for your Feet
In general, the worst shoes to wear if you have tailor’s bunions are fashionable shoes which restrict movement of your toes and push the bones of the feet out of their natural alignment. Shoes with a short toe box are bad, and narrow shoes with a high heel are considered to be the worst shoes for tailor’s bunions. Pointed toed shoes may look great but they place pressure on the outside and inside of the feet, especially the first and fifth metatarsophalangeal joints – the joints at the base of your big and small toe where bunions most commonly form.
Tailor’s bunions get their name due to the prevalence of these toe deformities with tailors. They were caused by sitting cross-legged on the floor for long periods of time while making clothes. The pressure exerted on the delicate joints at the base of the little toe caused these bunions to form on both feet. These days it is shoe choice which is the main cause of these toe deformities rather than working practices. If your shoes exert too much pressure on your toes, over time you are more likely to develop these little toe bunions.
Raise the Heel and Increase the Pressure
What makes women’s fashionable footwear all the more damaging is that combination of a narrow toe box from fashionable footwear and a high heel; the higher the heel, the worse the shoes are for your feet. But why is this?
When you walk barefoot the body weight is distributed evenly and your feet work exactly as nature intended. The weight is spread between the heel and the ball of the foot fairly evenly; the toes splay to help with balance and are not forced into unnatural positions. The push off from the toes sees the weight of the body spread evenly. When the heel is raised by wearing high heels or stilettos, the body weight distribution is changed dramatically. The weight shifts from the heel to the ball of the foot, which means far greater pressure is exerted on the sides of the feet and the joints at the base of the toes. If you are also overweight even more force acts on the joints of the toes; they are not capable of dealing with the demands placed on them. Women tend to suffer from tailor’s bunions far more frequently than men, and the reason is often shoe choice. Men do not tend to wear narrow pointed shoes and high heels, which is much better for their feet.
Pay Attention to the Material Used in the Construction of Shoe Uppers
It is not just the style of shoe that is a problem as far as tailor’s bunions are concerned. The material used to construct the uppers is also important. Many fashionable shoes are constructed from unyielding materials such as plastics. The harder the material is, the more likely it is to place pressure on the toe joints. The best materials for healthy shoes are those which are flexible such as leather and canvas. Any material which stretches a little when pressure is exerted on it is going to be a lot better for your feet. When you add a narrow toe box, a high heel and unyielding uppers, it is a recipe for disaster as far as your feet are concerned.
If your preferred choice of shoes includes the following styles, you could be at a higher risk of developing tailor’s bunions:
- Stilettos
- High heeled pumps
- Narrow restrictive shoes
- Shoes made from unyielding man-made materials
You do not need to replace your entire shoe collection and buy specific tailors bunion shoes. You just need to make sure that if you wear fashionable and restrictive footwear that you give your feet a break for a couple of days afterwards. Wear low heeled shoes with a wide toe box for a few days afterwards and your feet will be given some much needed respite. You do not need to make the switch to a pair of Crocs –great but ugly tailor’s bunion shoes – but keeping your heel low and wearing flexible shoes is going to go a long way towards reducing the appearance of tailors bunions, and it will help to make sure that they do not form in the first place. In summer wear sandals. When the cold weather returns, your feet should be literally in much better shape.