5 Tips to Prevent Your New Shoes from Hurting You
Have you bought new shoes only to have them bother you? We'll explore how to solve this problem with simple tricks to try out at home.
Buying shoes is something everyone likes to do. However, after the first few weeks, your feet starting feeling pain and discomfort. Follow the tips below in order to prevent shoe-related injuries.
People often tend to use their older shoes instead of their new ones due to the pain, blisters, and discomfort they cause. It’s not a good feeling at all knowing you aren’t able to enjoy something you recently bought. You shouldn’t have to suffer while being at work or social events.
In order to put an end to this lousy problem, you can use the following tips to prevent getting hurt by your shoes. Try them and see which works best for you. The world awaits you and those fabulous shoes!
Five tricks to prevent your shoes from hurting you
Hardness is the main cause of shoe-related pain. Over time, the shoes start breaking in and adjusting to the shape of your feet. In the meantime, take the following precautions.
1. Use a bandage
Yes, it seems like a quick fix that anyone could do. Still, that doesn’t mean it’s useless. It’s very effective to stick a bandage or plaster on your heel area because that is what new shoes usually end up hurting.
Use a big enough bandage to cover the entire area that has contact with the shoe. Otherwise, it will start peeling off and only provide you protection for a few minutes.
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2. Thick socks and a hairdryer
This is a very easy and useful trick. At home, put your shoes on with your thickest socks in order to take the entire space up in your shoe. Next, blow dry the parts where the shoes feel the tightest. The hot air will soften and stretch them out. If needed, repeat many times.
3. Baby powder
This is another quick fix that works. By putting baby powder on the area that’s hurting you, it will reduce friction and prevent blistering. A deodorant stick can do the trick as well.
4. Silicone strips
At shoe or orthopedic supply stores, you can buy silicone strips that stick to your shoes’ heel. This way, you can soften the friction against the hard surface and prevent your shoes from hurting you again.
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5. The warm bag of water trick
This last tip is a little controversial since many doubt it works. Still, there are some who would swear on it. Put a bag of hot water inside your shoes. Of course, you have to be absolutely sure that it won’t leak.
Then, leave the shoes in the freezer overnight. The water will expand inside the shoe and gets bigger as it freezes. As a result, your shoes will slightly stretch out every time you do this.
A simpler trick that’s just as effective, is using your shoes until they gradually break in. Use them for a couple of hours at home or at work if you are allowed to bring a change of shoes with you. This way, you’ll prevent injuries and feel more comfortable as you use them during long periods.
Another solution is to have a cobbler place a last inside your shoes to widen them. You can also place some pads on the area that has contact with your skin and thus prevent getting hurt again.
Choosing good shoes
Needless to say, a good pair of shoes has to fit you. There should be at least one centimeter of space between your big toe and the tip of your shoe.
Likewise, choose good-quality shoes, because they don’t cause pain as much due to their properly lining and padding. It’s even better if your shoes have a very soft insole that distributes the loads along the dimensions of your foot.
Finally, this last part is the most important. If you’re not convinced of the shoe quality or you notice something may cause pain, then don’t buy them. You’ll surely find others and save yourself the pain of the first uses, which should be enough to convince you to take your time to find your next pair.
