How to Stop Tight Shoes From Hurting

Ill-fitting shoes cause or aggravate several painful foot problems

Surgical procedures to correct foot problems from tight-fitting shoes cost approximately $2 billion a year, according to The American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (AAOS) in 2006. Women suffer most of the discomfort; nine times more women develop problems from improperly fitting shoes than men, and nine out of 10 women wear shoes too small for their feet, says the AAOS. This shouldn't surprise women: Eight out of 10 report painful shoes, according to the organization.

Instructions

Simple Solutions

1. Soak your feet in warm water with Epsom salts for 15 to 20 minutes, then circle a pumice stone over calluses to remove dry skin. Apply a moisturizing foot cream. Place moleskin pads next to the areas where the shoes rub you wrong, before blisters develop.

2. Disinfect a needle with rubbing alcohol and make a small hole at the edge of a blister to drain the fluid. Apply a topical antibiotic such as Bacitracin or Neosporin and cover the area with a clean bandage every day for three days. Change shoes frequently during the day, rotating between different pairs.

3. Cover bunions with specially designed gel or protective pads. Have a professional stretch your shoes. If pain persists, you may need surgery.

4. Cut ingrown toenails straight across and don't file the corners down. The American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons recommends soaking the affected foot three to four times daily but keeping it dry the rest of the day. Take ibuprofen or acetaminophen for pain relief. Wear sandals until the condition clears up. Call a doctor if there is no improvement in two or three days, or if the condition worsens. Surgery might be necessary.

5. Take ibuprofen to relieve pain from Morton's neuroma, a thickening of tissue caused by an irritated nerve -- most often between the third and fourth toes -- that produces persistent pain in the ball of the foot. Tight shoes don't cause Morton's neuroma but they can aggravate the condition. Use custom shoe inserts and pads to reduce pressure on the nerve. Ask a podiatrist to give you a cortisone injection if you still have pain. Surgery may be required.

Pain Prevention

1. Buy shoes in the correct size and try them on in the afternoon, when your feet will be the largest due to swelling. Poorly fitting shoes cause many foot maladies. Measure for 1/2 inch of space between the longest toe, which isn't necessarily the big toe, and the tip of the shoe.

2. Wear a style that puts less stress on whatever ails your foot. Choose footwear with a wide toe box and a low heel, for example, if you have bunions or an ingrown toenail. Limit the time you spend wearing high heels, flip flops and ballet slippers, as well as going barefoot.

3. Massage your arches, roll your feet over a tennis ball for several minutes each day and pull your toes toward you with a towel placed across the ball of your foot. These stretches keep feet flexible and counter some of the foot contortions caused by badly designed and too-tight shoes

References

• "The New York Times" Health Guide: Foot Pain
• American Association of Orthopaedic Surgeons: Tight Shoes and Foot Problems
• American Association of Orthopaedic Surgeons: Bunions
• American Association of Orthopaedic Surgeons: Ingrown Toenail
• "Real Simple": Why Your Feet Hurt
• American Association of Orthopaedic Surgeons: Morton's Neuroma

Resources

• "Women's Health": No More Foot Pain