The Role of Supportive Footwear in Preventing Cracked Heels

I know what you’re thinking, supportive shoes are so ugly and look like old lady shoes. That was my first thought when I was told I needed supportive shoes to help my arthritic feet, and at 37 I didn’t want old people shoes! So began the journey to find supportive shoes that don’t make me look like my mum.

There is a surprising amount of companies in Australia that are starting to make podiatrist-designed or recommended shoes in fashionable styles. While they may be a little more expensive, you will find yourself choosing these shoes over your others in no time, and the wear to cost ratio will be so much better than those cheapies you normally get.

What makes a podiatrist recommended shoe? Arch support, heel support and the ability to adjust inner soles to get a “custom” fit. The main thing you want is for the heel to support your arch, support your heel (with a cradle-like area), and for the shoe to fit right (not too tight and no rubbing in the wrong places).

My tips for picking the right shoe for you are:

• Pick a leather upper – these will give a little to enable the best fit for your foot and they will last a lot longer than synthetic uppers

• If you have bunions, corns or some other feature which could cause an issue when wearing, then take this into consideration when picking a style – some of the brands have street stores you can try on the shoes (or stockists), and some have an easy returns process for shoes that don’t fit right. Check their website to see what options there are for checking you can get the right shoes

• Pick a colour that will go with a majority of your outfits – some people pick the colour of their handbag (this is what I did), and some decide to pick a style in each colour, it’s up to you

Here is a list of some of the websites I found with shoes that are podiatrist-designed or recommended.

bared.com.au                     frankie4.com.au        vionicshoes.com.au

archiesfootwear.com.au