If you want to take care of your foot health, we suggest that you buy the best shoes. But the million-dollar question is that how can you find a pair that can fit properly and offer plenty of support? In this article, we are going to give you 8 tips to help you get a pair that will be good for your delicate feet. Read on to find out more.

You may want to begin with your own feet and consider the stuff that you already have in your closet. To get started, stand on cardboard with no shoes on. Next, you should trace the shape of both of your feet. Then you should place your shoes on the drawing. Ideally, your shoes should match your feet outline as closely as possible.

Choose an existing pair of shoes that doesn’t cause you any pain. In most cases, this type of shoe features wide toes and low heels. So, what you need to do is ensure that the shoe toe is not shorter or narrower compared to your foot toes.

Given below are some of the tips that will help you ensure that the footwear you are going to buy is comfortable.

1. You should wait until the afternoon before you buy shoes. The reason is that your feet tend to expand by the end of the day. This tip is important if you want to get the right size.

2. Go for the right type of socks. In other words, get a pair of socks that you usually wear.

3. Allow the salesman to measure your feet. In fact, you should get your feet measured whenever you buy new sneakers.

4. Put on the shoes you want to buy and stand up. Now, you must have a minimum of half an inch of space in-between the shoe toe and your own toe.

5. Take a quick walk to see how the shoes feel. There should be enough space at the feet balls. The heels should fit snugly instead of slipping off. In other words, don’t just buy a pair just because you think it will get set with time.

6. You should consider your comfort level instead of depending on the description of shoe size. Also, sizes tend to vary among manufacturers. Regardless of the advertisement claims, you should get a pair that is comfortable.

7. Check the insides of the sneakers to find out if they have any seams, tags, or other irritating stuff. After all, you don’t want to get blistered after buying the pair.

8. Turn over the sneakers and take a closer look at the soles. This is to make sure that they are strong enough to protect you against sharp objects. Also, they should offer enough cushioning. Apart from this, you should walk around to check the cushioning.

Long story short, if you follow these 8 tips, you will be able to buy a pair of sneakers that will be good for your feet.

“When can I start dancing again?” asked the salsa dancer.

“As soon as you give up those high-heeled shoes!” I replied.

She stared at me coldly. I know I shouldn’t have said it. I know this battle cannot be won.

This probably won’t come to you as a surprise: You can’t tell a female salsa dancer that she can’t wear “cute” shoes. Regardless of how hard they are on the feet and how much damage they do to these critical structures, a woman will still insist on wearing her 5″ ‘Jimmy Choos,’ because they’re not just shoes. They are an integral part of the salsa experience.

Shoes are such an important component of the dance that many women will continue wearing them through intense pain, all the while knowing that their choice of shoe will lead them to an inevitable surgery in the years that follow. Therefore, it is futile to try and convince them to try a different shoe. Instead, I’d rather focus on what we can control: their unrelenting side effects.

The problem with high heeled shoes is not that they necessarily cause a condition to occur. However, they can make an unnoticed or mild condition much worse, and in many cases intolerable. Because the force of the body is applied to the metatarsals and toes, we commonly see women dancers with tough corns and calluses, bunions, hammertoes, neuromas and bone spurs of the toes. The sad truth is this: High heeled shoes will make any of the aforementioned conditions worse. Therefore, if you’re unwilling to give up your shoes, you must be prepared to manage the symptoms, or opt for an outpatient surgical procedure to correct the misaligned structure.

Some things you can do for maintenance:

File down your calluses & corns – With calluses & corns, maintenance is the key. Shave them down regularly so that they do not become painful, but be sure to leave some of the callus. Remember – the reason your body produces a callus is to protect the skin from friction. You can try this yourself, or see your podiatrist, who will shave off just the right amount.

Invest in Moleskin – Moleskin with an adhesive backing can be purchased from your local pharmacy. Use this to prevent toes from pressing together, or from rubbing against the sides of your shoes. Place this moleskin on the ‘hotspots,’ and see if you experience any relief. The tops of the toes are another place where moleskin can be effective.

Practice in Jazz flats – While jazz flats present their own issues (such as plantar fasciitis due to lack of support in the arch), they can keep the constant pressure off your toes. Depending on your specific conditions, consider switching between heels and jazz flats while you practice.

Wear your orthotics – When you’re off the floor, make sure you wear a well-supported shoe with a custom orthotic insert. Placing your feet in an ideal position while you’re not dancing may help your overall condition when the pressure is on.

Much of finding a solution for a dancer (without actually seeing a doctor) involves trial and error. As you are searching for your best solution that keeps you on the floor, remember that pain is your body’s way of telling you something is wrong. If you don’t address the issue, it will worsen. Your best bet is to seek professional medical advice if the condition does not heal or becomes chronic. Many dancers avoid seeing a professional because they fear the word “surgery.” This fear is, however, irrational. Podiatric medical procedures have significantly advanced over the last few years. Most surgeries for dance related issues (if treated early) are minor, and may only require a single suture. See a podiatrist for a consultation (many provide this service for free). The knowledge you gain could save your dancing career!

LENGTH

All ski boot manufacturers, except Lange and Raichle, have in the past few years begun manufacturing their boots in mondopoint sizes. That’s simply a tech term for the metric length of the innerboot cavity, expressed in centimeters.

To find you mondopoint size, place a metric ruler on a hard surface floor with the “zero” end against the wall.

Place one heel against the wall and read your foot length at the tip of your big toe to closest millimeter mark. That’s your mondopoint size. (To determine your corresponding U.S. size, add together the first two digits of your mondopoint size. If your mondopoint size ends in.5 add ½ to the result. The formula works up until 29.5. A size 30 is U.S. 12.) Then measure your other foot. Left and right foot lengths often vary by half-size (a difference of more than a half-size may be the result of leg length discrepancy, which could require medical attention). If your feet indeed measure to different lengths, always try to fit the smaller foot, and have a boot technician customize the other boot accommodate the longer foot. That ensures maximum control.

Remember, the mondopoint size of your foot only represents a starting point for your search. Because of the other last characteristics (the “last” refers to the shape of the liner) and type of padding used, you should always try on boots smaller than your measured foot size, and never buy boots larger than your street shoe.

A good gauge for weather a boots is in your size range is to slip your foot into the shell with the innerboot removed. Slide your foot forward until your longest toe just touches the front of the boots. If you have ½ – 1 inch of space behind your heel (for top experts, ¼ – 3/8 inch), you’re in the ballpark.

WIDTH

To find your width, stand with the metric ruler centered beneath the ball of your foot. Read the width to closest millimeter, and check the chart below.

Read down the first column of the chart to your mondopoint length, and read across to find the closest measurement to your metric width. Read up to determine whether your foot is narrow, medium or wide.

TOE SHAPE

The arc of your toes dictates how easily you’ll fit into the toe box of a ski boot. Most ski boots are designed to accommodate rounded toe lies (see illustration).

To achieve the best performance fit, skiers with angular toe lies should start with snug-fitting boots, and have a boot tech stretch the bit toe area of the liner and/or shell. Skiers with square toe lies should look for boots with wider toe boxes.

It’s fairly common for the second toe to be longer than the first (this is called a Morton toe). In this case, your fitter should put you in a shell designed to accommodate your big toe and stretch the liner and/or shell to make room for the elongated second toe.

INSTEP HEIGHT

Instep heights is perhaps the most crucial fit area in a ski boot. Skiers with excess volume in the instep area, for example, tend to clamp down tight on the second buckle to secure the foot. This can compress veins and nerves on the top of the foot, causing numbness, cold toes or pain under the ball of the foot.

The easiest way to gauge whether your instep is high, normal, low, is to compare your foot with illustrations below, and make a visual assessment.

To determine your arch height, sprinkle a generous layer of baby powder on the floor. With bare feet, stand still and relaxed in the powder on the floor. Then step back and check your prints against the illustrations below. Take prints of both feet: they can differ. A big difference between heights of the two arches can be the result of a leg length discrepancy or injury. The problem can usually be solved with custom footbeds and/or properly sized hell lift, but the device should be prescribed by an orthopedist, podiatrist or chiropractor.

THE HEEL REGION

The area from your ankles rearward is a crucial fit region if you’re to maximize on-hill performance. A loose fit in the rear permits the heel to lift during turn initiation and slip forward during the finish of a turn. To determine your rear-foot shape, stand up and look straight down at your heel.

With most feet, the ankle nodes and heel base are nearly identical in width. A wide ankle, for example, normally accompanies a wide heel, and the Achilles tendon will be almost invisible to the eye. A wide heel tends to mask the ankle nodes, which will appear plump and round. If you try to place a foot with a wide heel in a boot with a narrow heel pocket, it won’t sit properly, and this permits heel lift.

A low-volume heel has a thin Achilles tendon, which usually protrudes from the foot and creates a deep sculpting between it and the ankles as it drops to the heel base. The ankles protrude noticeably from the foot.

CALF SIZE

Most boots have buckle adjustments to accommodate a wide variety of calf shapes, but skiers with exceptionally large or slender calves may need custom adjustments. A cuff that doesn’t wrap the calf securely creates impulse lag time between leg and ski movements. A cuff that won’t accommodate a beefy calf can be an instrument of torture that prevents the foot from sitting flat in the boot and makes it impossible to close the boot. A good boot technician can customize your boots with cuff padding or, in severe cases, relocation of buckles.

To test for calf size, check the chart above and, at the height specified for your mondopoint size; encircle your calf with both hands using your thumbs and index fingers.

If your fingers just touch, your calf is in the normal range. If your fingers overlap, your calf is narrow. If they overlap so much that they meet at your index finger’s first joint, your calf is extremely narrow. If your fingers can’t touch, your calf is wide.

A corn is an area of hard skin on the feet that forms from friction and pressure, normally caused by footwear or a deformity of the foot or toes.

The skin contains a substance called keratin whose job it is to thicken and harden the skin when it finds itself under prolonged pressure.

Generally corns can be distinguished from calluses by a sharp demarcation line between the centre called the nucleus and the surrounding skin.

You can find them under the nail, between the toes as soft corns, on the side or underneath of the foot and on top of the toe joints.

They can be found anywhere on the foot and can be very painful to walk on. This can cause the patient to walk differently than normal and which may lead to other by mechanical problems with their gait affecting the ankles and knees and hips and back.

Causes

• Toe deformity.
• Unsuitable footwear.
• Arthritis (deformity).
• Hammer toes.
• Fallen arches.
• Sweat gland disorders.
• Poor circulation.

Treatment.

There are several methods to removing a corn but the safest way is to visit a registered Chiropodist/Podiatrist who will debride the callous surrounding the corn and enucleate (remove) the nucleus.

Many patients who try to self treat a corn could end up in serious trouble. If they have a circulatory disorder, diabetes or are pregnant for example, and using caustic’s or un-sterile blades could prove disastrous.

Always seek medical advice before using medications such as silver nitrate and salacylic acid, of the kind found in corn plasters. They may be good at eating away at a corn but remember they can also attack healthy skin as well.

He is also important to diagnose a corn first. Many of my patients who believe they have a corn may have another underlying problem and many corns are misdiagnosed as Verucas.

Corn and Callus Removal

Once a corn is removed, you should try to use emollients is to restore elasticity to the area, especially if all of the nucleus has not been removed. It is also important to examine the reason for the corn in the first place. If it was caused by footwear then this should be addressed otherwise the corn will return again.

Types of Corn

• Heloma Durum – (hard corn) normally occurs over bony prominences.
• Laminated Corn – same as for Paloma Durham but loaded with congealed blood normally seen on the apex of the toe.
• Fibrous Corn – where fibrous elements have been incorporated into its structure causing chronic but mild inflammation.
• Vascular Corn – growth of one or more capillaries within the structure of the corn.
• Heloma Neuro – as per vascular, but has minute filaments in the cornious tissue.
• Heloma Milliaire – small granules or crystals of skin the size of millet seeds (seed corns) on the plantar (underside) of the foot.
• Heloma Molle – (soft corn) normally found between the toes it is soft due to the sweat prominent here.

In Summary

It is essential to look at the reason for why your corn developed in the first place. Most often it is footwear related and you will need to adapt your shoe size and style accordingly. If it is due to deformity then it will be necessary to cushion and protect the area from further trauma.

Dry gangrene in iguanas is a condition that results from an infection.  If the infection is left untreated, it causes death of tissue.  Most lizards develop dry gangrene on their toes or tail.  So, what exactly causes this condition?

Cause

Most iguanas suffer from dry gangrene due to an injury in the affected area.  A common situation is having its tail stepped on which may damage blood and nerves.  Skin that has shed improperly can also cut off circulation in the toes or tail and result in gangrene.

Symptoms

This disease is easily noticeable.  The dead tissue will turn either black or brown.  It will also dry up and turn hard and brittle.  As the condition progresses, these symptoms will extend up the toe or tail.  The affected area will also probably feel mushy to the touch.

Treatment

Dry gangrene in iguanas is a very serious disease.  The affected area will need to be amputated to prevent the infection from spreading further.  If caught in time, the tail or toes can be amputated without many complications.  If the disease has already progressed, it will be necessary to amputate further up which will cause more bleeding and require more stiches.

Amputation of the affected area is only the first method of treatment.  Antibiotics are usually necessary to help combat the infection or secondary complications.  You, as the owner, will also need to care for your iguana’s wound until it has completely healed up.

Prevention

Since traumatic injury is one of the common causes of dry gangrene in iguanas, you should do everything in your power to prevent it.  You should also make sure there are no shedding problems which may allow dead skin to cut off circulation.  It’s best to check your iggie on a regular basis.

The San Diego Chargers star running back, LaDainian Tomlinson, has been hampered all season by an early turf toe injury. This injury can be devastating and has ended many NFL careers. What is turf toe really? How can we avoid this pain in the toe?

What is turf toe?

Turf toe is a condition of pain in the base of the big toe. This usually caused from either traumatically jamming the toe, or pushing off repeatedly when running or jumping. The most common complaints are pain, stiffness and swelling. The pain can be so severe that pushing off in football is virtually impossible.

This injury is especially common among athletes who play on artificial turf, hence the name. The hard surface combined with running, jumping and cutting in football and soccer, make turf toe a frequent injury. Some also blame the choice of athletic footwear. The more flexible shoes, especially used in competition, provide less support to the forefoot joints, possibly contributing to the incidence of turf toe.

How does turf toe occur?

When a player sustains this kind of toe injury they are actually tearing the capsule that surrounds the joint at the base of the big toe. Tearing this joint capsule can be extremely painful. Furthermore, tear of the joint capsule can lead to significant instability and even dislocation of the joint at the base of the toe. This may lead to accelerated cartilage wear and arthritis of the big toe known as Hallux limitis or rigidus. This wear-and-tear arthritis can end a promising career prematurely.

How is turf toe diagnosed?

Diagnosis is based primarily on the physical examination of the patient. X-rays may be taken to ensure there is no fracture or evidence of arthritis. Occasionally an MRI is needed to evaluate the surrounding tendons or to rule out an occult stress fracture.

What is the treatment of turf toe?

Treatment of toe injuries usually consist of trying to control the inflammation of the joint capsule.

Treatment protocol can include:

1. Rest

2. Ice

3. Elevation

4. Taping or padding to off-weight the toe joint

5. Anti-inflammatories

6. And in chronic cases steroid injections to the joint may be helpful

7. Long term use of a functional foot orthotics to balance the forefoot in the cleats is quite helpful.

Athletes diagnosed with turf toe should avoid stress to the joint for three to four weeks to allow the joint capsule to heal. Once returning to activities, functional orthotics can be used to limit the motion of the big toe and prevent further damage to the joint capsule.

Will turf toe return?

Unfortunately, turf toe can return, often more severe than the initial injury, and rehabilitation may be very slow. LaDainian Tomlinson has been slowed by his injury all season and most likely will not be 100% until he can rest at the end of the season. Most athletes have trouble when they try to come back to sports too soon after sustaining a turf toe injury. Surgery is rarely needed for treatment of turf toe unless this has been a chronic injury and spurs are present in the joint limiting motion. If a bone spur has formed, and severely limits the motion of the toe joint, surgery to remove the spur may be helpful.

Prevention and early treatment is really the key! If you are experiencing pain in the joint after running in practice, your shoes should be evaluated for a functional orthotic to balance your biomechanics and hopefully avoid significant turf toe.

After a few training runs I began experiencing some hip pain (trochanteric regional pain syndrome), so I devised a rehab strategy to help out.

My rehab plan was designed to strengthen the muscles that decelerate the body as it lands from a jump as well as the muscles that control side-to-side shifting of body weight. These are the two types of forces that stress the muscles around the trochanter – the piriformis, iliotibial band, gluteus medius – and can lead to hip pain.

For me, incorporating these exercises into my routine on a regular basis has allowed me to continue with my training without pain and without even missing any of my training runs.

You might find my rehab strategy useful too. Even if you’re not a runner, you might have hip pain, iliotibial band syndrome, sacroiliac problems, or stress on the knee. Each of these local problems can likely be traced back to the same common cause – inadequate stabilization of the vertical forces of landing or the lateral forces of weight shift.

Here are the exercises I’ve been doing:

1. Forward weight drift

Basic level: Stand with your feet parallel and about 6 inches apart. Keeping you trunk straight and your entire vertical alignment intact, let your body weight shift forward over your toes as far as you can while still allowing your heels to remain on the floor. Hold for 5 seconds, then return to neutral.

Added difficulty: While your weight is shifted forward over your toes, also lift both arms straight in front of you and hold them in a horizontal position in front of you.

Extra added difficulty: Hold weights in your hands and raise them to a horizontal position in front of you.

2. Toe raise (Elèvé)

Basic level: Standing with feet parallel, rise on both toes, then lower.

Added difficulty: Lift one foot off the floor and use the strength of only one foot to rise. You can hold on for balance if you wish.

Extra added difficulty: Hold weights in your hands while rising on toes.

3. Toe pointing (Tendu)

Standing on the left leg, stretch the right foot to the side to a point at which the ball of the foot and toes are still on the floor. Then stretch the right foot further to the side, keeping the toes in contact with the floor while lifting the ball of the foot, moving the foot as far as it can go while having the right toes still slightly touching the floor. Repeat on the other side. Can also be done with the feet parallel, stretching the foot to the front.

4. Knee bend (Plié)

Basic level: Bend the knees, and then return to vertical. Be sure that the hip joint, knee joint, and ankle all fold congruently.

Added difficulty: Plié on one foot. You can hold on for balance.

Extra added difficulty: Hold weight in your hands while performing the plié.

5. Forward pelvic shift

Basic level: Start lying on your back with your knees bent and your feet flat on the floor. Stretch your knees out over your feet, lifting your pelvis off the floor. It’s as if you had a rope tied to your tailbone, and the rope pulls your pelvis in an upward and footward direction.

Added difficulty: Cross the right ankle over the left knee; perform the forward pelvic shift using only your left leg. Repeat on the other side.

Extra added difficulty: Place your feet up on a gym ball. Shift your pelvis up and forward, the same as in the forward pelvic shift. Keeping your pelvis elevated, draw the ball toward and away from you by bending and straightening the knees.

6. Plank pose

Lying face down, lift your body, supporting your weight on your elbows and feet. Engage your abdominals to keep your body straight. Maintain for 30-45 seconds.

7. Side-to-side shift

Basic level: Stand with your legs wide apart. Shift your pelvis to the right and left, keeping it level and facing front.

Added difficulty: At the end of each side-shift, lift one leg and balance on the opposite leg.

Extra added difficulty: Jump from side to side, landing on one foot and holding your balance.

You can also jump forward and back and practice landing your jump.

8. Isometric or theraband leg lifts

Isometric version: Standing on one leg, lift the other to the side, pressing against a wall. Continue to press out against the wall, stabilizing on the standing side. Also practice lifting leg to the front, pressing forward isometrically against the wall.

Theraband version: Tie a loop of theraband around both ankles, then lift one leg to the side, stabilizing on the standing side.

9. Leg squeeze

Basic level: Stand in a medium-wide stance. Squeeze your inner, upper thighs together. Hold 30-45 seconds.

Added difficulty: Practice the same motion standing on one leg. Hold on for balance. Use your gluteal muscles to draw your inner, upper thigh toward the midline.

If you’d rather watch instead of read, here’s the video version: https://youtu.be/gTLCVJRuWeY

Or read Chapter 5: I can talk myself out of anything

The right foot touchdown in the hammer throw is a critical point of force application to the implement. This can be clearly seen by those throwers at the top of the world rankings today. You will notice how much force they are putting into the ground with each successive turn. In order to better facilitate this force production, should athletes be taught to land with the right toe or heel during each double support phase?

From my observations, and through hearing international athletes speak, this is the only country where this is even a question in the hammer throw. Is that because we are pushing the limits of technique and exploring new possibilities on the cutting edge? I would say that our results over the past 50 years in international competitions would go against that hypothesis.

From a biomechanical standpoint, nearly every other event is coached to keep a dorsiflexed foot as much as possible. In the shot and discus we want to keep a dorsiflexed foot to facilitate keeping the weight back and throwing with the hips and creating a summation of forces. In the running events, a dorsiflexed foot is prompted to increase the stretch reflex with each ground contact. Why should the hammer throw be taught any differently?

Yuri Sedych and Tibor Gescek, arguably the most consistent throwers of all time over the 80 meter mark, both agree that the hammer thrower should land in double support on a flat foot. The prompt I’ve heard them both use is “foot like hammer” driving down into the ground. The young athlete can visualize this by smashing an aluminum soda can with their foot. However as soon as the whole foot makes contact with the ground, there must be an active turning of the right side. This includes the foot, knee, and hip. Think if you were to stomp out an errant spark from a campfire, you would step down onto it and then grind it into the ground by pushing the heel out.

Now some will argue that world class hammer throwers can be seen landing on their right toe in the later turns. This is a correct observation. World class hammer throwers generate tremendous ball speed, to the point where they do not have enough time to land on the whole foot before they have to drive the ball for the next turn. In hearing some of those top athletes speak at various clinics, it seems apparent to me that this is not an active choice to land on the toe. Their goal is to drive the heel down on each turn, the speed and forces involved, simply don’t allow them to do it, but it is NOT an active change in the way they are approaching the turn.

Landing on the heel provides a much more solid base for the athlete to work from. Think back to the Olympic Lifts. We would never coach our athletes to try to land on their toes on the platforms. Driving down with the right toe creates a lot of problems in the throw. First of all, pointing the toe down leads to an increased tendency to break at the waist which is often followed by locking out the left knee and “crashing” into the turns. Second, by reaching with the toe, the athlete is losing a tremendous amount of force that could be applied, because a lot of the muscle groups in the right leg have been eliminated from the system. Third, landing on the toe promotes turning “inside the ball.” So the athlete feels as though he is moving fast, but the ball is not. Landing on the heel provides more time in double support to accelerate the hammer-thrower system.

In conclusion, we should take our cues on this issue from the most successful hammer programs in the world. They have proven their success in their efficiency of consistently developing world-class hammer throwers achieving marks near 80 meters or more.

From the moment our children are born, we expect them to be perfect and beautiful. We count their toes, fingers and love all over them. As most of us realize, though, perfection is not always the case. Some children, have problems with their feet from birth, while others may develop problems in the early years.

Toe Walking “Ballerina feet” or toe walking is one such problem. Causes of toe walking include tightness in the heel cords at birth, habitual toe walking or neurological conditions such as Cerebral Palsy or Duchenne’s Muscular Dystrophy. Although many children learning to walk tend to go up on their toes, should this continue past the age of 18 months, a physician consultation is necessary to determine causes and treatment options. You may think the child looks cute walking on his/her toes, but that ballerina look will be the focus of teasing when that child becomes school age. Treatment options can be as simple as stretching the tight calf muscles. Other options include serial casting, orthotics, or surgery. If a child just has the habit of walking on their toes but can change this behavior on command, it may still be necessary to intervene with serial casting or orthotics. The child may change this habit when told repetitively, “Don’t walk on your toes…don’t walk on your toes,” but before long both the parent and the child will tire of this necessary nagging.

Although serial casting or bracing may seem extreme, don’t let the title scare you; it is just a short term treatment to provide a slow sustained stretch to the tight muscles. Serial casting is applying a cast on the lower leg to allow a prolonged stretch on the tight calf and Achilles tendon. The cast is removed weekly and reapplied in a more optimal stretched position until it is adequate for the child to walk with heel strike at initial contact during the walking phase. After the casts are removed, it may be necessary to put some type of orthotics in the shoes to reinforce the heel strike and continue the child’s progress. Other orthotic choices can be discussed with a certified orthotist. Some could include orthotic inserts which go inside the shoes. These can help to support the arch and also provide some rigidity to hinder the toe walking or plantar flexion/equinus and ensure correct foot position. For a more supportive option, a brace called an AFO (ankle foot orthosis) can be custom made and utilized as long as needed to prevent the recurrence of toe walking. If no neurological conditions are present this time period is approximately 3 to 6 months. Flat Feet Another foot problem is flat feet (pes planus) or “Fred Flintstone feet”. This is something that can be and is often normal for young children. Arches develop over time. The foot muscles actually exercise and get stronger best when walking barefoot. Flat feet can be considered a problem when the child complains of pain in the feet or lower legs after walking. Children may not always give you a clear picture of what they are feeling. So as a parent, one must be observant as to the way a child’s shoes wear down over time; paying special attention to the heel position.

If the wearing of the shoe is more on the inside edge and it looks like the heel is positioned more to the outside, then you may have a child that has flat feet. Another basic test is to see what a wet footprint looks like. If you think Fred Flintstone, than you may have a child that has flat feet! The most important thing is to pay attention to their complaints of pain after walking. Flat feet without pain do not necessarily indicate a need for treatment. Just like toe walking, there can be many reasons for flat feet other than an arch not developing normally, such as Down’s syndrome, hypo tonicity (low tone) or developmental delay. If your child has any of these diagnoses, you may also need to discuss it with your physician and decide if orthotics are necessary as an adjunct treatment. Orthotics for flat feet are used to support the arches and provide a better mechanical advantage for the foot to be able to walk correctly. The feet are the structural foundation of the body, therefore, supporting the feet in their optimal alignment allows for the muscles in the legs to activate at their best. If you have questions about orthotics, please consult your physician and then seek out a Certified Orthotist who specializes in children.

Sizing pointe shoes can be tricky in certain areas. There is considerable ballet talk among dancers about problematic situations. One, for example, is the kind of foot called “compressible”. All feet are, to a degree, meaning that you can force your feet into short or pointed shoes, and they will compress.

Yet, there is a foot type that is more compressible than ordinary, and this foot needs a special tapered box in the toe shoes. Even a foot that is wide across the metatarsal joints might be more compressible in a pointe shoe, causing problems when you first go to buy pointe shoes.

Generally a wider foot needs a square shaped box, but the compressible foot functions better in a tapered box. When the wide foot presses up onto pointe, and compresses in the shoe, it will slide down into a wide box. It is very difficult to keep the toes long in this situation. The toes will buckle, and blister or painful bruised toenails can result.

The box of the toe shoe is meant to support the foot by hugging the toes to help the dancer keep the toes long, and work with strength in the metatarsal area of the foot as well. Sizing ballet shoes is difficult for pointe beginners, with the many variations in the box area, vamp length, and stiffness of the shanks.

Yet, with so many shoes to try on, the abundance of choice, even if frustrating, does allow you to eventually find just the right shoe to dance your best in. If you have not done this before, stand on paper and draw the outline of both feet. Take note of the shape of your feet when they are bearing your weight. Some feet may be narrow at the heel and get wider toward the toes.

If this is the case for you, you can always get heel grips to glue inside your pointe shoes, as you cannot compromise with a too narrow shoe. When you do a demi plie in a small second position, your feet must have room to spread in the shoe. While the shoes must be snug, it should not be painful at the ends of the toes when you plie.

Not being able to plie completely in your toe shoes, will cause problems with tension in the feet, ankles and lower leg area. It will also weaken all your releves if you cannot reach the depth of your demi plie and have a firm push up from the heels.

Hopefully you will have done lots of pre pointe exercise in the months before you buy your first pointe shoes. It can be frustrating if your teacher does not think you are ready and makes you wait, yet learning to prepare for dancing en pointe makes it a much easier transition when you finally start pointe classes.

Ultimately, your feet will control your new hard shoes, and not the other way around. Bending the heel end of the sole, (with your hands), about an inch at the most, so that the pressure from your weight won’t break the sole at your arch, will help ease your movement in new shoes.