Wearing wrong shoes might add up to more than just foot pain - the podiatrist explains

Wearing the wrong shoes can mean more than just foot pain

Your knees hips and back might be hurting - just because of your shoes. In Health Works the podiatrist tells us what we're doing wrong.

FOX 2 - Every step you take, your feet bear all your weight and one stat says 72 percent of us are wearing the wrong size shoes, either size or width.

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When you're wearing the wrong shoes, that can do damage to your heels and toes - but it can also go far beyond your feet.

We put so much weight on our feet, in fact they absorb about 1 and a half times our body weight when walking.

And yet are we doing the right thing to keep them happy? Shoes that don't fit or don't give you support can cause some serious issues that start at the feet and go all the way your body. 

Dr. Joy Rowland is with Cleveland Clinic.

"If a shoe is too soft or not supportive enough, you can definitely experience some knee buckling or some lower back pain," she said. "So, it's very important to make sure that you have good shoes on, especially in the summertime."

Rowland says patients are often surprised their shoes could be contributing to pain in other parts of their body, and that’s not all.

Poor footwear can also cause bunions, ingrown toenails, hammer toes, plantar fasciitis and flatter feet.

So what can you do to help prevent those issues?

Doctor Rowland recommends buying shoes that have a breathable material, firm heel and good arch support, which can in turn improve your alignment and posture.

The front toe box should also be on the wider side.

"Always get measured for a shoe," she said. "Your foot changes structure and it changes size over time. so just because you wore an eight and a half three years ago doesn't mean you're still in an eight and a half today.

"So always make sure you get measured and towards the end of the day when your feet are a little bit more swollen. and you want to base this on the activity that you're doing."

If you want to wear high heeled shoes, the advice is don't wear them everyday. Try wearing thicker heels as opposed to stilettos to distribute weight more evenly across the feet. You can also add inserts to your heels can help cushion your feet and absorb shock.