Are your shoes wearing out unevenly? You should be concerned

If you discovered that the tyres of your car are crooked or worn out, you would be concerned because you instinctively know something is wrong. Wouldn’t it be amazing if we were concerned about our bodies the same way we are concerned about our cars?

Shoe(s) wearing out unevenly is a cause of concern. Ignoring it can result in pain and can even be a costly affair. If you have proper foot mechanics, your shoes should wear out evenly and slowly.

If your shoes wear out unevenly, that is, if you grind down the insides of your shoes, if the wearing out is in the form of a hole underneath the second metatarsal — the bone connected to your second toe — or if it wears out hardest along the outside edge of your shoes, your posture, foot and body mechanics are in need of repair.

Just as with your car, if you ignore it, the price will just grow steeper as time compounds the problem.

Your shoe wear patterns accurately reveal if you hyper-pronate (inward roll of the foot) or hypersupinate (outward roll of the foot) or do both as shown in the figure.

It will clearly show if you display any of the gaits either the leg is turned out or turned in or if you favour one leg over the other.

The most important thing to note is that your shoes show if your postural foundation is unstable which impacts your entire body.

Causes of hyper pronation and supination:

•Wearing wrong shoes

•Trauma to hip or pelvis

•Improper weight shifting while walking or standing

•Muscle imbalance, among others You can get help for this when you consult a physiotherapist or a chiropractor. They will identify the cause for your problems and recommend the best corrective measure.

Treatment may include use of orthotics — specially designed shoe inserts or realignment on your bones, especially your pelvis and spine.

Yoga and Pilates also help maintain the alignment. You may be referred to a podiatrist — feet specialist. Do not wait until you are in pain to consult why your shoes wear out unevenly.

Eunice Kabana, Physiotherapist at C & P Health Centre.