Tips for healthy feet

Tips for purchasing shoes

Only those shoes are good shoes that leave sufficient space for the toes, while at the same time providing adequate support for the feet. Nobody ought to be induced to buy a product just because a celebrity is advertising it. Especially when it comes to sports shoes, many companies invest a lot of money in marketing campaigns. Unfortunately these shoes are all too often not very foot-friendly. A well-trained, specialist salesperson knows how to separate the wheat from the chaff. Here are some more foot-friendly shopping tips:

Don't go by the shoe size alone, as it varies from manufacturer to manufacturer and from country to country.

If the shoes feel tight, don't put any hopes on them stretching. Shoes are best bought when the feet are biggest-- after sports or in the evening. Bring some socks and walk around in the shop with the shoes on. There should still be one centimetre of space between the longest toe and the tip of the shoe. Specialist help from a trained salesperson always pays off; sometimes it's best to spend a bit more money for the sake of your feet.

The WMS-fit when purchasing shoes

Unfortunately, it's not as often as we would wish that shoes are bought with regard to healthy feet and therefore the WMS-fit ("Width-Measurement-System). For reasons of economic feasibility even those shoe shops that are very concerned with the health of the foot must try to find compromises.

When it comes to loafers, there is no way around the three-width system if you want to ensure a proper fit. When it comes to winter shoes-- boots and ankle-boots-- it is an acceptable compromise to offer these only in two different widths-- M (medium) and W (wide). These types of shoes support the foot through the bootleg. However, one must make sure that the bootleg does actually provide the necessary support for the foot. It keeps the foot from sliding forward into the extra space reserved for the toes (toebox). That would bruise and damage the toes.

WMS-boots and WMS-ankle boots that properly support the foot through the bootleg will still be proportioned correctly (ball on ball). The flexion points of foot and shoe should overlap (especially important with thick winter soles). At the moment, these winterly types of shoes tend to have a particularly high toebox due to their sportive cut. This way, insoles may be added for extra warmth without diminishing the inner space.

The right shoes are important!

Your feet are the basis of your well-being...if you suffer from discomfort, it may be due to wearing the wrong shoes.

Headaches, tense shoulders, backpain, tension in the hips or knees, pressure in the groin area, or painful feet are only some of the complaints that may be due to ill-fitting shoes. Often your personal well-being may be increased even by small changes to the heels or general fit. Our shoes fit your feet and hence your whole body. But we also offer a large selection of fashionable shoes. Therefore: the natural step towards healthy feet leads to Ortho-Schuh, your orthopaedics and shoe centre in Vienna.

Well-being at every step

Footcare and gymnastic exercises keep your feet fit.

No less than 28 bones, 107 ligaments, and 19 muscles work as a team to enable us to walk, stand, sit, dance and jump. It all seems completely natural to us, until we suddenly experience pain in one place or another. Regular hygiene and a simple foot care regime will ensure that you stay fit in the lowest regions of your body.

Only 2 % of babies are born with foot deformities, but 7 % of all adults suffer from tiredness, blisters, callouses, soreness, and embarassing odour. Clear evidence of our not very foot-friendly lifestyle. Our feet perform hard thankless labour with no reward day after day. They get easily forgotten in our body care. Our shoes may be fashionable and mostly up-to-date, but often they are much too narrow and not very foot-friendly....Warmer temperatures tempt us to slip into lighter, airier shoes again. Feet and toes, which had been tightly wrapped up during winter, now emerge back into view. What doesn't look nice is often not healthy either. Callouses are a defensive reflex against too much pressure. Thick callouses easily tear, causing pain at every step. Experts recommend regular peeling of the affected skin parts as a simple remedy. The best time for doing this is after a shower or bath. The softened skin can then be easily removed with a pumice stone, rasp, or file. After washing, the feet should be dried thoroughly. After this treatment, the toes and heels require the application of a foot cream for "dessert", as there are no sebaceous glands on the sole. Creams and massages keep the skin soft and prevent callouses from forming. There is a remedy for exasperating sweaty feet, too. Taking a daily foot bath with anti-perspiring ingredients such as sage, juniper, or oak bark helps. One to two table spoons of salt, dissolved in warm water, is also effective. Surely the healthiest form of locomotion is walking barefoot-- unfortunately this is only rarely possible. If you can, you should treat your feet to a barefoot ramble over a dewy meadow in the mornings. Treading water in a nearby brook, alternating baths or cold showers are also treats for the feet. Rope skipping is a recommended treatment for stressed feet especially for adults. Of course, the optimal foot care begins in the shoe shop. Extremely high heels and pointed shoes certainly look great. However,in such shoes one will hardly be able to walk through life problem-free. Today, anatomically shaped shoes are able to convince fashionistas, too.

Important: Sufficient space for the toes

Important: The foot must not slide forward into the toe space. That means: There needs to be support either over the ball area (white arrows) or at the shoe upper (red arrows).

Important: Important: "Ball on ball" - the ball of the shoe must fit exactly over the ball of the foot, otherwise the flex points of foot and shoe do not overlap.

Important: The big toe height must be sufficient or oversized to ensure the proper width.