Detriments of Modern Shoes

The increase in the heel height of a shoe relative to the ball of the foot is called a shoe drop. This raising of the heel causes a shortening of the Achilles tendon, the thickest tendon in our body. It also changes the angle of the tibia (shin bone), which causes a cascading effect to the rest of our posture. When the large joint groups upstream are stuck in poor anatomical positions, it diminishes each muscle group's ability to stabilize the joints properly and generate optimal force.

An individual that is stricken by major bone deformities, compromised collagen structures or neurological disorders may not have the proper structure in place in their foot for the arch to stand alone. For individuals like this, arch support is like a wheelchair or a crutch: they cannot do without it. But for nearly all of the human race, the arch of the foot is designed to support the entire body all day long and in all conditions without any help. An individual that wears arch support unnecessarily will experience over time an even more substantial weakening of the tissues that were meant to support the arch. This is because they will not experience the proper load resistance that causes soft tissues to strengthen.

Due to the relative inflexibility of most modern shoe soles, toe springs have been built into them to help rock the foot forward and mimic the push off angle of the windlass effect. But herein lies the problem: the windlass effect itself was supposed to create the stiffness in the arch in order to provide a sturdy lever to push off of. While our foot is in a modern shoe, it is actually locked halfway into the windlass effect. This means that there is an incessant increase in tension on the plantar surface of the foot, while the dorsal surface is stuck in a constantly shortened position. This can over time contribute to the onset of conditions like hammer toes, Morton's neuroma or plantar fasciitis.

In footwear that has a shoe drop AND an arch support AND a toe spring, it places the plantar fascia in an overly stretched position, stealing its elasticity and increasing the possibility of overuse injuries down the road.

When looking at the foot of a baby or toddler, or a foot that has been unspoiled by years of common footwear use, it can be noted that the toes are the widest part of the human foot. This anatomical feature has been lost on modern footwear companies, as most people have already become accustomed to restrictive and constrictive toe boxes. It is more than likely that the vast majority of bunions and cases of hallux valgus that society experiences today come directly from the use of tight toe boxes. This is because the halux (big toe) constantly pushes down on the inner part of the joint. Combined with walking, running and jumping, this strengthens the muscles of the hallux and the tissues around it in this position while pushing the joint underneath the hallux outward like a baloon.

When a shoe weighs more than it needs to, it can cause larger muscles above the leg to work harder to move the shoe around. It also can add to instability, as whenever the leg moves any direction, the body must compensate for the extra weight that is attached to the end of it, complicating accurate foot placement.

Loosely fitting footwear usually refers to flip flops, slippers, slides, or any other footwear that is not secured from behind. While these forms of footwear are VERY convenient and often comfortable due to their padded design, the user has no choice but to adopt compensatory movement pattern (4). This often comes in the form of squeezing the muscles of the foot harder and more often than necessary, or the leg limiting the range of motion the ankle goes through. This happens because we instinctively want to "hold onto" the loose footwear, causing our feet and ankles to work overtime.