What do shoes do
First and foremost, shoes are made with the purpose of protecting your feet. Some shoes are better at comforting, supporting and protecting your feet than other shoes; but no matter what kind of shoe you wear, they’ll have a sole to keep out pebbles, glass pieces and sticky chewing gum. So far so good.
It may seem like a no-brainer that you should wear shoes. They’re pretty, comfortable and keeps your feet warm during winter. But, besides these obvious benefits, what do shoes do for your feet?
Why should I wear shoes?
Shoes are made for walking, running, training, flashing your status. There are millions of different shoes out there. Still, you may wonder why these millions of shoes should be worn by you. Maybe you hate it when your toes get sweaty or maybe you just enjoy the feeling of freed feet. There are lots of people like you, who enjoy walking shoe-less and there’s even a term called ‘natural running’ or ‘barefoot running’ for those of you, who like running without shoes.
Sometimes it’s good to let loose, however, we don’t just wear shoes for aesthetic reasons. They support and protect your feet so for ergonomic reasons you would be well off putting on those sneakers once in a while. But what do shoes actually do? Well, lots of things.
Ergonomic benefits of wearing shoes
When it comes to the ergonomic benefits of shoes it’s a little more complicated. Some shoes will greatly comfort and support your feet, others will do the opposite. Most flats with a soft kind of sole are good for your feet if you remember to purchase them in the right size, that is. However, if you only wear shoes for aesthetic reasons, you’d probably have sore feet every single day. This includes shoes such as high heels, sandals with a stiff, thin sole or a narrow shoe in unbendable materials such as patent leather. It doesn’t hurt to wear shoes for the aesthetics sometimes – but if you do it all the time, you should definitely think about mixing it up. High heels every day can damage your feet but wearing shoes with good arch support can definitely prolog your feet’s vigor.
Shoes do not only protect your feet from obvious dangers; sharp objects, sticky objects and hard surfaces, they also prevent lots of medical problems. Ingrown nails, fungal infections, Athlete’s foot and pain in feet, knees and hips. Those conditions can get serious if you disregard them.
Shoes absorb impact as you walk, run or just move your feet in general so without you even noticing it shoes protect your body. If you’re still not convinced, then you can always Google the benefits of shoes. You’ll learn that shoes protect you from infections of all kinds and arch problems. Many shoes, such as athletic shoes, actually makes you perform better when you’re active in running, walking, dancing, jumping or even just standing.
If you don’t want to wear the shoes for fashion or for social and societal norms, then wear them for the health benefits. In the long run you’ll be grateful for listening to your body’s signals.
