Shoe lace changes to relieve pain

Patients come to Pivotal Motion Podiatry in the past concerned about numbness and pins and needles every time that they go for a run. After checking out all of the possibilities that could cause the problem, we eventually get to looking at footwear. Often, these seemingly serious problem can be solved with a simple change to how the patient laces their shoes.

This problem is particularly common with people that have a reasonably high arch. The high arch often puts more pressure at the top of the foot against the shoe. If the shoe is too tight, there are a number of nerves that run across the top of the foot that can become compressed. This can cause changes to sensation in the form of pins and needles, burning, pain, or numbness.

Shoelaces can be the cause of your shoe pain.

Many problems can be resolved by simply changing the way you lace your shoes. I have stumbled upon a great website, “Ian’s Shoelace Site”, which details a huge range of different lacing techniques for decoration and comfort. It can be found at Ian's Shoe Lace Site and has some amazing ideas to avoid shoe lace issues. Here are a few of the most common techniques that are suggested:

If your shoes appear to be slipping at the heels, or not tight enough around the mouth of the shoe, the ‘lace-lock’ technique is great for tightening the shoe around the ankle. The lace lock technique uses the top two holes that are found at the top of a pair of shoes. Once tightened, the shoes will hold much firmer to the foot.

This lacing can be used to create a gap at the top of the foot. This can be used to take pressure away from a painful bump, or to prevent the laces from compressing the top nerves of the foot at a specific location.

Straight bar lacing is another method that can evenly reduce the pressure at the top of the foot.

This technique is great because it allows the shoes to be tightened with the use of only one hand – particularly useful for disabilities or injuries, such as arthritis or a broken arm.

Knotted lacing ensures that a firmer positioning of the laces, preventing unwanted slipping.

If you are looking for more creative ideas to assist with ankle and foot pain look future at Ian's Shoe Lace Site.