If you're like me, when you buy new shoes, you go to the store, find something you like, try it on, press your hand onto the toes to see where they are at, and then walk around with the new shoe on one foot for a minute to see how it feels. Because, of course, I am too lazy to take the paper out of both shoes and lace them properly. However, this is the complete wrong approach, and probably why a 2018 study found that between 63-72 percent of people are wearing the wrong shoe size (Buldt & Menz, 2018).
Given the importance of proper foot and gait mechanics and the amount of time that even the most sedentary of us spend on our feet, maybe we should invest a little more time and thought into picking our shoe size (Buldt & Menz, 2018). "Picking" makes it sound like we have a choice in the matter, but it's more about finding the size that truly fits us best. So here is how to properly measure your foot.
Using a Brannock Device, that peculiar metal tool at the shoe store, measure heel-to-toe for the first measurement. Simple enough, right? Now for the slightly more complicated part. You are going to measure from the heel to the ball of the big toe (Metatarsophalangeal joint). An easy way to do this is to simply come up on the balls of the foot and then adjust the slider. This number may, in fact, be larger than your original heel-to-toe measurement, but it is also your most accurate shoe size. The shoe should fit so that the bend in the shoe aligns with this line, allowing for proper toe-off when you step. This is also why it is important to avoid shoes with an external rigid toe covering that restricts toe-off.
As for measuring the width of the foot in general, we want to wear shoes with wide-toe boxes. If you have not done this before, it will initially feel like your foot is swimming in the shoe. If you have a pair of toe spacers, like the one's shown above from thetoespace.com wearing them when trying on new shoes can be extremely helpful and give you a good idea of whether the shoes you're about to buy have a wide enough toe box.
I know spending more time shoe shoping is the last thing any of us want to do but it is time to embrace a more informed approach to selecting our shoe size. By taking a moment to measure our feet accurately and considering the width that allows for comfortable toe movement, we can prioritize our foot health, optimize gait mechanics, and enhance our overall well-being. We should choose shoes that enable us to put our best foot forward every single day.
Reference:
Buldt, A. K., & Menz, H. B. (2018). Incorrectly fitted footwear, foot pain and foot disorders: a systematic search and narrative review of the literature. Journal of foot and ankle research, 11, 43. https://doi.org/10.1186/s13047-018-0284-z
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