Usually you first select the type of shoes you want to buy before you set the criteria based on which you can undertake the task of buying them. However, there are some criteria applicable for all types of shoes. Here are some tips as to the criteria you can use to choose any type of shoes for yourself.
Tip No. 1 - Know the structural non-uniformities in your feet. A majority of people are afflicted with the issue of either underpronation or overpronation. Now what is pronation and how does it affect your choice of footwear? Pronation is the amount of load that the bones bear on the inside of each foot. Underpronation occurs when less than normal load is borne by these bones. Overpronation occurs when more load is borne than normal.
What happens in either of the two abnormalities in some people is that the foot rotates while walking. This occurs in a way that the load is borne either more than normal by the inside of the foot (overpronation) or less than normal by the inside of the foot (underpronation).
Therefore you need to check whether you have this abnormal condition or not. The condition of the soles of your existing footwear can provide you an indication.
If the inside portion of the sole of each shoe wears more than the outside, you are afflicted by overpronation. If the outside portion of the sole of each shoe wears down more than the inside portion, you are afflicted by underpronation. People with flatter feet tend to overpronate while those with high arches underpronate.
So, if you find on wetting your feet, the impression of the soles of your feet on a cardboard piece shows the entire imprint of your sole, it means your feet are of the comparatively flatter variety and you tend to overpronate.
If the imprint, however, is not full, but only partial, you have a high arch and tend to underpronate. Therefore, the sole design or adequate cushioning in the required area inside the shoes you select should properly compensate whichever affliction (overpronation or underpronation) that you specifically have.
Tip No. 2 - People who have joint issues related to their feet can especially use adequate cushioning in footwear to absorb excess stress on the bones and muscles in their feet. This is important for underpronators, women who weigh more than 150 pounds or men who weigh more than 180 pounds.
Overpronators need to select shoes that have a stiffer heel counter and rear upper than underpronators do. On the other hand, the latter need more flexibility in their shoes to offset the extra load on the outside portion of the soles of their feet. You as an underpronators can check the flexibility of shoes by trying to twist them around sideways. Choose ones that do not appear stiff.
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