With the arrival of cold weather comes constant temperature changes caused by heating. When this happens, we can relieve ourselves from abnormally high temperature by taking off our jacket, while with shoes we usually don’t have this option.
Women in winter experience the uncomfortable sensation of wearing closed shoes. Dr. Daniel Mayral, specialist in Podiatry at the Adrio Clínic Podiatric Unit of the Teknon Medical Center. The doctor assures that winter shoes are the cause of many of these alterations. While a closed shoe limits mobility and narrows the space of the 26 bones of the foot, an open shoe allows greater transpiration and adaptation to a microclimate.
What happens to the feet in winter?
Generally, the temperature at work is around 21ºC, which can be excessive if we take into account that we usually wear thick socks and shoes.
The most common diseases are:
- Dermal mycosis: due to sweating, cracks or fungus may appear on the skin, as well as causing pain or itching.
- Nail mycosis (nail fungus): currently treated with laser therapy, since oral and topical treatments do not offer such good results.
- Calluses: they appear on the toes and soles of the feet, as a consequence of wearing narrow shoes or shoes that are not adapted to the needs of the foot.
- Metatarsalgia: occurs due to excessive heel wear and causes pain in the plantar pad area.
- Muscular pains
- Joint pain
For these reasons, the selection of the right footwear for the winter should be given the necessary importance. In this regard, Dr. Mayral gives us the best tips to avoid making mistakes with the choice of shoe:
- It is necessary to avoid internal seams.
- In the choice of footwear, do not be influenced by fashions, if you want to have a good foot health.
- Shoes should have a lacing system to support the entire foot.
- If insoles are used, they should be removable from the shoes.
- The sole should be flexible, slip-resistant and provide stability during walking, along with sufficient thickness to cushion the impact of the foot.
- The material chosen should be leather, as far as possible, for better breathability.
- The heel height should not exceed 2 cm, depending on the type of foot.
- Ask for advice from a specialized podiatrist to know which is the best shoe for each type of foot.
- Choose a shoe with the last that best suits the morphology of our foot.