The worst shoes for your feet

Every woman probably has at least one pair: those shoes that you absolutely adore. (Some perhaps have dozens.) My personal downfall is a gorgeous pair of salmon-pink suede Prada kitten heels with a very pointy toe, snapped up during an amazing sale a few years back.

The problem is, those shoes may be my very literal downfall, because, well, they?re just not good for my feet. One look at them tells you why: how can you squeeze five normal-sized toes into an area barely big enough for the little toe?

Whether they?re skyscraper stilettos, open-backed clogs, pointy-toed platforms, or just ballet flats with no arch support, we have so many shoes and so many ways to destroy our feet.

So what types of shoes are worst for your feet, and what are you left with by the time you eliminate all the ones that cause everything from nerve damage and hammertoes to corns?

You might be surprised at the winner of the Worst Shoe Olympics. According to podiatrist Andrew Shapiro, it?s not stilettos or pointy boots. Instead, the worst offender is...

Flip-Flops

"Women are wearing flip-flops as everyday shoes!" laments Shapiro. "They?re meant for the beach and the pool, not for everyday walking. They don?t give you any arch support, and don?t protect the foot at all, so it?s prone to injuries."

Even for an occasional stroll, flip-flops might be fine, if you don't overdo it, says foot and ankle expert, Dr John Anderson.

"But a lot of people get caught up in the moment and try to do things flip-flops aren?t designed for: running for a train, or jumping, or playing Frisbee or football in the backyard," Anderson says. "We see a lot of injuries from improper use of flip-flops, and Crocs as well."

Among the woes of mis-worn flip-flops, Shapiro says, are scraped feet, strained ankles, and broken toes from falling right out of the shoe, as well as chronic problems due to lack of support, like tendonitis and plantar fasciitis.

The solution: unless you?re on the beach, wear real sandals, not flip-flops - the kind with a strap in the back that at least holds your foot inside the shoe. Some flip flops may be better than others, if in doubt check with a podiatrist.
Coming in second in our Bad Shoe Sweepstakes is...

Stilettos

You probably already knew that, didn't you?

It?s pretty obvious that the higher the heel, the more out of alignment your foot is. Feet just aren?t made to be jammed into that position for long periods of time. So how high is too high, anyway?

"Anything higher than about two inches causes a problem," Shapiro says. "The Achilles tendon shortens when the foot is in a high heel, so if you wear them too much, that tendon can become chronically shortened and you can develop Achilles tendonitis."

Stilettos also put an abnormal amount of pressure on the ball of the foot. "The fat under the ball of the foot starts to thin out from the pressure, and that?s the one place on your body that you want a nice chunk of fat," he says. "You can end up with something called metatarsalgia, an acute pain in the ball of the foot that can become chronic, or even stress fractures from all the pressure and hammer toes from the abnormal positioning."

It?s not just your feet that can pay the price. "If your feet hurt, you?ve lost your foundation. So if you find yourself limping because your feet hurt, everything above the foot will be affected too," says Anderson. "Your gait will be changed, and because of that, you?ll stress your knees, back and hips. Everything above the foot has to adjust to what?s going on down below."

The solution: wear your highest heels in moderation, only for special events, and slip them off on the way home. You can also relieve some of the pressure on the ball of your foot by wearing an over-the-counter or custom-made gel cushion.�

"And don?t combine sky-high heels with a pointy toe," Shapiro warns. "Look for something that?s wide and roomy in the toe box!"

Which brings us to...