Buying good, comfortable shoes will reduce or eliminate foot pain and also prevent future problems from developing. Good shoes can also reduce the stress on your knees, hips and back and also improve your posture. Shoes should support your entire foot while having enough room for all of your toes without being squeezed. Shoes should be the correct length and width for your foot and accommodate the type of arch you have. A Pedorthist can help you determine the best shoes for your foot and health.

You might also want to take closer look at your current inventory of shoes and replace some of the poorly fitting ones. Try them on and anything that is tight, pinches or causes pain get rid of those.Start with your own feet, and look at what’s already in your closet. Stand barefoot on a piece of paper or cardboard, and trace the shape of each foot. Now place your shoes over the outline to determine whether the shoes are too narrow.

Now that you are ready to go shopping for some new comfortable shoes, here are some tips:

1.Find shoes that fit from the start. Don’t rationalize that the shoes just need to be “broken in” or that they’ll stretch with time..

2.) Walk around in the shoes to determine how they feel. Is there enough room at the balls of the feet? Do the heels fit snugly, or do they pinch or slip off?

3. Stand in the shoes. Make sure you have at least a quarter- to a half-inch of space between your longest toe and the end of the shoe.

4. Feet naturally expand with use during the day and may swell in hot weather so shop in the late afternoon for shoes

5. Wear the same type of socks that you intend to wear with the shoes.

6. Get both feet measured every time you buy new shoes. If one foot is larger or wider than the other, buy a size that fits the larger foot.

7. Go with the way the shoe fits rather than the size on the box.

8.Feel the inside of the shoes to see if they have any tags, seams, or other material that might irritate your feet or cause blisters

9. Don’t forget to examine the soles. Make sure they are sturdy enough to provide protection from sharp objects? Also, take the sole test as you walk around the shoe store: do the soles cushion against impact? Try to walk on hard surfaces as well as carpet to see how the shoes feel.