Sneakers, sports shoes or whatever you want to call them, they are omnipresent wherever you go. You just have to hang around and look at feet of passersby to confirm it.
Young people, and not as old, wear them thinking they look great and super stylish, at best, combining them with expensive signature garments that balance the outfit. But in worst cases, when outfit is low cost, the result is a low cost outfit too.
(Remember, a good shoe -clean- is always an ally. Upgrades any outfit, no matter how shabby it is).
Sneakers have become the uniform for leisure time and also for companies with lax dress standards. Its omnipresence confirms that the trend is not only here, it has come to stay.
But let’s get to the core of the issue.
Surely you do not know that one of the most important reasons for their success is the profitability obtained by the firms that manufacture them. The profit margin they achieve is much higher thanks to the use of cheaper materials – basically plastic – and a more competitive production process. So yes, they are the fast food of footwear.
And most importantly, what we put on our feet not only has aesthetic significance but also affects our health.
THE ABUSE OF SNEAKERS IS HARMFUL TO OUR FEET
The health of our joints, our ability to walk upright and even to optimize sports performance depends on our feet, to name just a few examples, but the truth is most of people continue to ignore their care and needs.
Thanks to the 26 bones, 33 joints and 107 ligaments that compose them, it is possible to move from one place to another, guarantee the necessary stability, and support the weight of our body. But, their abuse can be the cause of knee pain, meniscus problems, hip or spinal problems (low back pain, sciatica and vertebral disc disease, among others). Therefore, it is important to convey to the population the need to choose the appropriate footwear.
We all like to lie on the couch, right? But is it good to spend many hours lying on it? NO. Well, the same argument can be applied to the feet.
Sneakers are very comfortable, but they shouldn’t be the only footwear we use. The foot is created to walk barefoot and if we get used to stepping on such a soft surface, we will have future problems, plantar fasciitis, flat feet, etc.
IF RUNNING IS NOT WALKING, WHY USE SNEAKERS TO WALK?
Sports shoes have been designed to facilitate the practice of a sport, but when worn all day, they become a source of problems, both due to the fact that you do not change your footwear and because of the materials with which are manufactured: plastics.
The impact we exert on the foot when we do sports is not the same as when we walk. The fact that it is such a flexible shoe can cause the well-known “flat foot”. This is especially important in children, because it will affect the development of the foot.
The trend of wearing sneakers throughout the day is common for 85% of children and teenagers, and has caused a serious increase in infections and malformations in the feet, as stated by the College of Podiatrists of Catalonia (CPC) .
This organism ensures that one in three minors will suffer from hyperhidrosis and allergies due to the constant use of sneakers, which causes excessive heat and humidity in the feet.
Especially those use for football (soccer for the USA), very fashionable among children because they are promoted by elite footballers, can cause important malformations. The most common complication is that “the nails are traumatized, bruised and can be lost”, but it is also increasingly common for the fingers to become deformed and end up taking the shape of a claw, something common among older people, but completely abnormal among the young.
It is advisable to combine various types of shoes and, if possible, return to traditional footwear made with natural materials and a leather sole, whose porosity allows perspiration. The sole must be thin enough so that it does not cancel the sensitivity of the sole of the foot. Advantages of leather? Leather and elegance go together in this material. No material has yet been invented that has the same properties as natural leather. In addition, it allows perspiration of the foot, avoiding the bad smell. Essential for teenagers!
And last but not least:
A good quality and clean shoe is the best covering letter, because even if we do not realize it, we are communicating things about ourselves with our way of dressing. Think of a person wearing dirty shoes, your brain will be telling you that he is a careless person and he will not leave a very good impression on you.
In addition, wearing sneakers at a certain age is not highly recommended if you want to age with decently. I’m going to give you an example so that you understand it better. Can you imagine an 80-year-old lady in a miniskirt? Well, the same feeling produces seeing a man of 80 wearing sneakers.
And remember “Shoes don’t lie.”
