The Importance of Good Shoes When Living With Psoriatic Arthritis
“Good shoes take you to good places." We know this to be true in all walks of life, but for those with psoriatic arthritis, it's especially important.
Our feet experience everything from swelling to inflammation. It's only right we put them in something comfortable to absorb all of this. Why? In addition to everything else, our feet hurt. Our feet carry our sore joints around and take on the majority of the pressure.
Choosing shoes to help with PsA pain...
Personally, I struggle with heel pain at times, so when I choose shoes for myself, I prefer something that protects my heels with extra care. Your pain is unique, and identifying that unique pain can make a difference when choosing shoes.
Because of my heel pain, I try getting shoes with a bit more sole at the heel to lift my feet from the ground so they don’t feel like they are getting rubbed across the floor. So, a bit of extra cushioning and sole shoes work best for me.
For those with psoriatic arthritis, our shoe choices hold the difference between making or breaking us. So, let’s talk a little bit more about what things we need to keep in mind before shoe shopping...
Shoe fit matters.
Too tight are never a good option and will betray you quickly. Tight shoes can suffocate the toes and bruise them. The last thing we need is more swelling! and I end up with swollen toes. Finding the right fit for your foot must be the top priority.
The shape of your foot.
Understanding your foot shape is also an important point in making an informed choice. I struggled a lot with my shoe choices in the past, so I had to make constant revisits to my physiotherapist, who suggested that I need to understand what kind of shoe fits my condition.
Visit a podiatrist.
Visiting a podiatrist was one of the best decisions I have ever made. He guided me that good shoes must have a nice supportive arch for balancing your feet when you walk, a nice space for your toes to stay put without getting rubbed, and a good enough sole to protect the feet from the ground.
The fit should be good enough to let your feet comfortably slip in, not too tight to hurt, nor too loose that your feet keep slipping inside the shoe.
My best-kept secret.
Comfort always comes first for me, especially at this age. That said, I am a woman who enjoys wearing fancy heels and boots every so often. So, I have found a solution for that too. I have invested in a soft, medicated insole for occasional wear with extra cushioning in my heel portion. This has to be the best-kept secret.
Our feet get us to where we need to go, painful joints and all.
They are an important part of our body and deserve to be considered when it comes to comfort and pain avoidance. Shoes are a big part of this kind of conversation.
I encourage you all not to get carried away with all those nice-looking sandals and to take care of your feet. We already go through so much; investing in our feet and where we want to go is one way to make our load a little lighter.
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