Brought to you by the American Podiatric Medical Association.
1. The best-designed shoes will not do their job if they do not fit properly.
2. Don’t go just by size. Always have your feet measured.
3. Visit the shoe store when your feet are largest in size (at the end of a day, after a workout).
4. Wear the sock normally worn when exercising.
5. Make sure the shoe provides at least one thumb’s breadth of space from the longest toe to the end of the toe box.
6. Special features in construction give comfort to the wearer and help prevent injury.
7. Look inside the shoe before you buy it – this will help you select a shoe that fits both your foot and your sport.
8. A slip-lasted shoe is made by sewing together the upper like a moccasin and then gluing it to the sole. This lasting method makes for a lightweight and flexible shoe with no torsional rigidity.
9. A board-lasted shoes has the “upper” leather or canvas sewn to a cardboard-like materials. A person with flat feet feels more support and finds improved control with this type of shoe.
10. A combination-lasted shoe combines advantages of a slip-lasted and a board-lasted shoe. It is slip-lasted in the front and board-lasted in the back. These shoes give good heel control but remain flexible in the front under the ball of the foot.