Wearing good shoes can bring you one of the best feelings in the world as they complement your already nice look and boost your confidence. That feeling can, however, be ruined when your foot keeps sliding forward inside these shoes. Apart from making you appear awkward, you would also be uncomfortable moving around, ultimately hurting your feet.
Interestingly, such painful experiences can be avoided with some simple hacks. This article will highlight the reasons for foot sliding forward in shoes and discuss ways to stop it from happening.
Why Does Your Foot Keep Sliding Forward in Shoes?
Shoes make you look good, protect your feet from nature's elements, and keep you comfortable. But that comfort can be affected when your foot keeps sliding forward in shoes.
There are a few reasons likely to be behind such an occurrence:
- Your foot will slide forward more often in shoes that are not a perfect fit. If they are too loose, there is automatically too much room for your feet within the shoes, while there is not enough room if they are too tight.
- New shoes can cause your foot to slide forward. This is because the texture of their insoles is freshly produced, causing them to be slippery and lacking enough friction. It gets even worse for people who sweat on their soles, as their wet feet will make the insoles more slippery.
- Foot sliding in heels is often a result of the angular difference between the toes and your ankles. Simply put, when your toes are at a steeper angle to your ankles inside your heels, your foot automatically shifts forward.
- It will be hard to keep your feet from sliding forward in shoes whose soles are very polished. Highly polished soles tend to have less friction when in contact with the ground, which will, in turn, impact the position and movement of your feet within the shoes.
So you not only struggle with keeping your balance on the ground, maintaining foot grip within the shoes also becomes difficult.
Harmful Effects of Foot Sliding Forward in Shoes
Walking with your foot sliding forward in your shoe is uncomfortable and unhealthy. Several harmful effects can result from the foot sliding forward in shoes.
Toe Colliding:
To begin with, it may damage your toenails on either a single foot or both feet. Such damage occurs as a result of your toes colliding with the insides of your shoes when your foot goes forward.
Each time there is contact and the skin of your toe rubs off your shoe, it weakens its surface. When this becomes regular, it leads to a fungal infection affecting your toenail and the skin around it.
Blisters and Bleed:
Also, the back-and-forth movement when your foot slides forward can cause blisters on your feet and heel.
Blisters are tiny swellings due to pressure and can be extremely painful. Once blisters form, walking becomes more laborious and painful.
In cases where the blisters burst due to pressure, they cause the skin on which they form to peel and sometimes bleed. Foot sliding in shoes can also cause subtle burns beneath the feet, often resulting from the friction between your leg and the shoes.
Corn Forming:
In addition to blisters forming, foot sliding can also result in corn forming. Corns form when dead skin hardens and develops a bone-like texture on the toes or sides of a foot.
They are caused by the prolonged pressure generated when your foot slides forward and rubs against the insides of your shoes.
Even though corns may seem harmless, they can cause severe pain when moving around as they contain nerve fibers and blood vessels.
Toe Bunions:
There is also the possibility of developing bunions on your toe due to your foot sliding forward.
A bunion forms at the base of the toe as a bump but, in reality, is a joint being pushed forward and out of place.
Ankle Pains:
Asides from these foot issues, your foot sliding forward when you walk will also lead to pain in various parts of your leg, like the heels and ankles.
This, in turn, will affect your body posture, carriage, and body balance.
How to Stop Foot From Sliding Forward in Shoes
You don't have to abandon all your favorite shoes and heels just because your foot slides forward when you wear them.
There are several ways to prevent this from happening and help you enjoy your footwear properly. Some may require additional tools or materials, while others are simple adjustment tricks.
Sand Your Shoes Regularly
The first way you can stop your foot from sliding forward is by sanding it regularly.
It is quite helpful with new shoes that have not been worn before as their soles are usually smooth. For you to sand, you would need either a medium-feel sandpaper or any other material with a similar texture.
You will also need to dust the shoe's sole before you sand it. Then, use the sandpaper to lightly scratch the soles of the shoe in a circular manner.
Keep doing this until the soles become slightly coarse. Once the soles are rough, you can then conveniently walk around with your foot sliding forward.
Stuff Your Shoes
Another simple way to prevent your foot from sliding forward is by stuffing your shoes. When you wear shoes that do not fit perfectly, they offer too much room for your feet to roam within.
To stop this, you can fill the front space within the shoe with a soft cloth, tissue paper, or squishy nylons. You can also stuff the back and sides of the shoe to keep your foot in place firmly.
This method works best in shoes and sandals with closed toes.
Try Hairspray
Also, applying hairspray on your feet is a simple trick to keep them in your shoes.
As funny as this sounds, it has been proven to work and stop feet from sliding forward. Normally, hair sprays are sticky, and this stickiness makes them useful here.
To keep your feet from sliding with hairspray, coat the bottom of your feet thinly and put on your shoes immediately.
After this, allow the hairspray to dry inside the shoe by either sitting or standing for two to three minutes. Once it is dried, you can enjoy your shoes without the fear of your foot slipping forward.
If you will be spending long hours out, carry a mini hair spray to reapply at intervals as the hold wears off in two to three hours.
Dry Your Feet With Powder
In addition, when your feet are sweaty or wet, there are high chances that it will keep sliding forward. A simple way to stop this is by keeping them dry with talcum powder.
The powder absorbs the moisture under your feet and leaves the skin dry, so your foot can stay firmly within the shoe.
When talcum powder is unavailable, you can use baby powder or baking soda as substitutes. Just apply the powder to the bottom of your foot before wearing your shoe.
Use Silicone Insoles
As the last additional tip, you can use silicone insoles to stop your foot from sliding forward. The amazing thing about these insoles is that they are solely designed to fit you.
They also help your feet stay in place easily as their texture increases grip within the shoe. Since they are removable, you can use them with your sneakers, flat shoes, sandals, and even high heels.
Additional Tips to Keep Your Foot From Sliding
The major reason why your foot would likely be sliding forward in your shoes is that they are not the right size. So even without sanding or stuffing your shoes, you can keep your foot from sliding by getting shoes your size.
In light of this, when next you go to get shoes from the store, try to take exact measurements of your foot. Also, make sure the shoe fits your bigger leg and the smaller one before purchasing it.
Getting the right size of shoes will save you from pain and discomfort. It would even make you wear shoes more often as you will enjoy it. In addition to getting the right shoe size, you should also look for a shoe's stability and support level.
Also, try to buy shoes tailored to your specific needs and not only for their aesthetic value. However, if you have shoes that cause distress, you could wear them with callus pads.
They allow your toes to make the best of wiggle room without any foot issues. As they are soft, they prevent blisters and calluses and provide the necessary traction for walking around.
Conclusion
It can be painful when your foot keeps sliding forward in shoes, especially for someone who must wear shoes regularly. Aside from the pain and discomfort it brings, it could also affect your body posture and love for wearing shoes.
The good news is that this experience can be avoided with the above-listed tips and solutions. So whether your shoes are a perfect fit or not and regardless of your feet size, applying these solutions can still help you enjoy your favorite shoes.