SOLE CLUES

What your shoes say about your posture

- BY LAKSHANA N PALAT Assistant Features Editor

Your shoes say more than you think they do.

Take a look at the soles of your shoes. Is one shoe more worn out than the other? Or do the shoes have scuffed outer edges? This wear and tear doesn’t entirely mean that the shoes are old and need to be thrown away. On the contrary, these are clear signs that something is going wrong with your posture.

So, how do the shoes become the tell-tale signs of what’s going wrong?

When there’s a problem with your spine, it affects the way you walk, says Mitra Chini, a Dubai-based chiropractor. “So if you have lower back pain on the right side, you have a tendency to unconsciously lean towards the opposite side. Your muscles then become tighter. If the problems continue for a long time and it isn’t addressed, it affects your posture, as you have neck pain, and affects the way you walk,” she adds. Eventually, the hip on the opposite side will over-compensate for the side that is weaker. “This gradually shows in your shoes,” says Chini.

WHAT THE FOOTWEAR SAYS...

Your shoes tell you what kind of gait you have. A person who can equally distribute pressure in forefoot, midfoot and hind foot will have neutral posture and gait, explains Humeira Pervaiz, a Dubai-based podiatrist. In the correct stride, your foot should roll forward from heel to toe. The pronation should be neutral, and your weight needs to be balanced on your feet.