Minor rips, holes in the soles, smoothed-out edges—it’s safe to say that your shoes experience a fair amount of wear and tear during their lifetime. But it’s not always external factors that affect their quality and longevity!

In fact, in most cases, it’s the way you walk that makes all the difference. Whether you have a well-worn pair of shoes or a pair that practically falls apart the 5^th time you wear them depends entirely on how you’re using them!

Shoe Repair – Understanding Walking Patterns

Gait and walking pattern are two very different things.

Though sometimes used interchangeably, gait is the style or manner in which you walk, whereas your walking pattern is simply how you put one foot in front of the other. In this piece, we’re focused on walking patterns.

There are three basic types of walking patterns:

Normal Walking Pattern: For someone who has a normal walking pattern, their shoes will show wear between the middle of the heel and the mid-section of the balls of the foot. This is because it’s where people push off when taking steps.

Overpronation: Overpronation refers to wear on the inside edges of the shoe, and the inside edges near the balls of the feet, all the way toward the sides of the big toe.

Supination: Supination refers to signs of wear on the outside of the shoes and to the sides, toward the pinky toe, at the outer edges of the balls of the feet.

How Your Style of Walking Affects Your Shoes

As the average shoe is made for people with a normal walking pattern, overpronators and supinators experience pressure and general modification that make the problem of wear and tear worse over time.

Take an overpronator wearing a normal pattern-style shoe, for instance; their problem is that their foot is flexible, but it doesn’t get the right support that enables strong push-off when they take steps.

As a result, their foot gets rolled in, onto their arch. Over time, this not only causes the shoe to lose form and become looser, but it also causes health issues, such as tendonitis, soft tissue damage, and even hip pain.

As for supinators, because their foot is too rigid, their arches are raised a bit too high. This doesn’t give their foot enough support to absorb the shock of walking when their foot hits the ground.

As a result, they are more prone to bone injuries, IT band syndrome. And even stress fractures, as well as knee and hip pain.

Correct Your Walk or Correct Your Shoes?

While you could work with a physical therapist to correct your walking technique. We recommend that in the meantime, you have your shoes repaired and adjusted to match your walking pattern. Have the heels adjusted and the liner of your shoe corrected if possible.

Come to Imperial Valet Sterling Cleaners in Washington D.C. for shoe repair if you’re in the area. And let a professional know what you need. Don’t let your shoes bear the brunt of your walking pattern!

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