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Do you know if you are wearing the correct shoe size?

Do you have sore feet? Wonder if you are wearing correctly fitting footwear? Are concerned about bunions? Are you concerned about the foot health implications of wearing shoes that do not fit correctly? Are you aware that footwear come in multiple widths? Have you started wearing a larger shoe size in the last few years? Do you think that in order to wear fashion you have to suffer with foot pain? You don't! Read this article to learn how to measure your feet.
 
Did you know that footwear came in multiple widths? Just like where jeans come with a waist measurement and then multiple different leg lengths and widths, so do shoes.
 
With clothing if you chose an incorrect size you may end up with a muffin top, a button exploding off or not being able to eat, but it is not going to lead to long term health implications. The same cannot be said with our shoes. If you wear incorrectly fitting footwear you can cause health issues.

We walk a lot of miles with our wee feet and if we do not take care of them the following are some of the health issues that can occur.
  • foot pain - pain in the ball joints, balls of your feet, tendons, muscles
  • bunions - caused by wearing shoes that are either too tight or too pointy. It is caused by your big toe being pushed out of alignment and can also be painful.
  • hammertoes - can be caused by wearing shoes that are too short for you, so that one or more of your toes ends up curled up
  • blisters - can be caused by wearing shoes that are too sloppy
 
You may have had the length of your feet measured but this is only half the story. To find out your foot size you will need the following:
- a piece of paper longer than your foot
- a pen
- a tape measure
- a friend to help.
 
To measure your feet do the following:
  • Stand up straight on the piece of paper with your foot weight evenly spread between your heel and toe.
  • Get the person helping you to draw a line where your longest toes ends (it may not be your big toe).
  • Then put a mark where your heel ends.
  • Now stand on the tape measure and bring one end past your ball joint and the other past your little toe, bring the ends together, this is your width or girth measurement.
If you would like to see a diagram showing where to measure the feet, click here.
 
Both these measurements will be in the 20+cm range. Do this for both feet as you have to fit for your larger foot. You can always add an insole or heel grip to the shoe that is a little big but you cannot make shoes longer!
 
The following is a guide to your width measurements and what your true shoe size in. Of course not all brands are identical but it will get you started on the right path.
 
For women:
- if your girth (width) measurement is 10mm less than your length, then you are roughly a B fit
- if your girth (width) measurement is the same as your length, then you are  roughly a C fit (or W)
- if your girth (width) measurement is 10mm larger than your length then you are roughly a D fit (or a WW)
- if your girth (width) measurement is 20mm larger than your length then you are roughly a E fit (or a WWW or 2E)
 
For men:
- if your girth (width) measurement is 10mm less than your length, then you are roughly a MB fit (or a 2E)
- if your girth (width) measurement is the same as your length, then you are  roughly a 3E fit
- if your girth (width) measurement is 10mm larger than your length then you are roughly a 5E
 
So go measure your feet, learn your shoe size and keep your feet dancing for joy and not cramping in pain.
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