Heading back to school is an exciting time in and of itself; there is no need to complicate things with unhappy feet!  In this post I will highlight a few of the things we at Raleigh Foot & Ankle Center think are important healthy feet tips for your kids as they head back for another successful school year!

Back to school shopping is a ritual that parents, and inherently children, partake in on a yearly basis.  A big reason for this is the fact that our little loved ones are constantly out-growing old clothes. This includes their shoes as well!  It is important to pay close attention to shoes that may be too small or causing pain, as they may need new shoes as often as every few months during “growth spurts.”

It is important that we teach our kids about sharing, but this should exclude shoes!  Parents really shouldn’t hand down shoes from one kid to the next, as often times this can promote the spread of conditions such as Athlete’s foot and toenail fungus.  It is also rare for both children to have exactly the same foot type, so their shoes likely won’t fit the same anyways.

Shoes should be comfortable straight out of the box.  Any excessive “break-in” period could mean that the shoes don’t actually fit well.  Make sure to keep an eye on how the shoe is wearing on the bottom as well.  If you notice areas of heavy wear, such as the heels or forefoot area, you should see your local foot & ankle expert to ensure there isn’t something biomechanically that needs to be altered.  The good news is that sometimes all that is needed is a simple custom insert to re-align biomechanical instability and promote good lower extremity health for life!  A simple analogy to orthotics keeping foot pain away is brushing your teeth to keep cavities away.

We wish you all the best of luck in this new school year, and look forward to sharing in your success stories when you come by the office!