Educational Articles

How to Determine Proper Shoe Width

Posted By Robyn Hughes, ND

Disclaimer:

The above content is for educational or informational purposes only and is not intended to replace or augment professional medical instruction, diagnosis, or treatment. Read full disclaimer here.

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Shoe Liner Test & Pronation Explained

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Comments
July 04, 2016
Dan Damron

Hello, and thank you for a wonderful article and website! I appreciate your good work.

I have ordered shoes from Natural Footgear and others in the past, and when I take the shoe liner out and stand on it, my foot is still wider than the insert. I feel like my foot is too wide even for the wide shoes that you offer. It’s still an improvement over the 2E shoes I used to buy, though, for sure.

Even when I’ve tried the sizing charts I printed off, my foot is wider than the outlines. I wonder if I am better off using a 6E shoe that I found, even though it has a raised heel and a thicker and less flexible sole? My plantar fasciitis and metatarsalgia have been getting better due to getting better shoes, but I want to still improve more. Thanks!

July 04, 2016
Natural Footgear

Hi, Dan,

Thank you for your message. In general, we like to see the shoe’s liner fully accommodate the foot and toes—with the toes in their natural splayed formation—without there being any liner spillover. In some cases, though, especially if the shoe has a soft and expansile upper, a little spillover may be acceptable, as there is often some bowing at the sides of the toe box that creates extra space within the shoe.

Because of your struggle to find sufficiently wide footwear, I might suggest trying out some Crocs. They are comfortable, lightweight, and usually foot-healthy (depends on the specific model). Also, I have included some resources below that may be helpful to you in achieving optimal foot health:

Foot Pain by Location:
www.naturalfootgear.com/blogs/education/17882888-foot-pain-by-location

Plantar Taping Technique:
www.naturalfootgear.com/blogs/education/17890028-plantar-taping-technique

Plantar Fasciitis or Fasciosis?:
www.naturalfootgear.com/blogs/education/17889080-plantar-fasciitis-or-fasciosis

Free e-course on Plantar Fasciosis:
www.naturalfootgear.com/pages/do-you-have-foot-pain

Plantar Fasciosis: Conventional vs. Natural Approaches:
www.naturalfootgear.com/blogs/education/17889116-plantar-fasciosis-conventional-vs-natural-approaches

Please do let us know if you have any further questions. We are happy to help out any way that we can!

Kind regards,
Laura Trentman

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