Lacing Patterns!

The average athletic shoe has 6 pairs of eyelets (12 of those little holes that allow laces to pass through) and with over 2 trillion different ways to run laces through them, you are bound to run into a pattern that accommodates your foot in the shoe! The majority of foot problems that people face stem from shoes – either the shoe is too narrow or too wide, the shoe length is too small so your toes have no room in the toe box, or the toe box is oddly shaped where your toes must scrunch up against each other.

There are instances where the shoe is actually a good a fit, but the top of the shoe is exerting too much pressure on the top of your foot. Or you may find that exercise activities such as running or jogging start to cause pain around your foot as a result of the shoes. Sometimes, all that is required to alleviate the pain is a little adjustment in your lacing pattern. There are a variety of patterns that will allow a decrease in the pressure that the top of the shoe exerts onto your foot, increase ankle stability within the shoe, and even prevent pronation (the excessive inward rolling and flattening of the foot)! And since all that is being changed is way the shoelaces are being threaded through the eyelets, it’s an easy, inexpensive way to gauge whether the pain in your foot is really caused by your shoe or not!

To help with excessive pronation during exercise you may want to lace your shoes higher and tighter (not too tight where you are uncomfortable!). The higher lacing will also help your ankle stay in place and give that joint a little extra stability. Or if you find you have irritation on the top (dorsum) of your foot, there are specific ways that lacing methods can address that problem. For instance, say you have cut on the top of your foot that you’d like to take pressure off of, just rethread your laces off of that site. So instead of your laces crisscrossing at that level of the injury, they’ll be a gap there.

Make an appointment with your podiatrist and have your pain evaluated by them. If your pain is footwear-induced or exercise-induced, make sure to tell your podiatrist that information; and ask them for lacing recommendations. They will be able to show you in person the best technique for you!

Central Florida Foot and Ankle Center, LLC.
101 6TH St. NW.
Winter Haven, Fl. 33881
863-299-4551
http://www.FLFootandAnkle.com