Bunions are caused by a mix of genetics and biochemistry but also happen due to a combination of repetitive motion and friction inside your shoes. You need good shoes that can accommodate your bunions and help you avoid forming new bunions or injuries over your bunions in the future.
Choosing the right shoes for bunion relief is a big deal, and we're here to help because we've been there. Let's dive into our best bunion shoe selection tips.
The Importance of Good Shoes
Bunions affect about one-third of adults in the US, representing over 100 million people. So, if you have bunions, you're certainly not alone. While bunions can be caused by footwear and medical conditions, finding the right shoes is essential both to minimize risk and maximize comfort.
You need shoes that give your toes plenty of room, don't rub against your feet, and provide good support for your personal foot shape.
Keeping these priorities will help you find the best shoes for your personal bunions. Let's dive into the 10 top tips when searching for the right shoes.
1) Round and Square-Toe Boxes
In general, wide toe boxes are always more bunion-friendly because they are less likely to pinch your toes. Make sure to give your toes and the wide ball of your foot plenty of room in your shoes without sliding around. This means favoring shoes with wide toes.
The best toe box shapes for bunions include round or square-toed shoes. Round-toe box shoe examples are classic boots or Mary Jane style shoes. Square-toed shoes have a rounded square for the toe box instead. These are more likely to give your bunions room without uncomfortable pinching or friction.
2) Proper Foot/Arch Support
Good support is very important for bunions. The formation of bunions often relates to the combination of foot structure, pressure, and friction. You can support your foot structure and reduce friction by finding shoes with the right support for your heels, arches, and the balls of your feet.
Look for arch support that fits your unique foot shape. Memory foam can help if your feet don't comfortably fit in pre-formed insoles. You can also use your own inserts, bought off the shelf or custom insoles created to fit by your doctor, to ensure each shoe provides the proper support.
3) Soft Interior Padding
A rough inner seem or pinching hard line of a shoe is often the culprit for triggering both new bunions and bunion pain. The answer is soft interior padding. Look for shoes that are soft all the way up around the foot or have a deep padded foot cup that doesn't have a rough top edge.
Soft interior padding is very useful, though the right socks can also help on this front. Investing in some good cushiony socks or glue-in shoe padding can make a wider range of shoes more comfortable - but you may need to size up for these solutions. We'll talk about sizes further on.
4) Shoe Material Flexibility
Flexible shoe materials are ideal. Just as rough edges can be a problem, so can hard and unyielding shoe materials. Bunions are often made worse by pressure and pinching that can cause daily pain. This is why stiff shoes are more likely to be a problem, so favor soft, flexible shoes like mesh sneakers, soft loafers, and gel sandals.
If you need firm structure, go with flexible shoes like sneakers or stretch-sandals that hold your foot in place without rubbing the edges against a stiff material. Soft leather is fine, but avoid stiff leather and rigid plastic, which are the most likely to cause pain.
5) Adjustable Laces and Straps
Every foot is unique in size and shape, and bunions can change your foot pressure needs over time. The best way to adapt to this is with shoes that have adjustable closures. Think lace-up shoes that you can loosen or tighten adaptively from toe to ankle, or sandals with straps you can tighten or loosen at key points.
Modern sneakers and slip-ons come with a lot of different adaptive closure types including elastic bands and Velcro. Experiment to find shoes that adapt to the width and comfort needs of your feet.
6) Wide Sizes and Sizing-Up
Finding the right shoe size is critical. You need enough room so that your bunions aren't under pressure, but the shoe must fit well enough that your foot doesn't slide around.
Wide shoe sizes are typically bunion friendly. These are sizes with a C, D or W next to the number. Adapting your shoe interiors with insoles, padding, and fluffy socks can also cause you to need a slightly larger shoe, even with wide-sized shoes.
For shoes you really want that don’t come in wide, try a half to full size up from your typical shoe size for that extra width and room for more padding.
Of course, shoe brands and models also size differently, so expect to try a range of sizes near your typical each time you go shoe shopping. Our shoe review guide can help you with bunion-friendly and wide shoe recommendations and also tell you about the positives and negatives of shoes and how they fit.
7) Low Supportive Heals
Choose your heels wisely. You can wear heels with bunions, but not classic pointy pumps comfortably. High heels tend to put more pressure on the front of your foot where bunions usually form, and pointy-toed shoes are likely to pinch painfully.
When shopping for heels, look for those wide toe boxes and low-to-medium wedge heels. Wedges and platform heels look high but provide plenty of support without putting all the pressure on the ball of your foot. These techniques can help you dress up without foot pain.
8) Orthopedic Shoes for Bunions
Orthopedic shoes are a special category of shoes designed to correct a medical foot condition - like bunions. Because there are many medical conditions, not all orthopedic shoes are the same, but they tend to have good cushiony support and fewer damaging structural features by default. These shoes are usually not cute but may be necessary for extreme foot issues.
9) Find Your Favorites
Each shoe brand and design is different. Learn the differences to find your go-to shoes.
Learn your favorite shoe brands and models. Different brands have their own sizing, insole, and material templates, so you can often find a few go-to options that are more comfortable for your feet. You might prefer sneakers from one specific brand and dress shoes from another brand because their shoe designs are more often comfortable and well-fitting.
Top-shelf brands aren't necessarily better. Try budget brands and store brands, too. Prioritize brands that have been around for a while, name brands and store brands alike, so you can count on them when it's time to buy your next pair of shoes.
10) Don't Be Afraid to Customize
Last but never least, don't be shy about customizing your shoes. Pull out the interior insole and put in an orthotic or a memory foam pad. Add or remove arch support to fit your foot. Add padding to the sides of the toe box. A little DIY can go a long way toward lasting bunion comfort.
The perfect shoe for your bunions might be by a favorite brand plus a few augmentations. Feel free to experiment and find out. Once you buy a pair of shoes, they are yours to change.
Living Well with Bunions
Having bunions doesn't have to mean shoes are uncomfortable. By following our bunion-friendly shoe tips you can walk without pain and help to heal your bunions by reducing pressure and friction over time. Evaluate your current shoes and consider these tips before your next purchase.
You can use our shoe review guide to find the best bunion-friendly shoes and follow us for more useful shoe-hunting tips.
Comments