A short summary of my 100 hours learning about feet and shoes:
- The #1 cause of death for elders over age 65: falling / tripping
- The #1 reason for falling / tripping: weak toes
If you look at your toes right now, you probably have bunions:
To learn more, choose 1 of these depending on your attention span:
- 1-min video on toe posture
- 1-min video on 3 problems with shoes
- 12-min video What are the best shoes that promote foot health? | Peter Attia and Courtney Conley
- 2-hour video: Foot health: preventing common injuries, enhancing strength and mobility, & picking footwear
Most shoes we wear are too narrow. They cause bunions, flat feet, and their "high heels" (even men's shoes are 10mm+ high heel) which put pressure on your hips and waist.
Ergonomic shoes have:
- wide toe box
- zero drop
The wide toe box is important so our toes can "splay"
I replaced the shoes for my entire extended family. I'd recommend Altra as a general option (these have wide toe box + zero drop):
- Altra Torin - most cushion, but might be tighter at the arch than below options
- Altra Lone Peak - good cushion, for hiking/off-concrete
- Altra Escalante - medium cushion / more grounded feel
Best to try them at Fleet Feet (or REI or Dicks Sporting Goods). If you wear a Wide size, you might need to order online at Zappos/Fleet Feet/AltraRunning.com
- cheaper alternative overseas brand Whitin for frugal living
- more brands & how to measure feet
This Youtuber made a 45-sec clip explaining why toe spacers are needed.
He recommends buying https://www.amazon.com/shop/exercisinghealth/list/1WYHQK440XKOC I like the 5-toe spacers:
- VYCE PrimalStep Fully Adjustable Toe Separators
- Mind Bodhi Toe Separators
Wear them 1-2hrs daily at home, e.g. watch a movie and wear them
This is for try-hard people (not me!), who want to do more than #1 and #2
the Altra Escalante shoes don't have a Wide width, but the Medium width is already pretty spacious.