Shoe Lacing 101 – Lacing Techniques for Bunions and Other Ailments
Did you know that according to statistics over 4,400,000 people suffer from bunions each year? Of these 4.4+ million people, the majority of sufferers are women. This is typically due to the shoes worn by women across the world such as high-heels or narrow toe-box shoes. Men however are also impacted by the shoes they wear, making it important for everyone to select proper shoes. For those that suffer from bunions that also enjoy running, the problem can be even worse. At Bunion Bootie we are dedicated to providing natural bunion products and educating people about how they can naturally prevent and/or treat bunions without resorting to surgery or other invasive treatment options. Today we’re discussing how to lace your running shoes when you suffer from bunions and hope that you can utilize these techniques during your next marathon.
Foot/Toe Deformity Lacing Techniques
Chances are, if you suffer from bunions you’ve realized that lacing your shoes like everyone else can actually make your situation and symptoms worse. Today we’ll cover various lacing techniques that can help those with bunions, bunionettes, narrow feet, wide feet, flat feet or even other deformities. We recommend longer shoe laces to ensure that you do not have to pull them tighter than necessary. If you find that you are pulling your laces too tight when attempting any of these techniques, try purchasing some longer ones and try again.
1. Lacing Techniques for Bunions
This works for bunions and bunionettes. Sometimes just relieving some of the pressure near the big toe joint/bunion is helpful. Here’s our favorite at Bunion Bootie. It relieves an incredible amount of pressure, as well as friction on the bunion. This technique can be applied to running shoes, hiking boots, or work boots.
2. Straight Lacing Technique for Wide Feet
For those that would like to relieve extra pressure on the top of the foot, straight lacing can be an excellent technique. By utilizing each eyelet without skipping any, you can distribute the pressure evenly across the top of the foot without any tight spots.
(Photo Courtesy of Carolee Belkin Walker)
3. Gap Lacing Technique for High Arches
For anyone with high arches, wide feet, bunions, bunionettes or other deformities, gap lacing can be a wonderful technique to relieve pressure and reduce symptoms. With gap lacing, you lace your shoes like you normally would but skip any eyelets around areas of problem or concern.
(Photo Courtesy of Carolee Belkin Walker)
4. Skip Lacing Technique
For those that would like to improve blood flow to the foot, ankle or even bunions, the skip lacing technique can be very useful. With skip lacing, you skip the bottom and top eyelets, allowing for more flexibility, mobility and blood flow at the ankle and the rest of the foot.
(Photo Courtesy of Carolee Belkin Walker)
Start Non-Surgical Bunion Care Today
Excited to try these new lacing techniques for marathon season? Look out for our next edition of Lacing Running Shoes With Bunions & Other Foot Issues for more techniques that can help relieve your symptoms from bunions, flat feet or other deformities.