2-Hour Shoes

What are 2-hour shoes? Simply put, they are shoes you wear for 2 hours and then you take them off. You know that there are some shoes that you shouldn't wear at all! Cute shoes have a way of making us willing to be uncomfortable, even in pain! So just limit the amount of time you spend in them.

Pumps, with thin soles and no-support and heels that are more than about 1 1/2 inches high are 2 hour shoes. Strappy sandals, even flat ones, are 2 hour shoes. Any shoe that you have to "grab" with your toes to keep on is a 2-hour shoe. That means flip flops, mules, and clogs!

• Very pointy shoes
• Pumps and heels and,
• Shoes that create pressure (such as a "line" you can see across your foot).

Even if you think a shoe feels good, if it has any of these characteristics, the shoe is not right for you. If a shoe isn't comfortable, it is a shoe that probably isn't the right shape, length or width for your foot. Look at the shape of your foot. Then look at the shape of the bottom of the shoe. We have become so accustomed to uncomfortable shoes that we just accept the pain!

Pointed shoes press the toes together. These shoes also tend to have a very low toe box that causes the toes to be pressed from the top as well as the sides. Ouch! Heat and friction is what causes calluses and corns. Wearing the wrong shape shoe can lead to bunions, Morton's neuromas, hammertoes and major discomfort!

Pumps and high heels put pressure on an area the size of a quarter at the forefoot. The resulting pressure on the knees can lead to osteoarthritis. When you are standing in even low pumps and heels, your center of gravity changes, and that puts you at a greater risk of falling. The lower the heel, the better.

It is dangerous - not just uncomfortable - for a diabetic to wear a shoe that is too tight, or too high. Swelling can lead to cuts in the skin. It is very important that the shoe fit around the foot, regardless of whether it is a regular shoe or a 2-hour shoe.

1. Start out with the correct size and width shoe.
2. No pointy toes.
3. No heels over 1 1/2 inch in height.
4. Use a "halter" or toe tap at the forefoot in pumps and heels if your foot moves forward in the shoe (which most do because of gravity).
5. Wear thin arch supports in all 2-hour shoes so your feet don't move forward or sheer across the bottom of the shoe. If you can't put a thin arch support in a shoe, either don't wear the shoe or have a metatarsal pad put directly in the shoe to alleviate some of the pressure on the forefoot.
6. If you have a formal event in the evening (or any other time, actually), patent leather flat dress shoes are good. Patent leather is, by definition, a dress leather. Many of us believe a dress shoe must be a pump or high heel. That is a belief, not a necessity.
7. If you wear 2 hour shoes, wear them early in the day when foot swelling is at its lowest. Keep walking and standing to a minimum.
8. Our feet swell most in the late afternoon and evening so pumps, heels and tight shoes are not good to wear at that time, even for 2 hours. Wear only flat shoes later in the day.