Brought to you by the American Podiatric Medical Association.

• The best-designed shoes will not do their job if they do not fit properly.
• Don’t go just by size. Always have your feet measured.
• Visit the shoe store when your feet are largest in size (at the end of a day, after a workout).
• Wear the sock normally worn when exercising.
• Make sure the shoe provides at least one thumb’s breadth of space from the longest toe to the end of the toe box.
• Special features in construction give comfort to the wearer and help prevent injury.
• Look inside the shoe before you buy it - this will help you select a shoe that fits both your foot and your sport.
• A slip-lasted shoe is made by sewing together the upper like a moccasin and then gluing it to the sole. This lasting method makes for a lightweight and flexible shoe with no torsional rigidity.
• A board-lasted shoes has the “upper” leather or canvas sewn to a cardboard-like materials. A person with flat feet feels more support and finds improved control with this type of shoe.
• A combination-lasted shoe combines advantages of a slip-lasted and a board-lasted shoe. It is slip-lasted in the front and board-lasted in the back. These shoes give good heel control but remain flexible in the front under the ball of the foot.