Are your shoes worn out?

Shoes wear out in the areas where we overload them, so the parts where you need the most support will wear out the fastest. A worn shoe can exaggerate the biomechanical faults you already have. A loss of support and cushioning can cause shin splints, Achilles tendinitis, knee pain and heel pain known as plantar fasciitis. As a shoe’s sole and heel wear down unevenly, the likelihood of twisting an ankle increases. And in severe cases, old shoes can cause stress fractures.

There’s no clear expiration date for a shoe, the lifespan depends on the quality of construction, how well you take care of it and where and how often you wear it. But there are some guidelines for determining when it’s time for new shoes.

Running Shoes

Running shoe wear shows up first on the bottom of the shoe before the midsole (the cushioning element), but the midsole usually wears out first. The rate at which your shoes wear out differs from, runner to runner. For example, outsoles wear down on pavement faster than on dirt trails. There may be less wear and tear on shoes if you stick to dirt trails or the treadmill, but the impact forces are about the same so the cushioning will still wear out.

To determine if the midsole is worn out, flip the shoe over and press a thumb on the outsole and upward to the midsole. It should be easy to see the midsole compress into the compression lines. When the midsole shows distinctive compression lines, it will be brittle which is indicative that the midsole is worn to the point where there’s not much cushioning left. Time to replace your shoes.

Experienced runners usually have an approximate idea of the number of miles they get out of their shoes and are keenly aware of any change in cushioning when they approach that max mileage. By calculating the number of miles you run per week (or month), you will have a good idea of how much accumulated mileage you have on a particular pair of shoes and once you approach the 350-500 mile threshold, can monitor the amount of shoe life left. No guarantees on mileage can be made, but 500 miles is still about the max for most conventional running shoes

Casual work or walking shoes

As a rule of thumb, if you wear a pair of shoes to work three to four times a week, after a year or so they’ll either need fixing or replacing. Scuffed heels, flat spots on the outer sole, or when the back edge of the heel gets so worn that it’s angling sharply are signs of wear. A good test is to set the shoes on a flat surface and look at them from behind, if they tilt to the side, it’s time to fix or toss.

Dress shoes

If you buy good-quality shoes and take good care of them, resoling and re-heeling when necessary, they could last 5 to 15 years. Leather soles need replacing when you put your thumb in the center of the outer sole at the ball of the foot and the leather feels soft instead of firm. Another component to keep an eye on is the leather on the upper part of the shoe, which can get stiff if not regularly cleaned, polished and conditioned. Once it hardens, the leather can crack where the shoe bends, and there’s nothing you can do to fix it.

Avoid foot pain or even damage from worn out shoes. And if you need new shoes, check out our partners Peak Performance on 156th & Maple or The Walking Company at http://bit.ly/1pzW1e6.