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Lace Them Up: How to Stop Pain With Shoelaces

By Tracy Teare
From Health magazine

The fixes for four common foot issues may be as simple as re-lacing your shoes.

<< Tops of your feet are sore
Problem: Shoes rub tops of your feet, causing irritation or blisters; common in people with high arches.

The fix: Skip lacing. Lace around (not over) the problem area to relieve pressure.

Too-tight toes>>
Problem: Your toes feel restricted.

The fix: Double laces. Tying the shoe in two places lets you make it looser at the forefoot. You’ll need two laces for each shoe. Start from the bottom with one lace; tie a bow in the middle. Then use the second lace, starting from the eyelets above the bow of the first lace; tie a bow at the top. Experiment until you get the right fit.

<<Sore arch
Problem: Shoes feel too tight on the tops of your feet.

The fix: Parallel lacing. Don’t cross laces over each other after each eyelet—alternate going up and across to the next eyelet like a ladder.

Loose heel>>
Problem: Your heels slip up and down.

The fix: Heel loops. Lace each shoe normally, but at the mouth use side holes (often left empty) to run lace up and out to create a small loop. (Don’t cross over tongue, just run lace under and up through next hole.) Then take ends of lace, cross to opposite side, and run lace up through these loops; pull to tighten.

Last Updated: July 15, 2009
Filed Under: Fitness
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Comments (1)

The following content represents the opinions of Health.com users. It is not editorially reviewed for medical or factual accuracy. It does not constitute medical advice. See your doctor for medical advice.
  • Sandy

    I’m using heel loops on my Brooks running shoes. Ran four miles two days ago and felt ok during the run. Afterwards, I felt fairly intense pain at the point where the bow was tied on top of my foot (ankle area). Tried a different pair of shoes yesterday and only ran two, but it is still very sore. Should I relace the Brooks shoes and loosen it up? I have NEVER had any type of pain with running and I’m OLD! (And VERY fortunate.) What do you think? sjg

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