Learn how to place your laces in your shoes and trainers in order to protect your feet

You learnt how to tie your shoelaces when you were four or five years old. You can hardly remember it except for the ditty you would repeat to remind you of the steps you had to follow.

Now you do it without thinking and you only worry about making sure it looks good and whether it’s more or less tight.

But tying your shoelaces in one way or another can affect how you step and can lead to problems with your feet.

Keep in mind the following basic advice:

• Change the shoelaces when they are old or fraying.
• Check their length. If they are very short, the knot will not be made properly, and, if they are too long, you could trip over them.
• Use elastic laces for sports footwear. They are very comfortable.

The most common problems in feet are bunions, calluses, problems with the heel such as Morton’s neuroma, plantar fasciitis, hammer toes or nail-related problems. A high-arched foot (cavus foot) or totally flat feet can likewise cause problems.

1. Do you have a high instep or arch and does your footwear feel tight? Your laces should not crisscross in the centre of your foot, only at the beginning and end so that your foot stays in the shoe. The laces should be tied along the sides in the middle.
2. Do you have calluses or bunions? Avoid pointed footwear. When tying your laces, start from the sides and only cross the laces at the end.
3. Are your toes deformed, your nails thick or blackened, typical of sports people? The tip of the shoe should be soft and two centimetres from the tip of your big toe. When tying your laces, one of them should cross from the first eyelet to the last on the opposite side. This will raise the tip slightly resulting in less pressure.
4. Do you have problems with your heels? Make sure that the shoe is not loose or it will hurt you, and make sure it is cushioned. Cross the laces from the beginning in a zig-zag and, at the last two eyelets, do so on the side and cross the right lace under the left side and the left lace under the right side.
5. Do you suffer from plantar fasciitis? You need special insoles in each shoe, so that your feet do not slide so much and do not hurt. When tying your laces, halfway down, slip the lace twice through the same eyelet and the opposite lace through the knot you make. End with a normal knot. That way the shoe is fastened securely without causing pain.

As you can see, the way in which you tie your laces has a lot more to do with comfort than with appearances or fashion. Don’t you agree?

This post is also available in: Spanish