Inheriting shoes seems like a great idea to save. Biomechanics and podiatrists are very clear that it is a mistake

In many families it is quite common to see how the older brother or sister grows and leaves some sneakers or boots that look practically new without being able to use them. Here the logic indicates that they can pass it on to the younger brother so that they can take advantage of the money that has been spent and not throw away something that a priori is completely functional. However, what on paper seems like an impeccable financial decision collides head-on with children’s biomechanics and podiatric health.

A custom mold. The key to the problem is not in the exterior appearance of the shoe, but in its interior and in the sole. As explained Podiatrist Rebeca Prieto Riaño in a recent article in eldiario.es, an already worn shoe tends to be “molded” to the gait pattern of the first child.

Here you have to understand that each person has a unique way of walking and distributing weight. With continued use, the shoe suffers from specific wear zones that end up acting like small invisible wedges, and when a second child puts on that shoe, their foot is forced to adapt to a shape and inclinations that are not their own.

It’s a problem. This can significantly alter your stride, favoring everything from biomechanical problems to tendon and muscle injuries, as well as classic blisters or chafing due to inadequate support.

It is a recommendation. Although there are no clinical trials today, direct evidence comes, above all, from clinical guidelines and the consensus of specialists like the document Children’s Footwear Advice of the Suffolk Podiatry Paediatrics.

But we do have different biomechanical studies that show that footwear modifies the parameters of children’s gait, including speed, step length, ankle and knee ranges of motion, and impact pattern.

The biomechanics. Specifically, we see it in a meta-analysis published in 2011 that already concluded that shoes irremediably affect children’s gait. Added to this are more recent experimental works, such as a study published in Gait & Posture in 2023, which demonstrate how asymmetric shoe heights induce reactive changes in gait kinematics and muscle activation.

It goes further. In addition to the mechanics of gait, there is a dermatological factor to take into account, since pediatric podiatry guides advise against second-hand footwear due to the risk of infections. Sharing closed shoes that have accumulated sweat and humidity greatly facilitates the transmission of skin pathogens, especially dermatophytes, which are the fungi that cause athlete’s foot.

The cotton test. Does this mean we should automatically throw away any shoe our oldest child outgrows? Not necessarily, since experts in children’s orthopedics and podiatry establish footwear that has had residual use as an exception.

For example, shoes for a wedding that were worn one afternoon, or wellies that the child wore three times before his foot grew, can be inherited. The essential condition is that there are no signs of adaptation to the previous step.

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