Tracking your shoes
Do you track your shoe mileage?
Have you ever considered monitoring your shoe usage? Once you crunch the numbers, you might be surprised with the result!
The average Australian takes 7400 steps per day, which may equal around 5.6 km of walking per day. Based on these assumptions, the average Australian may walk around 39 km per week and cover just over 2000 km per year. It adds up quickly, doesn’t it? Given that ASICS suggest a range of between 700 and 900 kms per pair of shoes, you’re looking at burning through at least a couple of pairs of shoes per year.
But how do I monitor it?
The influx of activity monitoring technology has provided us with many of ways to monitor our shoe mileage. Apps such a Strava, Run Keeper, Nike Run Club and ASICS Runkeeper integrate this feature into their products.
So, what’s the point?
So why should we track our shoe mileage? Like any product, shoes slowly deteriorate over time and may increase your injury risk. While the top surface of a shoe may be in good condition, soling can compress and wear and components such as the heel cup material can deform and even crack. By monitoring your mileage, it can provide a handy reminder to check your shoe condition.
It’s OK to have more than one shoe!
One way to avoid replacing shoes multiple times per year is to have multiple shoes and rotate them frequently. This may allow the shoe to deteriorate at a slower rate, but there are other potential benefits.
Multiple shoes can allow you to use shoes of different designs. It’s a good way to experiment with shoe designs and may also vary the loading on your lower limb tissues.
Daily use of the same shoe can result in bacteria loads increasing within the shoe. This can result in a smelly shoe and the perfect environment to develop fungal infections. Rotating shoes allows the interior of the shoe to dry and the insole to be removed for drying and exposure to sunlight. This should result in a healthier environment within the shoe.
Takeaway message
At the end of the day, we’re not all interested in monitoring our steps and obsessing over our shoe mileage. However, keeping an eye on your shoes does come with some benefits and this is likely to keep your feet happier and healthier and hopefully injury free.
If you would like some assistance to prevent lower lib injury and discover ways to monitor their mileage and condition or provide guidance on shoe selection, feel free to get in touch to make an appointment at Your Health Hub.