What I Saw at an Orthodontic Clinic and What It Has to Do with Feet

The other day I was waiting at an orthodontics clinic. In front of me was a woman with her granddaughter. The girl was wearing braces on her teeth. The grandmother was wearing another appliance... but on her foot: a kind of corrector on her big toe.

The corrector paradox

Look at that: both of them wanted to correct something. But the grandmother was wearing an appliance to try to straighten her big toe inside a sandal that did the exact opposite: it narrowed down at the front, squeezing her toes. You really have to see it.

Look at the photo:

The problem is not the corrector

The issue is different. Look at your bare foot. Now look at many of the sneakers you have at home. Your foot widens towards the toes; the sneaker narrows down. One of the two has to give... and usually it's not the sneaker.

Your toes press together. The big toe shifts inward. And you keep walking because this happens gradually. There is no siren, no smoke comes out of the shoe: a moment simply arrives when you look at your feet and think that's their shape.

But perhaps it's worth asking yourself a question: Is that the shape of your foot, or the shape it has gradually taken inside the footwear you use?

Because if you want your toes to have space, the first step is pretty obvious: give it to them. Obviously.

Mustang Free Apolo Bruma for women

And here is where the Mustang Free Apolo Bruma for women make sense. Not because they have magical powers (miracle sneakers don't exist, not from Nike either); they make sense because they do something much less spectacular and much more logical: they leave room.

So, if you're trying to straighten your toes, before looking for something to reposition them, look at what you're doing to them while you wear them. Because maybe you don't need to put more stuff on: simply stop squeezing them.