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The title may itself sound a little weird, indeed it does. But this I have observed over the time, when I take a look at my shoes. I think I have a strange walking style, in which I probably land a bit banked on the right part of the feet of my left leg. That is why I can see my left shoe more worn out on the right part of it than the left. Eventually such a shoe become a little uncomfortable to use because it doesn't have a uniform bottom. And, this again make me land my left foot on right part of it. This is somehow making my left leg to over-exert. And, I may end up twisting my ankle someday. Its not specific for a pair of shoe either.

I was thinking if I can add some sort of an additional padding/cushion in the socks. But I think I want to root out the cause for it, rather than getting used to with some such cushion.
Can anyone suggest some exercise?

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    Only one reasonable advice imo: Go to a doctor and get inserts from him. I don't like the idea to fiddle around with crazy ideas some people in forums got when it comes to something important as health while walking.
    – Wills
    Oct 16, 2015 at 6:34

2 Answers 2

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So, I have (I think) the opposite problem - the outside edges of my shoes wear more quickly than the inside edges. This kind of problem is common among runners, you can look at running websites for ideas about how to fix it. I was never able to fully fix the problem, buuuut...

Treating the symptoms instead of the underlying problem works for me.

I keep an eye on my shoes and hiking boots, and if I see some uneven wearing happening, I sand the sole down with some sandpaper until the sole is even. Or (if for some reason I don't want to do that), I get a new pair of shoes. Its expensive (I wind up replacing my outdoor shoes about twice as fast as you usually would), but it really helps fight knee pain (from walking on uneven shoes), since I can't seem to fix my pronation issue.

Hope this helps. Its not a perfect solution, but its how I manage the problem.

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  • Thanks for the ideas Sir. Yeah, I thought about doing the same, but then it rang in my mind that, over a long hiking career, it seems very agonizing to change your shoes so often. Like all other hikers I love my trekking gears a lot! Lets hope if I can find some solution to root out the cause. I have got One suggestion from a guy I met yesterday, He had a similar problem, and He managed to get rid of that simply by putting a sand-bag weight on the opposite side of the leg where he banked and shoes worn out. This resolved the issue after a months practice. Lets see if it works for us
    – WedaPashi ♦
    Aug 20, 2013 at 5:33
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    good luck. If you're going to do something like that, make sure to experiment with it slowly, don't just wear the sandbag for a long hike, because the change in your stride could cause another injury to show up.
    – DavidR
    Aug 20, 2013 at 11:32
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    I would recommend you look at online forums for runners, though. At least in the USA, there are FAR more runners than there are hikers (or almost any other recreational sport), and there are a lot of resources online for them. Your problem might be something they know how to address.
    – DavidR
    Aug 20, 2013 at 11:33
  • For sure Sir. I will take that into consideration. And, I know before actually experimenting, I have a good place to get a Go-Ahead. This forum itself!
    – WedaPashi ♦
    Aug 20, 2013 at 13:43
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    instead of adding custom cushions to your shoe, could you research shoe inserts, and / or see an orthopedist and get a custom insert made? I feel like you'd get better results from that than adding weights to your opposite leg. My $0.02
    – DavidR
    Aug 20, 2013 at 13:55
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We are all different and this problem is nothing rare. What you are describing is called overpronation, which means that you roll more on the inside of your foot when you walk.

This is something that is rooted in your pattern of movement, i.e something that is very hard to change. The best way to remedy this would be to add some kind of padding to your shoe, so it supports your foot and reduces the uneaven ware.

Here's a little article on pronation.

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    Hmmm by all 3 runners the heel gets first in contact with ground. I've heard it's correct for walking, but in case of running, the front part of foot should come in contact with ground first, which allows better amortization.
    – Danubian Sailor
    Aug 19, 2013 at 14:14
  • @LukaszLech: I totally agree with you regarding landing on the toe while running.
    – WedaPashi ♦
    Aug 20, 2013 at 5:27
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    You only land on the toe first when sprinting, and even then it is only the initial part of the sprint. Recommended technique is to land on the heel and roll round to the toe. This is what all my marathon coaches taught me.
    – Rory Alsop ♦
    Sep 13, 2013 at 17:05
  • @RoryAlsop and that makes sense. Try running even 10 minutes with front contact only, this is extremely exhausting.
    – Wills
    Oct 16, 2015 at 6:31

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