7 Tips To Stop Shoes From Rubbing Your Ankle Back (Achilles)

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As an athlete or a trail runner, you always wanted to have a good new pair of shoes. But are you scared of wearing a new pair of shoes?

Or do you often get worried that they may give you blisters or hurt your ankles? Well, worry no more!

You immediately get to know when your shoes are hurting by rubbing your ankle back or heels. And you always want to get rid of it.

Apart from taking them off, is there anything else you can do to prevent them from hurting your foot back?

7 Tips To Stop Your Shoes From Rubbing Achilles

Fortunately, there are ways through which you can stop shoes from rubbing or biting your ankle back. These are as follows:

1- Wear Double Socks

Wear your normal socks over a pair of ankle socks. The two socks will sit over one another and can help to reduce the amount of friction that occurs directly on your heel skin.

I know wearing the two socks can be difficult for many. But if you choose the right fit and size, these can be properly worn without slipping into one another.

2- Make Use of Heat

Put on a pair of woolen or thick socks and wear your shoes. Now blow a hairdryer on medium and heat your shoes back till they get a little malleable.

As you move your feet, the warm material will accordingly get molded to fit the shape of your heel in a better way. It works great for suede, cloth, and leather shoes.

However, ensure you don’t bring the dryer too close to the shoe for a long time, or it may melt or burn the shoes.

3- Make Use of Duct Tape

If you need something which lasts even when you run or hike with your shoes, then prep your heels or shoes with duct tapes to lower the friction and rubbing.

Care that you do not use them if you already have blisters. It may hurt instead of making everything right.

4- Use Anti-Friction Stick

Anti-friction sticks (also known as anti-chafing sticks or anti-blister balm) are now easily available at online retail stores like Amazon.

An Anti-Friction Stick provided by Solemates is hypoallergenic, unscented, and gentle on your ankle’s skin.

It contains a balm that can be applied directly to the skin of your ankle back. By creating an invisible barrier, this stick prevents friction and hence the blisters that can be caused when shoes rub.

5- Ensure Your Shoes Fit Well

Your ill-fitting shoes can be a cause of various foot problems. The rubbing of shoes around your heels, Achilles, and back of your ankle bone is one of the most common.

Shoes that are too big can cause your feet to move around inside them all day. This can cause friction and hence blisters.

And the shoes that are too small/tight will cramp your feet, leading to blisters and pain.

Hence make sure that you choose to wear only the right size for your feet. Also, ensure that the boot or shoes you pick if of premium quality.

6- Get The Right Fit with Insoles

Shoes that are too big can be easily fixed by adding a custom insole for your shoes.

Insoles bring a little lift to your foot and lower the surface area, which is in contact with the heel back.

Insoles offer a slightly tighter fit which lowers the movement between the skin and shoe, thereby reducing the chances of formation of blisters. They also make your shoe more supportive and comfier!!

7- Get Your Shoe Checked with A Cobbler

If they are your favorite pair of shoes and you don’t want to get rid of them so soon, then just visit a shoe repair shop or your local cobbler.

A professional can help to get your shoes stretched. It is very much suitable, especially for fixing leather shoes.

How To Soften The Heels Of Shoes That Rub Your Heel?

Softening the back of your new shoes is yet another efficient way to help break in shoes that rub your heels.

To soften the back of new shoes you can try these two techniques:

Use leather conditioner for shoes like mink oil or beeswax. Just apply it to your shoes and leave them overnight. In the morning, you will find the shoes to be a better fit.
Put on your pair of socks and warm your shoes using a hairdryer. Now put on your shoes and walk around. You will find them contoured to your feet as they cool down.

You can try the above technique for softening the back of your new shoes if they are too tight to slip in and often hurt/rub your ankle back.

Keep reminded, that shoes made up of leather and suede can be softened much easier than any other things like fabric, rubber, or plastic.

How To Use Moleskin To Prevent Blisters On Back Of Heel?

Using Moleskin is one of the best things you can do to prevent blisters from forming on your ankle bone back due to the regular cutting/rubbing of new shoes.

Moleskin is typically a thin (but strong) fabric that is made of cotton material. It has a soft surface on one side and a sticky adhesive on the other.

You can use it to protect a blister from irritation and make your shoes fit better.

Moleskin can be applied for blisters in two ways:

1- Sticking on the inside of your shoes

For sticking a Moleskin inside your shoes, you need to unroll the section and place it inside the heel of your shoe.

Now trace the area (of Moleskin) you want to cover with a pen or pencil. Using sharp scissors, cut the shape and peel back the protective backing on the moleskin section.

Now clean the dust of dirt (if any) inside the shoe and stick this piece inside the heel of your shoe.

2- Sticking it on your heels for protection

The second way to prevent the blisters from forming is by applying the Moleskin to your heel skin directly.

First of all, clean up the skin on your heel properly and make it completely dry using a soft cotton towel.

Now using a scissor cut a piece of moleskin section that is large enough to cover your heel.

After removing the protective backing, stick the moleskin to your heel. It works as simple as a band-aid to protect your heels from rubbing.

Now before wearing the shoes, make sure that you wear thin ankle socks that will help keep the moleskin in place and can provide extra protection.

What Happen When Your Shoes Rub Against Your Achilles or Heel?

Do you realize if you don’t avoid this problem, what conditions will it lead to?

As such, there are a few things that shoes rubbing your ankle back can lead to. They comprise:

Bursitis: They are fluid-filled internal parts that cushion your ankle’s tendons and bones. Shoe rubbing can make them painful and swollen.

Friction blisters: They are painful. It is a fluid-filled raised skin area caused by rubbing. They are the most common problem caused by the biting of shoes against your ankles.

Achilles Tendonosis: When your Achilles tendon gets strained, it creates a bump at the ankle or heels. It may often lead to the breakdown of tissue as well if not protected.

Keeping good care of your feet is the only solution to all the above problems.

Below are some additional tips that can help keep your ankles and heels in good condition.

Consider changing your socks daily
Clip your toenails whenever they grow long
Keep the skin of your feet properly moisturized
Wash your feet daily and keep them dry to get rid of bacteria
Soak your tired feet often in hot water. If possible, remove the rough dead skin by using a pumice stone

The above-mentioned are the few things you can try to stop your shoes from rubbing or cutting your ankles and heel.

Make sure that you fix your shoes or try these techniques, or else all you want will be to get your shoes off at the earliest, as it can end up aching your feet forever.

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