Anyone Care to Analyse My Shoes?

From my experience as a runner and hiker, its all about finding the right brand of shoe, and always trying them on before buying them. Shoes are one thing i just cant buy online. Brands differ a lot in the construction of the heel cup, some are very ridged and inflexible. That type of erosion has happened to me several times, and its usually with a shoe that has a harder heel cup.

Another factor is the shoes fit and how much your foot moves inside it. Perhaps you are getting shoes with to much medial posting when you should have a more neutral shoe. Or visa versa. If your foot wants to roll and the shoe doesnt, it causes your foot to roll a little bit inside the shoe, creating friction and erosion of the shoe. It could also be how tightly you lace the shoes up. When i first had this problem, i started lacing my running shoes as tightly as i could, and this made the problem worse. I found that loosening them a little bit allowed the shoe to maintain some flexibility and move freely with my foot. It could be as simple as lacing up that last eyelette if you dont already.

Another issue could be the type of socks. I find that socks containing lots of synthetic materials cause a little more slide. I stick with cotton now.

The newer Asics shoes have been great for me. The heel cups are forgiving but supportive, and the upper has a way of holding the foot comfortably in place without having to lace them to tightly.

Just a few ideas from experience, im obviously not a pro at this. I say experiment a little bit, the treadmills in shoe stores are there for a good reason. Find a store with some truely experienced runners/hikers, show them the heel cup issue. And dont be afraid to take shoes back after a week of use.