This type of shoes is most common in winter, and it is easy to get hurt if you choose the wrong one! Selection Guide →

When it comes to snow boots, many girls must have a love-hate relationship with them. As a winter cold-proof artifact, their comfortable and soft structure and cute and interesting shape have always been a must-have item for winter styling.

However, at the same time, problems such as not being anti-slip and not keeping the feet right are also very prominent. Some people even suffer fractures due to slipping... So whether or not to wear snow boots and when to wear snow boots has become a headache.

Image source: A social platform

So, what are the hidden risks of snow boots, which are among the top winter items? Let's talk about it today~

The softness of snow boots hurts your feet

An important factor that everyone likes to wear snow boots is their softness, but snow boots are a bit too soft!

Compared to home slippers, a major function of shoes worn outside is to provide protection . However, many snow boots are of poor quality and are too soft, like a large piece of sponge, which makes them lose the protective function that outdoor shoes should have.

Image source: A social platform

The hardness of the heel determines whether our ankles can be fixed. The overly soft shape of snow boots does not increase the stability of our ankles, but is more like a large bread wrapped around the ankles. When you walk, the sole and the body of the shoe twist and deform, and your heel does not know where to land when your foot lands. Therefore, many friends will find that the first place their snow boots are deformed after wearing for a long time is the heel .

If your heel doesn't land properly, it will be very difficult to walk . The muscles on the sole of your foot will have to pull your forefoot to find a suitable position to "land". The ankle will not be able to provide the necessary support. The muscle strength of the lower limbs cannot be effectively transmitted, and the work intensity of the muscles around the ankle will increase. Over time, the sole of your foot will feel particularly tired, which can easily lead to plantar fasciitis and chronic tendinitis .

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In addition, most snow boots tend to be loose, which means that the forefoot area has a lot of space , which is very friendly to friends with wide feet, but too loose for most friends. Because the toe box is too large and the ankle is not well fixed, the forefoot slides back and forth in the toe box area , and there will be a feeling of slipping and powerlessness when walking, and the soles of the feet will feel sore after a long time, and some friends may even get blisters on the soles of their toes .

The softness of snow boots is not only reflected on the outside, but also on the inside. The soft long hair is hidden inside the shoes, and the feet feel as comfortable as walking on moss when they wear them. This is one of the reasons why many friends rely on snow boots.

However, these soft furs also pose a safety hazard to our health. When you don't wear socks, the fur lining will make your feet sweat, which can lead to fungal growth. Many fungal infections, such as "athlete's foot", thrive in warm and humid environments. What's more troublesome is that the sweat from your feet will also damage and contaminate the internal structure of the snow boots, aggravating the fungal problem. So, this is not only unsightly and smelly, but also brings disease.

Hard soles are not anti-slip

I wonder if any of you have noticed that many snow boots are less prone to creases than other shoes. In addition to their clever design, the first factor that must be mentioned is that the soles are hard enough. The soft shoe shape has to rely on a hard sole for support .

Some friends may wonder, hard soles are suitable for walking in the snow in winter to keep warm, and there are deep grooves under the soles to increase friction, so you don’t have to worry about walking on ice. However, the reality is that there are many complaints online about people falling down while wearing snow boots in the winter (like the friend at the beginning). Obviously, hard soles do not help snow boots to prevent slipping .

Under normal circumstances, people need to "fold their feet" when walking. The soles of our feet are composed of more than a dozen small bones, which form highly functional joints. So although walking seems simple, our feet actually complete a lot of complex but delicate joint movements.

The left picture is a schematic diagram of the arch of the foot, and the right picture is a schematic diagram of the foot bones. Source: Chinese Journal of Clinical Anatomy

The folding action of the forefoot during the support phase of walking (the process of stepping on the ground) is restricted due to the hard sole , which means that the shock absorption from landing to the action of pushing off the ground is completely lost . Therefore, after wearing snow boots with hard soles for a long time, some friends will complain that they will feel tired or even have foot pain after walking a lot. The soft inner upper cannot offset the impact force of the hard sole at all.

In fact, in the whole process from the heel landing to the transfer of center of gravity from the heel to the forefoot and finally to the toe pushing off the ground, the muscles of the ankle and sole work together precisely to ensure that we will not fall even if we walk on bumpy roads. This depends on the proprioceptive feedback of the sole of the foot to the ground.

In addition to these, the soles of many snow boots are too thick, which greatly interferes with the ability of the soles of the feet to sense and receive complex ground signals . To put it bluntly, it is easy to fall and sprain your ankle.

Image source: A social platform

Choose shoes to master these principles

Of course, snow boots are not completely useless. After all, they can really bring us warmth.

Finally, we have prepared a guide for choosing snow boots to help you choose a pair of snow boots that suit you in the cold winter:

①Don’t emphasize softness and comfort too much , the necessary support must be there.

② Although furry shoes are very comfortable to wear, grip is very important for a pair of shoes that are worn outdoors, so the fur inside the shoes should not be too long .

③ Normally , the size of the shoes should be slightly larger than the size of the foot , but they should not be too large for comfort. Therefore, you must walk a few steps when trying on the shoes, and your feet should not slide around in the shoes while walking.

④ Due to the wide toe design of snow boots, friends with thin feet should be careful not to choose styles that are too wide , as this will increase the chance of spraining your ankle.

⑤ Too hard soles are not anti-slip, so be sure to choose relatively elastic ones .

⑥ Snow boots are often flat-soled. People with high arches are not recommended to wear them for a long time as it can cause pain. People with flat feet will accelerate foot muscle fatigue if they wear them for a long time .

Warm reminder: The humid and hot environment inside snow boots can easily breed bacteria, so be sure to pay attention to the cleaning of the shoes and dry them regularly to disinfect them~

Planning and production

This article is a work of Science Popularization China-Starry Sky Project

Produced by: Science Popularization Department of China Association for Science and Technology

Producer｜China Science and Technology Press Co., Ltd., Beijing Zhongke Xinghe Culture Media Co., Ltd.

Author: Yang Yizhuo, lecturer at the Sports and Medical Integration Innovation Center of Capital Institute of Physical Education

Review | Ji Gang, deputy chief physician of orthopedics, the First Hospital of Hebei Medical University

Planning｜Yinuo

Editor: Yinuo