How To Repair Torn Shoe Lining
I used to article of clothing holes in the back of my shoes very quickly. While the rest of the shoe was fine, one tends to throw them out and buy new ones because they were just so uncomfortable. When this happens, the shoe lining opens up and foam spews forth. If you look closely, you'll see the hard plastic of the heel counter. This signals the unfortunate, and sometimes premature, demise of your shoes. ? Or does information technology? ?
As it turns out, this is a very mutual issue. In fact, I hear from people every week with this exact issue. And so permit's look closer at why it happens and how you can fix it. I accept to admit, this has happened to many of my walking, running and casual shoes. Thankfully, I've institute a way to prevent information technology. The thing that stock-still it for me was the thing I use to prevent heel blisters – which I suffer from far also hands. So I've killed ii birds with i stone and I could not be happier almost that!
Who wears holes in the back of their shoes?
All sorts of people (young/erstwhile, male person/female) during all sorts of activities (walking, hiking, running, ultrarunning, sports, activities of daily living) with all sorts of anxiety and biomechanics. Hither are a few examples:
Hiking footwear
"What causes my heel to eat the padding out of the back of my shoes? Shoes too big, or also short? Or am I buying shoes with oddly shaped heel cups? Any suggestions would be bang-up appreciated! First pair were Inov8 Rocklite 295 size 10s. Loved the shoes only ultimately had to become something with more than support. I wore them for sixty miles hiking and a few short runs. My heel wore through the cloth on the heel cup and was working on the padding when I quit using them. Second pair were La Sportiva Bushidos size 42.5s (US 9.v). After wearing these for two months, including multiple day hikes, my heel had completely worn all the cloth and padding out of the heel loving cup. Looking into the shoe you lot would see the plastic frame of the heel cup through a hole the size of a quarter. In both shoes I could usually record my heel to forbid blisters, merely the shoes and socks still vesture out."
Bakpacking Light
Running shoes
"Why do I wear out the heels on the Within of my shoes? It goes all the way to the core of the shoe where my heelbone (if that exists) touches the rear of my shoe. It basically rubs enough and wears to give me a blister. I cannot find a pair of shoes that I can not wearout? Weird that the old Nike construction Triax eight didn't wear on me, but everything else does, Asics, Saucony, etc."
Let'due south Run
"How tin I prevent my shoes from ripping in the back (in the heel linings)? So after searching this subreddit I got a fantastic pair of New Residue's, they rock. The only thing I'm worried virtually is what happened to my old pair of running shoes, the heel linings eventually got ruined, they kind of looked like this at ane indicate, it's not my bodily pair but the tears are somewhat like. All I would practise is run with them on the treadmill. Then my question is, is there anything I can practice to prevent it from reoccurring with my new pairs?"
Reddit
Why does information technology happen?
I'k not aware of whatsoever enquiry on this issue. However, I do have some pretty firm thoughts on potential contributing factors.
Haglund's
At that place is 1 bony deformity that will very likely habiliment a hole in your shoe'due south heel counter before their time is upwardly and that'southward a Haglund's deformity. Improve known as "pump crash-land". Substantially, at that place'southward an extra lumpy bit on the back of your heel. This causes an increased focal force per unit area both on your shoe, and the pare overlying the bony protuberance. You lot can read more nigh Haglund'southward hither.
This is a really pointy Haglund'due south Deformity. Others are not so pinpoint but bigger and bulkier.
Not undoing your laces
If when you put your shoes on, you force your heel over the padded heel counter with excessive force, this can vesture away at the lining of the shoe. Information technology will happen to a higher place at the heel neckband rather than the heel counter below. This frequently happens when you don't disengage your laces. Just another reason to undo your laces every time ?
Heel slippage
If your heel rubs up and downwardly at the back of the shoe, the shoe lining will likely wear out sooner than information technology usually would. That makes sense, doesn't it? But think just a footling further. For this to happen, you'd have to have a friction state of affairs where your sock remains in close contact and basically stuck to your skin with high friction levels. Then the abrasiveness of the sock would wear away at the shoe lining. However, as soon every bit the friction situation changed and your foot moved within the sock, your shoe would be saved from that abrasive rubbing. It's virtually impossible to tell what'due south rubbing against what in a real-life situation, but y'all get my migrate. Heel slippage tin can be involved, but information technology's not always involved. If you lot recollect information technology is, use the heel lock lacing technique.
Footstep length
Information technology'southward possible that in that location is more than force exerted to the shoe lining at the dorsum of the heel with a longer stride length compared to a shorter step length. Imagine stepping forrad but ever so slightly – bear on will exist mainly felt by the area under the heel. At present imagine taking a large long over-footstep. Sure, the bottom of the heel nonetheless bears some force. But there's a significant corporeality of force imparted to the heel counter surface area from the dorsum of the heel.
Shoe lining materials
This one has to be relevant to some degree. But you lot're not going to be able to tell at the shoe shop if your new shoes are more than susceptible to getting holes in them or non. I'k not privy to the friction levels or durability of the dissimilar lining materials used in this part of the shoe and whether there are significant differences between shoes. Nor are the people in your shoe shop, I'm sure. But it makes logical sense that this could be involved. In terms of friction, the lining of shoes has to strike a residual between existence high friction enough to provide traction for the foot within the shoe, and low friction enough to allow the sock-covered foot to slide in. Separately, I'grand sure some materials are harder-wearing than others. I've too seen some shoes pill desperately at the back of the heel.
Pronation?
I'thou not buying this one. It'south mentioned a lot, so I thought I'd better include information technology here. But I have non seen a correlation, allow solitary exist able to explain it mechanically.
Fixing (and preventing) holes at the back of your shoes
I've seen and tried several things to stop the lining wear through at the back of my shoes for both myself and my patients. Here'due south what I've found.
Choice i: Heel-grips
These will work, they will save your shoes. Considering literally, yous'd accept to clothing all the way through the heel grip before you lot got to the shoe. At that point, you'd put some other sacrificial heel grip on. However, heel grips won't cease you from getting blisters. I still go blisters with heel grips, in fact, my blisters are worse. That's because the heel grip is made from a high friction material. The inkling is in the name. Grip equals loftier friction level. It's similar to moleskin. Moleskin is made of cotton, which we all know attracts water and is not a good material to employ in blister prevention because with a little moisture, it leads to higher friction levels.
If your simply issue is with your shoes and you're non getting blisters, use a heel grip. If you need to save your shoe AND your skin, information technology's a trivial more complicated.
Option 2: Denim or leather patch
This one I've personally tried in an attempt to patch the holes in the back of my shoes. I used a soft leather. Denim is also discussed in a couple of blogs here and hither. Whatever fabric is used, it is glued and/or sewn in by a bootmaker to comprehend the wear area. This will surely encompass the pigsty and give you lot more material to wear through before you lot got to the shoe lining again. Simply let's call back nearly the materials mentioned here.
Denim is 100% cotton (read this about moleskin) equally are about textile materials used for this purpose. While it will requite your shoes an extended life, if you're also trying to preclude blisters, this is unlikely to work. It'south a similar (slightly different) story for leather. Information technology didn't help my blisters at all, just gave my shoes an extended life. At this point, I just want you to remember moleskin / denim (ie: cotton) and leather for when nosotros reach selection vi and await at a couple of graphs.
Leather glued and sewn onto the rear interior of a boot
Option 3: Fabric covered gel sheeting
The gel material used in gel toe sleeves and caps is cracking for preventing blisters. It can be purchased in adhesive sheets with a thickness of 5mm. You lot can trim a heel-grip shape and utilize it to the back of your shoe, just like a heel grip. The cloth itself undergoes a lot of shear (internal stretching) via its depression shear modulus. This means the skin is spared of some shear that could atomic number 82 to blisters. I've used this myself to stop wearing holes in my shoes, and with a few patients. The difficulty with it is that it rolls down. Due to the thickness of the material, your sock catches the acme of the material besides easily when you slide your heel into your shoe and the gel ends upward rolling down. Information technology can also clothing out apace in the presence of a Haglund's deformity. It's unfortunate because on the face of it, this cloth holds a lot of hope. However, fright not, because meliorate options and the clear winner is coming upward.
Silipos gel sheeting – tin can be cut to any shape
Choice 4: Duct tape
Forget paper tape, Fixomul or Elastoplast. Duct record is by far the best tape to use to cover any holes. Information technology presumably has lower frictional properties compared to other tapes (though I can't for the life of me find whatever Coefficient of Friction stats) and is hard-wearing, no doubt. But you lot've got to avert folds and creases like the images below. These areas of high focal pressure will irritate the skin. Easier said than done, I know.
Duct tape to fight holes in the back of running shoes
Using duct tape at the back of the shoe/boot – avoid creases and folds to forestall skin trauma
Option 6: ENGO Cicatrice Patches
ENGO Cicatrice Patches are blue adhesive stickers, purpose-fabricated for sticking to the shoe lining to prevent blisters. They are a bright form of blister prevention, thanks to the very low friction material that coats them. It'south called PTFE and it'south known to have a very low friction level. Teflon is made from the aforementioned PTFE material. ENGO Patches accept a COF under 0.2 in both dry and damp weather condition. Take a await at the graphs below. Note the friction levels for moleskin and leather.
ENGO's coefficient of friction remains depression in the presence of moisture – Carlson (2001)
Coefficient of friction information in dry and moist weather – Payette (2010)
Y'all apply ENGO Patches to your shoe just similar a heel-grip. They're much thinner than a heel grip and then this makes it easier to avoid catching the pinnacle of the patch as your slide your heel into your shoe. However, some care is still needed. Read this how-to for applying ENGO Patches to your footwear. They forbid wearing at the dorsum of your shoe spectacularly! They are surprisingly hardy, lasting months and months at a time (or over a yr in my instance). You tin as well employ them to ready existing holes, similar I did here on my begetter-in-law's shoes (beneath). I just pushed all the foam back into place, folded the edges of the worn lining back down as best I could, and popped an ENGO Patch over information technology to comprehend it all up. I used a large oval here from the ENGO 4-Pack, but you can too employ the heel patches of class.
Using an Engo patch to cover a wear pigsty at the dorsum of the shoe
How To Get Started With ENGO Heel Patches
References
- Carlson JM. 2001. The friction gene. OrthoKinetic Review. i.seven Nov-Dec: 1-three.
- Payette M. 2022. Friction management for diabetic foot bug. Presented at the 36th Annual Meeting and Scientific Symposium of the American Academy of Orthotists and Prosthetists.
ENGO Blister Patches Heel Pack
The ENGO Cicatrice Patches Heel Pack is specially designed for total coverage of back of heel blisters and to fix wearing holes in the back of the shoe.
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About The Author
Podiatrist, blister decumbent ex-hockey histrion, pes blister thought-leader, author and educator. Can't cook. Loves test cricket.
ENGO Cicatrice Patches Heel Pack
The ENGO Blister Patches Heel Pack is specially designed for full coverage of back of heel blisters and to fix wearing holes in the back of the shoe.
VIEW Product
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10 Comments
Source: https://www.blister-prevention.com/holes-in-the-back-of-my-shoes/
Posted by: hamiltonstook1978.blogspot.com
Thank you for the commodity Rebecca. Information technology's logical and, nigh chiefly, information technology includes numerous applied solutions. Thumbs upward.
Give thanks yous for the thorough particular of the reason i have destroyed five pairs of training shoes this twelvemonth alone uppers are nearly new but holes on the inside of my left heel
Thanks for the article. What type of guy would you recommend for the leather glued/sewn selection?
Practise you mean mucilage Allison? Shoe Goo would be a good pick. Or a bootmaker volition do it all for you.
i have been wearing 2 pair of socks with padding which works pretty good for a while. one time the pigsty wears in the heal of the shoe, I accept a paper towel and fold it, then stick information technology into the heal of my shoe and slide my shoe on carefully, this works really well. As the paper towel wears and thins, I supercede it with another. Cheap and works well. I always idea I was one of but a few with this problem, until I googled and got this forum.
I take a very similar problem with work boots, Not the blisters, but the wearing down internally of the back of the piece of work boots, behind my heel, just likle in the images!! Tried 3 different pairs of piece of work boots, and even the more expensive ones seem to habiliment abroad too. No sign of hard spots on my anxiety, an I am sure I am ownership the right sizes…..Volition the a few of these options, merely the crusade is still a mystery, I exercise vesture the boots for an extended menstruation of time, and so maybe the sweat and moisture/heat is all contributing likewise ???
The trouble is the friction level between the shoe and the sock. Yous could play around with different socks, just substantially frictional properties of shoe lining materials and socks are not available, so we're all just guessing.
Having very loftier arches, when I started long altitude walking 3 years ago, I went through two pairs of expensive shoes before putting duct tape in the heals. I waffled nigh this because, they were brand new shoes, I don't desire to muck them up with some mucilaginous former cheap duct tape! Simply now that I HAVE put it in my brand new shoes, I Couldn't be happier with the result. Duct record. Cheap durable, and lets my heal slide without forming blisters. I found the play a joke on is to dissever the record at the top of the heal and pall it over the back of the shoe. At that place is usually a pull tab you have to work effectually anyway so the split lets you lot do that, and it is easier to go along wrinkles and folds of the tape from happening. It's not pretty, but hey, pretty, is non the signal, protection is.