Is It Normal for One Foot To Be Bigger Than the Other?

You've lived for many decades in your body, but today you've noticed something new: one of your feet is larger than the other.

This might seem alarming. After all, your body is perfectly symmetrical, right? People with asymmetrical faces can suffer from stuffed sinuses, headaches, and issues with breathing and eating!

Believe it or not, 60% of people have one foot that is larger than the other. So by having one foot that's larger, you're actually part of the majority!

There's no need to worry. In most cases, you won't suffer adverse effects. But if you do, the solution is usually just a pair of therapeutic shoes.

What Causes One Foot to Be Larger Than the Other?

One of the main causes is your dominant side. Since your dominant side is more agile, you use that side for balance. That leads to the other side developing more (or less) muscle and, throughout your lifetime, getting stronger or weaker.

In other cases, it could be a developmental issue. Some people break bones or snap ligaments as a child. These damaged parts of their body never heal properly, leading to one foot ending up smaller than the other.

There could be other issues such as clubfoot or scoliosis. The change in posture that scoliosis causes can lead to all sorts of issues, difficulty walking being one of them. That could explain why one foot is larger than the other.

Whatever the case, everybody is different, and bodies are not inherently symmetrical. If they were, you would expect to find two pairs of organs!

Using Therapeutic Shoes to Address Pain

Is there any reason to go to a doctor if you have one foot that's larger than the other?

That all depends if you feel any discomfort or pain. Discovering that one foot is larger than the other might make you realize where a long-term source of pain was coming from. A source of pain you have been ignoring or assumed was just normal walking discomfort.

The solution might be an orthopedic shoe or a therapeutic shoe.

Orthopedic shoes are designed perfectly for you to help relieve foot pain. These custom shoes will fit your two different shoe sizes perfectly. It would be difficult or impossible to buy two shoes with different sizes!

Therapeutic shoes, on the other hand, are not custom-designed for you. They come in a one-size-fits-all format. However, they are designed to alleviate foot pain for a variety of specific conditions, such as having pain from one foot being larger than the other.

Get Treatment for Your Foot Pain

If you've just discovered that one foot is larger than the other and realized that it's causing you walking difficulties, it's not too late to act. There are therapeutic shoes for women, men and therapeutic shoes for the elderly. And if these shoes aren't working, then an orthopedic shoe might be the solution.

Whatever the case, only purchase shoes that are made with modern technology to address whatever specific condition you are suffering from.