... the ankle bone's connected to the shin bone, the shin bone's connected to the knee bone, the knee bone's connected to the thigh bone, the thigh bone's connected to the hip bone…so you'd better wear the right shoe.

A key to your foot, ankle, knee and even hip health is wearing the right exercise shoes and maintaining them so that injuries don't occur. Runners and joggers, particularly and even walkers, must make sure they are protecting their tender bones and ligaments with the right footgear. 

Many knee and hip problems can be traced to wearing the wrong or worn out shoes. Tendonitis can occur if those shoes you've had for a year just can't take any more pounding of the pavement. Unfortunately, running shoes aren't made to last, and the more you run, the quicker they will wear down.

Walkers are not as hard on their shoes as runners, but they too should pay attention to the wear and tear they create. Other factors besides the amount of miles put into the shoe are age and weight. The older you are, generally, the more support your arches will need. Also, the more you weigh, the faster you will wear down your shoes. 

The key area that wears out jogger is along the outer heel on a jogging shoe, which causes problems for the runner. When jogging or walking, the foot lands heel first, with most of the pressure on the outer heel. Therefore, the material on that part of the sole will wear more rapidly than the rest of the shoe. After only a few millimeters of wear, the outer heel is off balance with the rest of the sole, throwing the foot off balance and affecting the ankle, knee and even hip.

Another key area of wear is the shoe insole. Insoles are made of flexible, spongy material, designed to support your foot within the shoe. But with every wearing, the insole is flattened out and will eventually lose its support.

What can you do to get the most out of your good athletic shoes? Be kind to them. Wear them only for your workouts, saving your old, worn out shoes to kick around in, wash the car and do the gardening. And don't put your shoes in the washing machine, because that causes the shoes to lose a lot of their resiliency, Wash them only after you've depleted their use as a workout shoes. Also, do not wash the insoles, because they will also lose their resiliency in the process.

Some joggers like to have two pairs of shoes, which they rotate. This allows the insoles of one pair to have an extra day to recover from the wear and tear and regain some of their sponginess before they are worn again. Another great shoe saver is special material which can be purchases at athletic shoe stores that is used to keep that vital outer heel repaired. While it is a bother to do, using these products can extend the life of your shoe significantly and protect against the problems of tendonitis.

A final note: as an exerciser, you spend only a small portion of the day in your exercise shoes. The majority of your time is spent in street shoes that may be worn down in the heels, setting you up for the same problems that worn out running shoes cause. The care and attention that you should put into your athletic shoes should also go into your street shoes. Try to wear comfortable shoes that support your feet and get your shoes reheeled when necessary. Treat your feet, and your body, to good health.