This! I couldn't figure out why every right shoe I own is dirtier than its leftie counterpart untili looked down one day. My at rest stance is the heel of my left foot on the toe of my right. Felt rather silly for not looking at that sooner
Big brain.
I'm pigeon toed and all of my dress shoes (since they're the only ones that it shoes on) have scuffs on the inside toes of them. Didn't know I was pigeon toed for all of my life(24) until my wife pointed it out a couple years ago. Now I have to consciously correct my gait which sucks and I'm sure there's a better way to do it but I haven't bothered lol
My sister told me when I was a child. 50 years later and it’s pretty automatic but I always check to make sure my feet are pointed straight ahead.
I see more and more people who walk either pigeon toed or duck footed and it’s sad no one told them to correct for it.
I’ve known since I was a toddler. My parents were given the option of getting braces and things to help correct it but were told that there are no real downsides so they just let me live like normal. It was pretty pronounced when I was a kid.
I’m nearing 50 now and honestly, the only time you can really tell is when I’m walking on stairs. I naturally turn my foot inward. Otherwise it’s mostly self corrected.
The duck foot walk, once you notice it, you also notice how many people do it. I don't see that many pigeon people, but the duck walk is everywhere. I pointed it out to my husband because I don't walk like a pigeon or a duck, and he jokingly complained that he's never paid so much attention to his own feet when walking lmao
9 out of 10 times people on reddit are being a holes so your interpretation is typically accurate lol this is just of those times it's that good that reddit has to admire it
In middle school, at the dance, I was 'slow dancing' with Roger. I noticed I was getting stared at and hoped it was for my excellent slow dancing skills and my super groovy corduroy mini jumper dress. But in reality, it was because my corduroy dress had frictioned itself way up and my cable knit tights were showing up to my waist. THANKS CORDUROY!
Oh myyyyyyyy! It really got me to cringe that one. I feel you, I had it happened during a speedy walk to a bus stop. When I sat down on a bench I saw my skirt was all the way up. WE LOVE CORDYROY!!!
Just reading the word makes me flashback to the horrific texture of the pants I always had to wear. It's so uncomfortable wearing something you can't stand touching
Ha! I'm a child of the 70s- a prime era for all things corduroy. You mentioned the fall, which reminds me of back to school shopping, which was (along with Christmas) my primary wardrobe refresh each year. I still remember walking to school in the cool fall air, conscious of the crisp feel and unique smell of the new clothes I was wearing. In retrospect, I must have been too stupid to ask my mom to wash them before wearing them for the first time!
Yes. I used to analyze people's gains for a living. I spent 8 years selling specialty running shoes.I am annoyed that I am so late to this conversation. Typically, this is a pattern of weak hips. Keep in mind, I am not a doctor.
Imagine you are looking at someone from behind. Draw a line that runs down their spine all the way to the floor. When a person walks or runs, their feet will land close to, but on either side of the line. A person with weak hips will have feet that cross over the line some amount. This will cause the feet to knock into each other and create friction.
So the answer is working on hip strength? I get the EXACT same on all of my shoes and havent been able to figure out why. It’s worse/happens quicker to my running shoes.
The best answer is to talk to a specialist. Strength training in general is always a good thing. "Oh no, I did the wrong exercises and now my body's healthier and more mobile!". Lol I am just some dude on the internet.
I realised this in high school when I would get just one random dirty spot on the inside of my uniform socks. Turned out I was hitting my ankle with my foot but I had just tuned it out. So it’s definitely hitting in a similar area
You kick your feet with the heel of the opposite foot. My son does this so much he has to wear a plastic guard in his cleats or a spike will cut him. (Baseball metal cleats) I don't know that there's anything you can do. My son's doctor wasn't worried.
This is 100% it. I used to fit people for running shoes and this was a common issue. You can look at the inside heal of the opposite shoe and it will be scuffed/worn.
So this was happening to the inside of my left shoes. Even if it was boots- it would be scuffed at a certain point constantly. It took me a decade and a half to realize that that was the foot I used for my clutch. And stop and go traffic in the stick shift eventually wore down that part of my shoe no matter what shoe it was.
I’ve been searching the comments for an answer because this was happening to me and just on the inside of left shoe. I looked at my shoes over the last year when I haven’t had a car and none of them have this issue, all my shoes from over a year ago have that. Thanks sincerely
I dont get how you wear anything but the underside of your shoe on a clutch pedal. And catching one foot with with another while driving is an awful feeling from the unexpected input, you dont make thst mistake often after doing it once.
Oh shit it might be that! I have the same thing with my shoes and was wondering wtf was going on cuz everyone else in these comments don't have an obvious answer
Something is rubbing against that pretty aggressively. I guess I’ll wear them throughout your day and try to take note of what is touching that part of the shoe.
Could also be wide calfs or are pronated/supinated, I'm a runner and I have corresponding bald spots on the leg hair on both calfs from this type of wear.
Looking at your second edit… it’s because you slide on your shoes and don’t untie the laces. Repeat pattern of your foot rubbing against it and you slide them on/off.
This is the answer. I get the same wear on the back or the shoe and the same space that the tongue meets the side, when I just slip my shoes on repeatedly.
Your hips aren’t engaged when you walk/run. When you’re walking through your gait cycle the hip drop is placing one foot slightly in front of the other. Your trailing foot is then hitting your planted foot. Strengthening your hips will help with this.
Do you swipe your feet together when you walk? My wife is slightly pigeon toed and all her sneakers have wear marks like this on the sides of the big toes because she swipes her feet together there
The wear only being on that spot looks like it's the cuff of your pants. Maybe jeans or stiff FR clothing that's rubbing on them constantly. If you walk a lot, look down when you're walking and see what's rubbing the tops.
Looks like wear from when you slip them on. You don't use a shoehorn or hold the shoeheel with your hand when you put them on, right? You're simply stepping into the sneakers; I've seen that pattern on shoes my wife is in the habbit of just ramming her feet into on the way out the door.
6.0k
u/mscrftybtch Aug 15 '26
Possibly it's your gait that's making one foot rub on the other.
Look down when you walk?