People wearing certain shoes often report feeling discomfort on the foot’s instep and under the tongue, often caused by having too thin of a tongue, making the laces push through too easily and creating “sharp points” against their foot. Here is how to remedy the issue.
After wearing shoes for some time, many will likely recognise themselves in this scenario: after some time of using them, discomfort begins to creep under the tongues, becoming sharper over time and even painful in extreme cases. Loosening laces may alleviate this discomfort temporarily but then your shoes won’t sit as securely against your foot.
Reasons why this may occur may include having shoes with thinner tongues than normal, whether that be because their lining is somewhat thin or made with thinner leather uppers. There’s nothing necessarily wrong here and not everyone experiences problems when wearing thin upper leather shoes, but it is common. You may also experience this on regular-thickness shoes for various reasons particularly those with bony feet.
If the lacing pushes through your lining and causes discomfort at your tongue, there are various strategies you can employ to ease it. One option may include switching up how the shoes are laces, changing which part of the laces rest against the tongue, or switching the lacing technique so it does not continue cutting into one place on your tongue typically only temporary relief as soon as the same marks appear again elsewhere, for a less drastic solution try lacing where all underlying parts run only along edges, although less convenient this solution may need shorter laces but pressure from lacing should decrease as a result of doing this approach.
Alternatively, padding the tongue may help. If it is an Oxford shoe with relatively open laces and a large V shape, visit a shoemaker to add thin lining at the tongue’s interior, or for wider gaps, a self-adhesive tongue like that made by Pedag may do the trick when strengthened and thickened it prevents lacing from penetrating and alleviates discomfort or pain.
