What to Do When Vans is Hurting the Back of my Ankle?

Wearing Vans is one of the best decisions ever.

However, you might experience a bit of discomfort within the first few days of wearing this sneaker.

What to Do When Vans is Hurting the Back of my Ankle

The rigid leather material of Vans can make your feet uncomfortable. This is why I have decided to write this article to address a major aspect of our feet, which is affected by Vans sneakers.

This aspect is your ankle. Vans majorly affect our ankles. This is the reason why many people have been seeking answers and different methods to prevent Vans from hurting the back of their ankles.

In this article, all of these will be addressed and if you follow all the guidelines I will list out, you will begin to enjoy your Vans sneakers without feeling bruises or blisters in your ankles.

How can you stop your Vans from hurting the back of your ankle?

Many people have asked this question over time. Therefore, let us get into the topic and learn the several ways to prevent your Vans shoe from hurting the back of your ankle.

How to stop Vans from hurting the back of your ankle?

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There are several methods you can deploy in order to stop Vans from hurting the back of your ankle.

You need to pay close attention to this.

Many people have faced certain issues with their ankles because they did not pay attention to the damage they are inflicting on their ankles through the way they wear their Vans sneaker.

However, you have the opportunity to know the different methods of preventing yourself from falling into the same error.

Create more space in your Vans shoes
Wear socks with your Vans shoes

Create more space in your Vans shoe

This is one of the common ways to prevent Vans from hurting the back of your ankle. The reason why your Vans hurt the back of your ankle is because of less space in your Vans shoe.

The distance between your ankles and the leather material of your Vans shoe is too close.

Therefore, whenever you are walking, your ankles will constantly rub against the leather material of your Vans and this will hurt your ankles.

Therefore, the best way to prevent this is to create more space in your Vans shoe. There are several ways to do this, and I will explain them in more detail.

The first point to note is that the leather material of your Vans sneaker can expand.

Therefore, if you put too much pressure on the leather material of your Vans sneaker, it is going to expand and there will be more room for your feet.

The distance will be sufficient to breach the close distance between your ankle and the leather material of your Vans shoe.

As I stated earlier, if the space in your Vans shoe is not enough, your ankles will hurt badly and if care is not taken, your ankles will be greatly affected, which might lead to severe health conditions.

How can you put pressure on the leather material of your Vans shoe?

You can do that by following these steps:

Thick socks

Get a pair of thick socks and wear them with your Vans shoe. This will put pressure on the leather material of your Vans shoe, and eventually expand it.

You have to ensure that the Vans shoe is tight when you wear it with your thick socks. If it is not tight enough, the leather material will not expand as expected.

Therefore, you have to be sure that it is very tight. If it is not tight enough, then wear 2 pairs of thick socks on your feet.

After wearing thick socks on your feet, you will walk around your room or the house for a few minutes. Preferably 30 minutes.

Once you have done this, remove the thick socks from your feet and wear your Vans shoe without the thick socks.

If you still feel your Vans shoe rubbing against your ankles, then the space is not wide enough. Therefore, you should try the method again.

Keep doing it until there is enough space between the Vans shoe and your ankle.

I love using my PROETRADE wool thermal socks to widen the gap between my shoe and feet. Another word for this is called â€œbreaking inâ€.

The PROETRADE wool thermal socks are good enough and have the necessary weight to put pressure on the material of your Vans sneaker for the best space release.

This method has worked quite well for me. Therefore, you will have a similar experience by following the above-listed step.

Stuffing your Vans shoe with newspaper

If you have wounds on your feet, then using the first step will be uncomfortable and might lead to additional injury.

Therefore, the alternative to the first step is to stuff your Vans shoe with newspaper. You can stuff it with at least 6 sheets of newspaper in order to ensure it is tight enough.

Once this is done, leave your Vans shoe for 1-2 days before removing the newspaper. By that time, the leather material will have expanded well enough to create the space you need for comfort.

Squeeze the newspapers and insert them from the toe region to the heel region of your shoe. This method works pretty fine as well.

Shoe trees create more space in your Vans shoe as well

Using shoe trees is a good way to ensure that your Vans shoe has enough space for your feet to move around freely. This will eventually keep your ankles in a good position.

You need a shoe tree that is slightly bigger. Preferably, using wooden shoe trees will do the job perfectly.

Just in case you donâ€™t know which shoe trees are the best for your Vans shoe, take a look at my top 3 selections:

HOUNDSBAY cedar shoe tree: This shoe tree is suitable for Vans shoes. It is wide enough to create space in your Vans shoe.

By inserting this shoe tree into your Vans shoe, the space you need will be cut out. It will put the necessary pressure on the leather material of your Vans shoe and cause it to expand perfectly.

CEDAR ELEMENTS split shoe tree is also very good for Vans shoes. The affordable price of this shoe tree is why I decided to buy it.

However, using this show tree has given me an all-round satisfaction. Therefore, it is okay to use this shoe tree to achieve the space you need.

FLORSHEIM wooden shoe tree: This is also a good selection for your Vans shoe. It is made of 100% wood and metal attachments.

The wide sides also put more pressure on the material of your Vans shoe.

Leave the shoe trees in your Vans shoe for 24 hours. In addition to this, whenever you remove your Vans shoe from your feet, insert your shoe tree to maintain the space in your Vans shoe.

Wear socks with your Vans shoe

This will serve as additional padding between your ankles and your Vans shoe. You can either wear thick or light socks depending on the size of your feet.

However, wearing socks with your Vans shoe will prevent your Vans shoe from hurting the back of your ankles.

The reason for this is that your Vans shoe will rub against the material of your socks, thereby leaving the back of your ankles free from pain and blisters.

Why is Vans hurting the back of my ankle

What to Do When Vans is Hurting the Back of my Ankle

Vans will hurt the back of your ankle due to the following reasons:

Wrong sizing
Hard material of the Vans shoe

Wrong sizing

If you choose the wrong size of shoe, then you should expect your Vans to hurt the back of your ankle. Most especially, if the size you select is smaller than your normal size.

This is very important and you should always pay attention to this.

It is not all Vans shoe that sizes equally. Therefore, you have to check very well before placing an order. Some Vans shoe requires a size-up to achieve a perfect fit.

Once you order for your exact size, it is going to become very tight and there will not be enough space for your feet to move around.

Therefore, whenever you are trying to walk, your ankles will rub against the leather material of your Vans shoe, and it will hurt badly.

Wrong sizing one of the most important and common reasons why your Vans shoe hurts the back of your ankle.

You must ensure that your Vans shoe fits perfectly. There should be enough space in between your Vans shoe and your ankle.

The leather material of your Vans shoe is hard

Most times, this usually happens during the earlier stages of wearing your Vans shoe. When you buy vans, the leather material is going to be hard.

The reason for this is that no pressure has been exerted on your Vans shoe.

Therefore, there is nothing to soften the leather material. When you wear your Vans shoe at first, you might experience rubbing.

Therefore, if this is the reason why your Vans shoe hurts the back of your ankle, you can wear socks to start with.

Wearing socks will take away the contact between your ankle and the Vans shoeâ€™s leather or suede material.

Untreated sores

If you have sores at the back of your ankle, then you will feel pain and discomfort at the back of your ankle whenever you wear your Vans shoe.

What to do to prevent your Vans from rubbing against the back of your ankle

Break-in your Vans shoe properly
Soften the leather material of your Vans shoe with hairdryer or shoe trees
Change your Vans insoles to orthotic
Use talcum powder to prevent rubbing

Break-in your Vans shoe properly

This will create more room for your feet to move around and it will make less contact possible between your ankles and your Vans shoe. Ensure you break in your Vans shoe.

Using Band-aids will also do the job well. Band-aids are like additional flesh, which covers your flesh.

This will serve as an absorber of the rubbing sensation, which should have affected the back of your ankles.

Make use of band-aids in order to cover your ankles, and protect them from the material of your Vans shoe.

Soften the leather material of your Vans shoe

This is also an effective way of preventing your Vans shoe from rubbing against the back of your ankle.

Follow these simple steps to make the leather material softer:

Using hairdryer will soften the leather material of your Vans shoe

Apply hairdryer on the material of your Vans shoe. The heat will soften the leather of your Vans shoe.

Shoe trees also soften the leather material of your Vans shoe

When you walk around, the pressure you put on the leather material of your Vans shoe will soften it.

However, to make this process faster, always insert shoe trees into your Vans shoe after you are done wearing them.

This will make the pressure more consistent, thereby making the leather material soften fast.

Change the insoles of your Vans shoes

More than anything, this will work just fine. The insoles of Vans shoes are rigid.

Therefore, changing them with an orthotic and custom-made one will make your ankles comfortable.

Make use of Talcum powder

By applying talcum powder on ankles and the insoles of your Vans shoes, you will not experience rubbing in your Vans shoe.

The talcum powder will make your Vans shoe and ankles dry.

How to make your Vans shoes comfortable

Get a pair of comfortable insoles for your Vans shoes
Keep your Vans shoes dry
Wear socks for comfort
Ensure you buy a perfect fit

Get a pair of comfortable insoles for your feet

You will enjoy comfort as you walk around in your Vans shoes.

Keep your Vans shoe dry

Your Vans shoes will be lightweight and your feet will not be slippery whenever you wear it.

Wear socks for comfort

In addition to this, wear soft socks for comfort. It will give your feet warmth during cold weather conditions and additional padding for extra comfort.

Buy a perfect fit

Ensure you select the perfect size from the onset. This is the best way to ensure that there is enough space between your Vans shoe and your feet.