Measuring Devices

One benefit of measuring your feet is keeping track of their relative size. This may not relate to shoe size. The Brannock device was introduced in 1927 with the purpose of providing a starting point for shoe fitting, not to dictate the best shoe size. The Brannock device is standardized within itself—they all have the same standard measurements—but these don’t precisely match any one kind of shoe size made by any of the companies.

By using either the Brannock device in a shoe store, or doing the measuring yourself as described below, you could, and should, keep track of your foot size just like you would keep track of your weight with a scale, or overall health with a regular blood test. Like most health-related tests, measuring your feet is an important general guide.

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Any measurement of your feet should be done in a standing position on a hard floor. Do this at the end of the day. Any meaningful daily size fluctuations must be differentiated from serious health problems, such as edema, certain pathological changes as seen in arthritis, or side effects of drugs.

For an accurate measurement, make a footprint on a piece of paper. Use a damp foot on a paper towel, or draw the outline of your foot with a pencil. Measure the back of the heel to the end of the big toe, in each foot. The purpose would be to see how much your feet change from year to year, and not relate this to any shoe’s size.