THESE DAYS, EVERY STEP YOU TAKE IS GOOD FOR your health. The American Heart Association suggests that walking 10,000 steps a day will Ohelp keep weight down, raise good cholesterol, and boost energy Olevels—a good idea that may be easy for you to take in stride, but not everyone. A survey by the American Podiatric Medical Association reports that 47 percent of adults ages 18 to 60 have experienced a foot ailment. For some, the discomfort is debilitating: One in five reported that foot pain interfered with daily activities.

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The fact is, feet take a pounding: Every time we take a step, a force equivalent to one and a half

times our body weight falls onto each foot. This adds up to several hundred tons every day. Consider that the average person walks about 115,000 miles in a lifetime and it’s no wonder that so many of us have got tender feet.

In some cases, shoes may be the archenemy. If your shoes don’t fit properly, you will feel the cumulative effect of unsteadiness and loss of stamina—and the 33 joints, 107 ligaments, and 19 muscles in each foot will need a footrest.

Finding your best footing could lead to some deep sole searching—but it needn’t, if you keep this advice in mind when shopping for shoes.