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Shoe Wear-'n'-Tear

No matter how perfectly they match your needs initially, there comes a time when even the right shoes simply wear out, quickly becoming the wrong ones. Here’s how to tell if it’s time to bid your current footwear farewell.

• There are holes in the outsoles, or the uppers look frayed or worn.
• Worn-out shoes feel dead. There’s little cushioning or stability. You get aches and pains when you wear them.
• Athletic shoes of any kind should never see a birthday, says sports-medicine podiatrist Lisa Schoene, DPM. She suggests changing shoes every 400 miles or once a year, whichever comes first. Are your shoes serving as closet dust collectors? You still have to swap them, Schoene says — shoe materials deteriorate over time even if you don’t wear them frequently.