The Best Children’s Shoes for Hemihypertrophy – Extra Wide and Deep!

I was recently contacted by a parent of a child that was explaining to me how hard it was to find shoes for her daughter that is dealing with a condition called hemihypertrophy. This is a condition in which it is excessive (hyper) growth (trophy) of only one side (hemi) of the body, it can be the right side or the left side. When a child has hemihypertrophy in one of the legs, two different-sized shoes are usually required to accommodate the larger side. I am going to show you a list of the best children’s shoes for hemihypertrophy based on my many years of shoe fitting experience.

Pro Tip: If you’re pressed for time, you can go straight to the selection of the best children’s shoes for hemihypertrophy.

You need to know that many shoe stores have a policy to offer a “Buy One Get One 40% Off “deal for circumstances where two different sizes are required.

Let’s take a look at an example of a child with hemihypertrophy on his right foot:

Shoes for Children with Hemihypertrophy – 4 Important Features

I have fitted a couple of children with hemihypertrophy and all of them required two different sized shoes. I noticed that there were 4 important features that the shoes had to provide to fit a child with hemihypertrophy:

1️⃣ Extra Depth: This feature allows the child’s feet to fit deeply inside the shoes and prevents the top part of your child’s feet from rubbing against the top part of the shoes. Shoes that provide extra depth are also easy to get on and off.

2️⃣ Rounder Toe-Box: This feature helps prevent your child’s toes from overlapping each other or rubbing against the side of the shoes.

3️⃣ Extra Wide: If the shoes are not labeled as extra wide, they will probably not be able to fit the shape of your child’s feet.

4️⃣ Oversized Openings: This feature prevents parents and children to struggle every time they have to get their shoes on and off.

These are the 4 most important features that we need to find in the shoes. However, the shoes must also be supportive, lightweight, and flexible.

There are certain shoe styles that I have found to be the most effective ones when fitting children with hemihypertrophy . The shoes I recommend fulfill all the requirements that I mentioned before and are my go-to shoe styles for children with really extra wide or swollen feet.

I will provide you with a selection of the best children’s shoes for hemihypertrophy shortly, but first, let me help you visualize how a shoe with a rounder toe-box and extra depth looks like.

Shoes for Hemihypertrophy – Extra Deep and with a Round Toe-Box!

Let’s take a look at two different shoe styles of the same length and width, but with very different toe-boxes. Do you notice how the shoe on the right (grey) has a much rounder toe-box than the shoe on the left (blue)? These shoes are the same shoe length and shoe width, but fit very differently.

Now let’s visualize the importance of finding shoes that provide extra depth. Do you notice how much deeper the New Balance shoe style (image on the right) is compared to the shoe on the left?

The key is to find a shoe that allows us to fit the shape of your child’s feet without getting the shoes too large. Just so you know, once you measure your child’s feet, the next step is to try to fit the shoes a “half a size to a whole size longer” than the size that your child measures on the shoe measuring scale (Brannock device) to allow for growing room without fitting the shoes too large.

Leaving too much growing inside the shoes can compromise your child’s stability and make your child more prone to falling.

The largest I had to fit a shoe for a child with hemihypertrophy was a “whole size and a half longer” than the size that he measured on the shoe measuring scale.

Do You Have Complete Certainty About Your Child’s Foot Size?

I always recommend parents take their kids to be properly fitted for shoes at the local shoe store that they trust, where a shoe fitter can properly measure their feet and find shoes that fit. The issue is that not all parents have a good-fitting children’s shoe store in their area. That is the reason why I decided to create a resource where I describe the best-fitting children’s shoe stores by state.

How to Retrieve Your Child’s Exact Foot Length and Shape

If after looking at that resource you still can’t seem to find a kids’ shoe store in your area, then proceed to read an article along with a video I created where I describe the simplest, yet most effective way to figure out your child’s foot size from home.

In that article I help parents determine their child’s exact foot size and whether the child has narrow, medium, wide, or extra wide feet. I also will be able to tell you whether your child has a high instep or not.

Now that you know what features the shoes must provide and how to figure out your child’s exact foot size from home, you are ready to take a look at the best children’s shoes for hemihypertrophy.

I only write reviews of shoe styles that I have fitted before, otherwise, I wouldn’t know how well-made they are, the amount of support that they provide, and how they fit. Disclosure: Some links in this post may be affiliate links and we may receive a small commission (at no extra cost to you) when you click our links and make purchases.

The Best Children’s Shoes for Hemihypertrophy

The shoes I describe below are all available in wide (W) and extra wide (XW) widths, but it’s highly likely that you will have to order the extra wide width (XW).

Unsure About What Shoe Size You Should Order?

This depends on the discrepancy between your child’s feet, but I usually recommend getting the shoes a half size or a whole size bigger than your child’s current foot size to provide the correct amount of growing room.

What Are Other Parents Saying About These Shoes?

• “I have a 5-year-old boy who has very thick feet and wears orthotics that take a lot of space inside the shoes. This shoe style in the XW allows the orthotics to fit perfectly inside the shoes. I have found that New Balance shoes fit his extra wide feet and orthotics very well, but this particular shoe works wonderfully”

• “My son has the widest feet ever, they are thick and he has a very high instep, which makes it near to impossible to find shoes to accommodate the shape of his feet. I have tried many different shoe styles by New Balance and the only one that seems to work for his feet are the 990v4 styles. All other shoes used to leave marks on the top of his feet! I hope New Balance keeps making this shoe style until my son’s feet start to stretch out a little”.

• “This is the only shoe style that my daughter likes to wear. She has the widest feet and sensitive feet, and this is the only shoe that she finds comfortable. Seamless socks and these make mornings a breeze. They are expensive, but they have never worn out before she has outgrown them. She is also very rough on her shoes and they always have held up properly”.

Heel Lifts for Leg Length Discrepancy

If you have noticed that your child’s legs seem uneven, you might have to provide your child with a pair of heel lifts to compensate for this discrepancy.

Heel lifts can be one of the best solutions to your kids’ leg length discrepancy. Of course that the greater the discrepancy between the legs, the more problems this can cause.

I recommend parents to take their children to their doctor when there is some sort of leg length discrepancy. What I have learned at the store is that no treatment is generally required if your kid’s total leg length discrepancy is less than 2 centimeters at full height. However, if the discrepancy is more than 2 centimeters, doctors might require one of these two options:

• Surgery: to shorten the longer leg or to lengthen the shorter leg.

• Heel lift in one shoe (to even the legs out).

Obviously, the heel lift option is the most convenient and economical choice, and it is not nearly as invasive.

While I can’t get into too much detail about the importance of  heel lifts in this article, you should take a look at another article I wrote where I describe the best heel lifts for a child that has leg length discrepancy.

The Best Socks for Hemihypertrophy – Seamless and Breathable!

Socks play an important role in keeping your children’s feet healthy, as they act as a barrier between your kids’ feet and the shoes. Socks prevent infections and the formation of bacteria inside the shoes.

It’s important to choose the correct type of socks for your child with hemihypertrophy, as we don’t want to constrict the toes or make them overlap each other. Seamless socks are ideal for children with swollen or extra wide feet, since they don’t constrict toe movement.

Below you can find a selection of the best seamless socks for kids with hemihypertrophy:

I hope you found the article helpful and please do not hesitate to contact me if you ever need help finding a particular shoe style for your child.

Are Any Other Shoe Choices Available?

I want you to remember one thing: It doesn’t matter how narrow or wide your kids’ feet are, there is at least one particular shoe style out there that will fit the shape of your child’s feet perfectly, and I will help you find it. Please do not hesitate to contact me directly my email address:

[email protected]

Is there a particular shoe style that has worked well for your child with hemihypertrophy? Please share your findings in the comments section below so other parents can benefit from your experiences.