10/11/2026
Getting a shoe that is deep enough works the best but this can be very helpful too!
Shoe Relacing Technique for Dorsal Midfoot Interosseous Compression Syndrome (DMICS)
In order to reduce the dorsal midfoot pain seen in patients with DMICS, sometimes it is necessary to use as many treatment techniques as possible in order to get the quickest relief. In addition to icing therapy (15-20 minutes, twice daily), having the patient do gastrocnemius and soleus stretching exercises three times per day, using pre-made or custom orthoses and wearing shoes with higher heel drop, many times a simple shoe relacing technique can make a huge difference on the first visit with a patient suffering from DMICS,
The shoe relacing technique shown below, or "window lacing technique", helps relieve the constant downward pressure on the inflamed dorsal midfoot jonts during walking. Remember that, during walking gait, the longitudinal arch of the foot increases in height after heel off, due to the windlass effect, and this increase in arch height with each step will also increase the pressure on the inflamed dorsal midfoot joints.
Many times, in the first few steps after modifying the shoe laces for my patients in my office, the patient reports signficant pain reduction in their dorsal midfoot. Patients are instructed to make certain all their shoes are relaced like this to avoid shoe-lace pressure on the dorsal midfoot, which will speed the healing from DMICS over time.
