Our feet make up for 25% of the body’s bones, 18% of joints and 6% of the muscles. Doing damage to any of these parts can cause serious harm to our bodies and how we complete our daily tasks. Appropriate foot care is therefore vital in order to maintain a good standard of healthy living.
Wash your feet daily in lukewarm water. Avoid using hot or cold water. Use a soft washcloth or sponge and gentle soap. Then, rinse thoroughly and dry your feet
Check your feet for blisters, redness, small cuts, or cracked skin. If you can’t see the bottom of your feet, use a hand mirror.
Keep your nails trimmed, but not too short. Nails that are cut too short can become ingrown and cause soreness or infection. It is best to cut nails straight across.
High blood sugar levels can cause nerve damage, resulting in loss of skin sensation. Reduced blood flow also can make it harder for your feet to heal from an injury.
Keep your skin soft and healthy by moisturizing every day. This can help prevent itching or cracking.
Shoes that don't fit well may cause blisters that can lead to infection or other problems.
A wart on the bottom of your foot is a common condition known as a verruca wart. This is caused by human papillomavirus and is transmitted in moist environments like locker rooms and swimming pools. Verrucas can be painful, especially when walking. However, they’re very treatable.
Ingrown toenails cause discomfort, and they may become infected if left untreated. Ingrown toenails occur when the toenail starts to grow into the nail groove, which can cause significant pain and discomfort.
Athlete’s foot is most commonly caused by walking in damp areas. It can be highly contagious. Athlete’s foot is a fungal infection of the skin, usually found between the toes and can spread causing significant discomfort, itching, and even pain.
Particularly tight or narrow footwear may cause bunions. Bunions are abnormalities of the feet that cause a bump to develop on the large toe joint. This can cause the big toe to turn slightly inward. Women are more likely to have bunions due to increased pressures from narrow footwear.
Corns are patches of thickened skin, often found on the soles of the feet or toes. They are normally painless to start with. These areas form to protect the skin and stop the body from developing blisters.
The foot is a very complex structure and therefore can become sore for a variety of reasons. Common causes of foot pain include sports injuries, poorly fitted shoes, health problems and trauma. They can be a combination of many predisposing factors or an effect of a single cause. The day to day stresses on the foot can be aggravated by various environments and conditions such as in workplaces and in sports. Poor biochemical alignment, ill-fitted, or inappropriate footwear can also lead to foot discomfort.
Sometimes, we have the tendency to self-medicate and hope that symptoms such as foot pain will just go away after a while. However, if the pain stops you from doing your normal daily routine or exercise then this is an indicator that medical intervention is required. Among the symptoms that should prompt you to visit your doctor or Podiatrist are:
Orthotics are devices placed into your shoes to control biomechanical insufficiencies, support abnormal joints, reduce muscle fatigue/stress, support weakened areas of the lower limb, improve postural alignment and aid in injury recovery and prevention. One example of this is custom made orthotic devices moulded to provide support to the arch of the foot, improving knee alignment and reducing pain when running. This technique has been proven medically to resolve issues of the foot, ankle, knee, leg, hip and back discomfort or pain. Studies show that pressures applied on the foot will not only affect the lower limbs but the entire skeletal system as a whole.
Cut your toenails straight across and do not cut the corners too short. Cutting down the sides of nails can leave a small sharp edge or ‘spike’ which grows into the skin as the nail grows longer. Filing edges can help to reduce this, however, do not file too short. Before trimming toenails, make sure that you clean them as well as the areas around them. This will prevent infection and spread of fungus if there is any. Tight shoes can cause ingrown toenails too. It causes toenails to grow towards the skin instead of growing to the right direction. Hence, make sure that you always wear the right size of shoes.
There is no simple answer to this question. It depends on your activities, your foot posture and the alignment of your lower limb, the shape of your foot, your body weight and any past or current injuries you may have. The best way to choose an appropriate running shoe and get value for money is to, first of all, find out what foot type you have and how your foot moves during both walking and running gait. This is important as you may have a stable foot when walking which then becomes very unstable as you increase your pace. Either has a foot assessment with a Podiatrist or go to a specialist footwear store that has staff professionally trained to determine the most appropriate shoe. If you plan on running in the shoes, make sure you are assessed at this pace. Any good running shoe store will have a treadmill in store to do this.