Coming home after a hard day's work should give you a sense of accomplishment, relief, and self-satisfaction. However, instead of relaxing in the easy chair before dinner, you're brutally reminded of chronically aching feet with each painful step.
Is there anything you can do about it? In this blog, I will discuss three (3) tips for easing the conundrum of sore and tired feet.
1. Wearing the Right Shoes.
People often take footwear for granted, placing more value on fashion than personal comfort. This can have negative, long-term health consequences for the toes, arches and soles of your feet.
Shoes are your prime interface between feet and the ground, so shoe selection greatly determines personal foot health. For example, poor footwear often lacks adequate arch support, which can cause increased subtalar pronation (i.e. flat feet). For people who spend long work days walking, standing and generally on the move, this can end up being quite painful.
Ladies who wear high heels to work in particular may want to reconsider their footwear at the first signs of foot discomfort and stress.
If you have sore feet now, please consider a comprehensive footwear review from a qualified podiatrist.
2. Practicing Self Massage.
As a physiotherapist, I have seen the benefits of foot massage for my patients. To counter built-up tightness that is the source of many foot problems, you can take action yourself with the help of a towel, sorbolene cream or lotion, and a warm bucket of water.
Soak your feet in the warm water for 5 minutes and dry thoroughly afterwards. Start to massage the sorbolene into the feet with firm pressure; continue for about five (5) minutes per foot. As sorbolene's oil content is quite high, make sure to thoroughly dry your feet at the end to prevent accidental slipping.
3. Being Aware of Appropriate Loading.
Often times, we forget that we are not superheroes, vulnerable to everyday bumps and bruises that must be promptly attended to. Foot care is no exception, especially when it comes to abrupt increases in physical (standing) activity in our daily lives.
It's clear that regular exercise improves athletic performance. However, even a seemingly “unathletic” activity like standing on two feet shouldn't be taken for granted. In fact, if you lead a mostly sedentary lifestyle with a lot of time sitting down, it's important to properly handle sitting-to-standing transitions and be conscious of load (i.e. pressure on the feet).
Try the following standing exercise. Start with a minimum standing time at home or work (e.g. 30 seconds, 1 minute) before getting back into a chair. With each passing day, increase your standing duration as quickly as possible up to the point where you start feeling some discomfort. Tissues in your feet and legs eventually become painful and tired, but practice makes perfect.
If you currently have, or plan to start a regular exercise routine, I recommend slow transitions between changes, to better allow your feet to adapt to the demanded load.
Conclusion.
Healthy feet are so critical for an active and fulfilling lifestyle. Don't ignore them! If you're having trouble with tired and sore feet, please book an appointment today with one of our mobile podiatrists online.
How to book an appointment?
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