WHAT CAN YOU DO ABOUT FOOT PAIN!

What Can You Do About Foot Pain?

The first step in dealing with foot pain is to care for your feet. Your feet are the hardest working part of your body. They carry you wherever you need to go, whenever you need to go there and they do it for years and years. In fact, during your lifetime will have traveled on your feet the equivalent of three trips around the entire world. You take, on average, 15,000 steps a day and will walk or run well over 75,000 miles in your lifetime. Caring for your precious feet and ankles is the best step to avoid foot pain and is a critical component in eliminating it as well.

Here are some steps you can take to keep your feet healthy and functioning:

First and foremost - do not ignore pain in your feet and ankles. Healthy feet don't have persistent pain or skin that looks unusual. If your pain doesn't subside quickly, please contact our office right away. The sooner we can see you and examine your feet, the quicker we can begin to make the corrections needed to get your feet healthy again. So often we see people who have waited a very long time and suffered needlessly - sometimes for years.

Try to develop a habit of always checking your feet. A great time to do this is right after a shower or during a bath. If you start a habit of carefully drying your feet after bathing (pay special attention to the skin between your toes) you can quickly check your feet to see if you notice any changes. If you see nails that look unusual you might be seeing a potential fungus developing. If your skin is broken, cracked or an unusual color you are noticing abnormalities. Finally, if your foot is changing shape or you observe new growth you should make an appointment to see us so we can treat these conditions before the progress and become worse.

Be sure that you purchase and wear the correct kind of shoe for whatever it is that you are doing. If you are running you should wear running shoes that designed to support that activity. If you are dancing you should purchase shoes that are comfortable, supportive, and stylish. So many of the foot problems we treat stem from poor fitting shoes. Be sure to insist on having a qualified shoe sales professional check your fit in the store.

Dispose of shoes that are worn out. Don't continue to wear shoes that have become misshapen or are missing some components just because you like them. They are no longer providing you with the support your feet need, plus it is fun to buy new shoes.

Take extra care when you trim your toenails and be sure to trim them straight across and don;t make the common mistake of trimming them too short. Make sure that you don't; trim your nails down the corners or sides.

If you having diabetes it is especially important to check your feet with regularly and often. In fact, we recommend that you have someone else help you check your feet, because you may be able to see or , most importantly, feel problems. Early detection and treatment may avoid potentially serious complications later.

Spice it up! Wear different shoes every day. Your shoes need time to dry out and recover before you wear them a second time.

Our ancestors walked barefoot for a time and many of us love the feel of sand and grass between our toes, but the modern world in which we live has made it imperative that we wear protective shoes whenever possible. Not wearing sandals (with good sun block on your feet and ankles) puts you at a much greater risk of injury which can lead to complications. Enjoy the great outdoors, but keep you precious feet protected.

See a podiatrist if you have a problem with your feet. Treating yourself can often cause problems or exacerbate existing problems if you are diabetic you are at a greater risk for foot problems so be sure to make an appointment to see us at least once a year. We'd love to see you. We are here to help!