Your feet are your foundation, they deserve to be well taken care of. You only get 1 pair and when they wear out or break you cant replace them like tires. If you ingore them when they hurt or are tired it will come back to haunt you. Often foot pain will linger and usually progressively gets worse. Unfortunaltely, unlike other parts of your body, your feet are not given many opportunities to rest and receive a fair amount of abuse. Here are some simple tips to keep your feet feeling good and preventing problems.
1. Never compromise on shoes, if its not comfortable then its not worth buying. We all have to put our party shoes on for special occasions but there is no need to torture your feet on a daily basis. They will thank you for your thoughtfulness
2. Check them daily. When you are in the shower or getting dressed look at the bottoms and inbetween your toes. Make sure there are no signs of cracking, cuts, open soars or other irregularities. Sometimes that simple little splinter that you ignore or that small bout of athletes foot can become a huge issue requiring much more involved treated when neglected.
3. Take care of your general health. Many systemic medical problems can manifest themselves in the feet. Poor circulation, diabetes, all types of arthritis, kisney problems, back problems and many other conditions will have affects on the feet. Sometimes these changes in the feet can be the first sign of other problems. If you notice something irregular have it checked out by your Podiatrist
4. Heels are not bad. Many women are either told or under the assumption that wearing a high heel is bad for them. This is a myth. Some women, most women are actually more comfortable walking in a little heel and will have less foot pain and prevent certain over use conditions versus the flat shoe styles of today suchas a ballet flat or slide.
5. Use them. Just like your brain, if you dont use it problems can arise. If you are walking and exercising it will help keep the rest of you in good health. Remember, everything in moderation so dont decide after reading this to run a marathon. If you have been inactive, begin slowly and work up to a comfortable level.
