When it comes to your feet, you don’t need to overhaul your entire lifestyle to see improvements in their health. There are plenty of little things you can do that can have your feet feeling stronger, more flexible and like a healthier version of themselves. In today’s blog, we want to spotlight those little things that can make a big difference in the overall health of your feet.
Little Things To Improve Your Foot Health
Let’s look at a few ways that you can greatly improve the health of your feet with just a few simple changes to your daily routine.
1. Prioritize Your Footwear – One of the simplest things you can do for the health of your feet is ensure they are comfortable and supported when you put them inside a shoe for the day. If you’re on your feet for hours each day, you’ll want a shoe that supports the unique shape of your foot. If you’re wearing a shoe that’s not a great fit or isn’t designed for the activities you’ll be pursuing, it can amplify the amount of stress on your feet. Consider getting professionally fitted, and don’t be afraid to pay a little more for quality. Similar to a bed, you’ll be spending a decent amount of time in your shoes, so make sure they are up to the task.
2. Move More – You don’t need to become an ultra marathoner to improve the health of your feet. Start by simply striving to walk a little more each day. Set step goals and slowly increase your step count. Walking puts healthy stress on your feet and keeps muscles and soft tissues strong and functional. Sitting too much and being overly protective of your foot health can cause structures to atrophy and your foot health to suffer.
3. Vary Your Exercise Routines – We love it when patients are active, but they should also be cognizant of the types of exercise they pursue. If they are always doing the same type of exercise, certain areas can become overstressed or muscular imbalances can develop, putting you at risk of injury. Don’t always do the same gym routine or pound the pavement with an outdoor run. Vary your exercise routines with upper body and lower body workouts, high impact and low impact exercises, weight room routines and water-based resistance workouts. Stressing different muscle groups can help them develop evenly and can avoid overstress injuries to other areas.
4. Improve Your Nutrient Intake – Consuming a healthy diet and making up for any dietary deficiencies with supplementation can go a long way to improve your whole body health and the health of your feet. Your feet deal with significant stress every day, and these structures need access to key vitamins and minerals to ensure bones and other structures develop and repair correctly. Moreover, a healthy diet can help you shed a few pounds, which also takes stress off your feet. Supplementation is a great way to get some key vitamins and nutrients that are harder to come by in your normal diet, so really take stock of what you’re putting in your body.
5. Cut, Clean and Check – Finally, even though your feet are physically the furthest part of your body from your mind, don’t forget to care for them regularly. Get in the habit of performing foot checks every time your take a shower to look for any abnormalities or new moles. Take time to scrub your feet in the shower and practice proper cutting techniques when trimming your nails. These easy tweaks to your bathroom routine can help keep your feet healthy and catch the signs of a problem in their infancy when they can be treated more effectively.
Boost your foot health with these simple adjustments to your daily life. And of course, if you want individualized advice on overcoming a new or chronic foot or ankle issue, connect with Dr. Silverman today.