Almost everybody has foot pain at some point! There are many reasons for foot pain that range from stepping on something to plantar fasciitis. This post is not going to help you solve all of your pain, but it has tips for you to decrease your pain so you can then do something about it!
Calming Down Foot Pain
1. Find Comfortable Shoes
Unfortunately for us, the shoe industry thrives on telling us what is fashionable and what to wear. For most shoe companies they don't take into consideration the shape of your feet!!
This means that most shoes will scrunch your feet up into points that your feet are not designed for. When you are looking for shoes, find ones that are comfortable. I strongly suggest going somewhere to try on at least 5 (or more) different styles, colors, brands, and even sizes before deciding what to by.
2. Avoid Wearing Heels
Having your foot in a heel not only tends to squeeze your toes together, but has you work your calf muscles extra hard by standing on your tip toes all day. Heels are a double whammy for your feet and legs!
3. Take an Epsom Salt Bath
To calm down at the end of the day, you can put your feet, or entire body, into a warm bath and add some epsom salts. This will help you to relax. You can even get scented epsom salts to aid with your relaxation!
4. Ice Your Feet and/or Ankles
You can do this when you get home from a long day. Use and ice pack because it has less jagged edges than a bag of ice cubes and is more comfortable. To protect your skin from frostbite (if you have your ice on too long) wear a sock when icing! You can ice for 10-20 minutes. Any less you won't see any changes in inflammation, any more and you risk the aforementioned frostbite.
5. Rest Your Feet
Simply come home, take your shoes off, and put your legs up. Let your feet rest and hang out for 20-30 minutes. Give them a chance to recover from a long day of being on your feet.
6. Let Your Feet Breathe
Your feet have been stuffed into your shoes all day (see #1). They deserve to spread out and occupy space. Your feet are not designed to be squished into things like shoes. The more often throughout your day you can take off your shoes, the better.
Active Techniques For Decreasing Your Foot Pain
This next part of the list is for you if you can tolerate it. For some of you, this will make your symptoms worse, so focus on the first section. Once your feet are feeling better, give some of these a try.
7. Stretch Your Legs
Your feet are connected to your legs. Sometimes your foot pain is simply because the muscles of your legs are tight and overworked. Try stretching your calves and hamstrings.
8. Stretch Your Feet
There are muscles in your feet! These small muscles don't get a lot of attention. But they can also be tight. If you have tried the stretches above and aren't seeing much change in your feet, give some foot stretches a try.
9. Strengthen Your Foot Muscles
Due to neglect (it's not your fault) your foot muscles may not be doing their job. They may be overworked, or relying on the bone structure or fascia of your feet. This can make your feet sore. In order to strengthen these muscles inside of your foot, give this a try.
10. Rolling Out Your Feet
Your feet take a ton of different input into your body everyday. It is the first part of you that touches the ground when you stand, walk, run, etc. Sometimes your feet just need a different stimulus to feel better.
11. Work on Your Balance
Did you know that walking all day and being on your feet can make your balance worse? It is true. The body will learn to adapt if you are in pain. It will incorporate muscles that aren't designed to help you balance in order to keep you upright. Practicing your balance will help you body realize it is making a mistake.
Pamper Yourself
12. Use Toe Spacers
You know those little things they put between your toes when someone polishes your toe nails? Try to wear those for 5-10 minutes a day! It may hurt at first, but your feet will thank you after a week or so of doing this!
13. Go Get A Pedicure
Your foot health is important. Getting a pedicure can help you maintain your toe nails and your skin integrity in your feet. It is also quite relaxing. Often times a pedicure will incorporate a warm foot bath and a exfoliating scrub! How can you go wrong!
14. Get A Foot Massage
There are places for you that will massage your feet and your lower legs. Just by going to one of these Chinese foot massage places you can check a bunch of things off of this list. You can relax, let your feet breathe, stretch your feet and legs, etc.
Long Term Changes You Can Make
To prevent your foot pain from returning, you may have to try some long term changes. This can help you stay health, decrease injury risk, and feel better overall.
15. Exercise Regularly
By adding a regular exercise routine in, your body will thank you. If you are currently dealing with foot pain, I recommend staying away from running for now. But eventually you will get there. This will also help you change your metabolism and improve your body composition (lean mass increases, fat mass decreases). The tip to exercise is to find something you enjoy doing so it doesn't feel so bad!
16. Eat Whole Foods
By focusing on proper nutrition, you will eliminate things that increase your inflammation. You don't have to stop eating things you enjoy, but try to focus on eating whole foods as opposed to processed foods. Things like fruits, vegetables, meats, nuts will cover all of your dietary needs. You can add whatever spices you like, just try to limit your sugar intake as it can add unnecessary calories.
17. Get More Sleep
Did you know that you probably need to get more sleep than you are currently getting? The average adult needs between 7-9 hours of sleep (you are all different). By cutting this number short, you will pay for it with poor health, like foot pain! Your body also heals itself while you sleep. If you can spend more time getting those z's your feet will thank you!
Final Thoughts
Changing your habits is hard. Try baby steps. You are not expected to do all 16 things on this list today. Pick one that you think you can do and try to incorporate it into your daily/weekly/monthly routine. Once it becomes easy for you to do, add another item on the list.
Your foot pain may not go away tomorrow, but it will go away eventually when you can practice as many of these things as possible.
If you are looking for more help or answers to questions about your foot pain, join my Facebook group that focuses on this exact topic:
In this group you can ask anything you want about foot and ankle pain!!
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