Feet: its what you stand on, put pressure on when you walk, beat up during the day. Our foot goes through a lot of stress and because we wear shoes with support, it sometimes masks the underlying problem of underdeveloped foot muscles. So what are ways you can take care of your feet? Let’s find out:
First, you have to stretch the bottom of the foot. You can accomplish this by applying pressure via golf ball (my favorite), lacrosse ball, and any movement that allows the toes to bend upwards. Haven’t tried the golf ball stretch on your arches? Look at the link below and give it a try, your foot will thank you. You have a connective tissue (fascia) that sits on the base of the foot and this gets tight throughout the day. By applying pressure, it allows the fascia to release.
Secondly, strengthening the foot is vital to avoiding foot problems. The protocol when you get plantar fasciitis is towel curls to strengthen the toe muscle/mobility, picking up marbles, stretching the muscles around the ankle/foot, and controlling the swelling by avoiding high impact exercises. Key is to move those ankle/toes.
Invest in your shoes.
Thirdly, wear proper footwear. I cannot stress this enough. Gym shoes, running shoes, hiking shoes, shoes for sports, all these should be different. For example, when training clients, I am wearing high cushion shoes like Adidas Ultarboost, NMD, Jordans, basketball shoes that have great support (PG1s are my go-to). When I run, I wear Brooks Ghost 11s that my feet are accustomed to running in.
Don’t buy a shoe because you like the color.
Finding the right type of running shoes takes trial and error with the thousands of options out there. My advice for those that are in search of the right type is to talk to a shoe specialist that knows his/her stuff. For instance, if your foot pronates (just a fancy word for your arch collapsing when you walk/run), you will require shoes that have good arch support. From my experience, I can see what people need based on how they run. The brands I recommend are Brooks, New Balance, Saucony, and Mizuno. Don’t buy a shoe because you like the color.
Ultimately, taking care of the foot is crucial because we have to walk everywhere. Whether its grocery shopping, going to the bathroom, we use our foot for everything. Imagine if walking becomes a hindrance, how would you feel? Yes, that’s right, you would be miserable. So let’s make sure our feet are being taken care. Just getting a pedicure isn’t enough.
Hope you enjoyed this week’s blog. Stay tuned for more next Wed……………….Kei