Your feet care for you by carrying around your body weight.
The question then is: How do you care for your feet? A healthy investment in foot care results in better returns in terms of "service delivery" from our feet.
Many of us could easily spend money on tyres for our vehicles, but hardly give foot care a second thought.
Foot muscles may become inflexible considering the sheer amount of weight carried around and the feet constitute one of the most active parts of our bodies.
Yet, they are often overused and neglected.
Neglecting our feet can lead to many kinds of foot problems and, if ignored, expensive medical intervention may be our only resort.
For people suffering from diabetes, proper foot care is even more essential.
Besides all that, experts say we can make fairly accurate deductions about a person's personal hygiene by simply looking at their feet or shoes.
Thus, proper foot care (or the lack of it) reveals more about us than we may realize.
How do the feet manage to carry all that weight without breaking down? The average distance covered by a human being in his lifetime is about 120 000 km (or 75 000 miles).
This depends on geographical location and lifestyle of course, but considering the size of the human foot in comparison to the size of the weight it has to carry, it is astonishing how well the foot holds up under the load.
This is more impressive if one considers the neglect the feet suffer for the most part.
They boast a better performance record than many vehicles out there; plus they are environmentally friendly and helps us to lose some weight if we use them often.
Talk about exceptional! All of this is possible because of the brilliant structural and mechanical design of the foot.
To give you an idea, I will represent the foot as a mechanical device: The human foot is an exceptional example of how to combine dynamic and mechanical complexity, structural strength and just enough flexibility in order to absorb a large amount of strain and great pressure.
The ankle joint is the foundation and serves as a shock absorber and a propulsion engine.
This clever design allows the foot to bear great pressure without losing the flexibility which allows smooth movement.
The foot consists of different components: bones, joints, muscles, tendons, ligaments and a network of blood vessels, nerves, skin and soft tissue.
All these components work together in an intricate balance to provide the body with the necessary support when moving around.
The foot has 3 structural components: the forefoot, mid-foot and hind-foot.
Common Causes of Foot Problems:
Click on the link to see which professional will be most beneficial to your specific foot problem.
If in doubt, see your general practitioner who will be able to advise you correctly on the next step in the treatment of your condition.
For video illustrations of foot exercises, click here
The question then is: How do you care for your feet? A healthy investment in foot care results in better returns in terms of "service delivery" from our feet.
Many of us could easily spend money on tyres for our vehicles, but hardly give foot care a second thought.
Foot muscles may become inflexible considering the sheer amount of weight carried around and the feet constitute one of the most active parts of our bodies.
Yet, they are often overused and neglected.
Neglecting our feet can lead to many kinds of foot problems and, if ignored, expensive medical intervention may be our only resort.
For people suffering from diabetes, proper foot care is even more essential.
Besides all that, experts say we can make fairly accurate deductions about a person's personal hygiene by simply looking at their feet or shoes.
Thus, proper foot care (or the lack of it) reveals more about us than we may realize.
How do the feet manage to carry all that weight without breaking down? The average distance covered by a human being in his lifetime is about 120 000 km (or 75 000 miles).
This depends on geographical location and lifestyle of course, but considering the size of the human foot in comparison to the size of the weight it has to carry, it is astonishing how well the foot holds up under the load.
This is more impressive if one considers the neglect the feet suffer for the most part.
They boast a better performance record than many vehicles out there; plus they are environmentally friendly and helps us to lose some weight if we use them often.
Talk about exceptional! All of this is possible because of the brilliant structural and mechanical design of the foot.
To give you an idea, I will represent the foot as a mechanical device: The human foot is an exceptional example of how to combine dynamic and mechanical complexity, structural strength and just enough flexibility in order to absorb a large amount of strain and great pressure.
The ankle joint is the foundation and serves as a shock absorber and a propulsion engine.
This clever design allows the foot to bear great pressure without losing the flexibility which allows smooth movement.
The foot consists of different components: bones, joints, muscles, tendons, ligaments and a network of blood vessels, nerves, skin and soft tissue.
All these components work together in an intricate balance to provide the body with the necessary support when moving around.
The foot has 3 structural components: the forefoot, mid-foot and hind-foot.
Common Causes of Foot Problems:
- A flaw in the above mentioned structure of the foot or malfunction of any part of the "mechanical device" leads to abnormal stresses on other parts of the foot.
These other parts are not enabled to support the abnormal loads now placed on it.
And so a chain reaction is begun.
If left unattended these other areas will also show signs of malfunction.
Over time, the damage may even reach as far up as the knee joint, hip joint, the lower back, etc.
Likewise, feet problems may develop secondary to problems higher up in the leg and eventually symptoms of damage start showing up in the foot. - Improper foot care, negligence and ill-fitting shoes also give rise to a host of foot problems.
- Disease, poor circulation in the feet and improperly trimmed toenails.
- Shortening of the soft tissue structures in the foot give rise to inflexibility which hampers a normal walking pattern and in turn leads to other joint and soft tissue problems
- Cracked Heels
- Fungal infections such as Athlete's Foot
- Corns and Calluses
- Warts
- Bunions
- Plantar Fasciitis
- Painful and tired feet
- Incorporating feet stretching and strengthening exercises into our exercise routine.
Many of us understand the importance of a regular stretching routine for other parts of the body, but neglect the feet in this process.
Regular stretching prevents rigid and inflexible feet, which allows for smoother action during walking and other weight bearing activities. - Have regular foot massages.
This need not be an expensive routine done by a professional masseuse.
We can massage our feet ourselves with moisturizing creams or by keeping a tennis ball handy for when we watch TV for example.
Massage your bare feet by gently rolling the ball around with different parts of the foot for about 5 minutes a day.
It provides welcome stress relief for the feet after a busy day. - Daily washing in lukewarm, soapy water.
Don't soak the feet as this leads to excessively dry skin.
Ensure that you dry the feet thoroughly, especially between the toes.
When applying moisturizer, avoid the areas around the toes and concentrate especially on the heel area. - Do regular foot inspections, monitoring for any change in colour and temperature, thickened and discoloured nails and growths such as corns and calluses.
If the nails become thick and discoloured it is recommended that medical advice is sought. - Seek advice for itchy feet.
It may be an indication of fungal infection. - Trim the toenails with a nail trimmer and cut them straight across and not rounded.
Don't cut them too short and into the corners as this can lead to in growing toenails. - Purchase new shoes later in the day when the feet are at their largest.
Shoes that fit well then, will fit well all throughout the day.
New shoes should not hurt so don't buy shoes that are too tight, hoping that they will eventually stretch to fit well. - Get into a habit of massaging the feet with moisturizer before bedtime.
Be liberal with the moisturizer and wear cotton socks which can absorb moisture and avoid nylon. - Apply sun block to your feet as well when you are out in the sun.
- Avoid cracked heels by avoiding exposing the feet to extremes in temperature.
Regularly slough off dry skin with a pumice stone and invest in good quality shoes.
Try to have regular pedicures.
Creams that work very well for cracked heels are those with a urea basis.
Tea Tree oil is also very effective as a basis in a heel balm. - Avoid fungal infections by keeping the feet dry and changing your shoes regularly.
Try not the wear the same pair of shoes day after day. - Corns and calluses may be avoided by wearing good quality shoes that fit well and wearing special pads may also help to resolve an existing problem.
- Improve the circulation in the feet by sitting with the feet elevated for a while after a heavy day and avoiding sitting cross-legged for prolonged periods of time.
- For odour-free feet use foot powders and foot sprays.
Cotton socks and good quality shoes also help in this regard. - Good shoes and calf stretches combined with adequate rest between weight bearing exercise activities help to prevent plantar fasciitis
Click on the link to see which professional will be most beneficial to your specific foot problem.
If in doubt, see your general practitioner who will be able to advise you correctly on the next step in the treatment of your condition.
- Physiotherapists ( USA: Physical Therapists)
- Chiropodists
- Podiatrists
- Family Doctor
- There are more than 100 muscles in the human foot
- One quarter of the bones in the human body are located in the foot
- The foot consists of 33 joints
- Some over the counter home remedies for corns and calluses may actually damage your skin.
Be cautious and rather seek advice from a health care professional - Open wounds in the foot (e.
g.
cracking and fissures) provides a passage for bacteria to spread very rapidly due to the pressure on the foot.
The pressure also allows for deeper penetration of the bacteria into the foot. - Fungal and bacterial infections results in dry skin, redness, blisters, itching and peeling of the skin.
- Massaging the feet with petroleum jelly just before bedtime and then wearing a pair of cotton socks to bed, is an excellent home remedy for cracked heels.
For video illustrations of foot exercises, click here
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