If Your Feet Could Talk to You!

Written by Team of Practitioners at Orthofit Feet: Lets get down to the facts: What am I? I am a complex masterpiece of 26 bones,33 joints, 107 ligament and 19 muscles, which work together with every step that you take.

I am the foundation of your body, connection to the earth, take you where you want to go throughout your life span from the age of 2 years till we live. Yet you tend to ignore me, do not take good care of me, curse me for the aching heels or corns and calluses that hurt, walk on hard surfaces, wear ill-fitting footwear which puts strain on me.” Why do I need care? You need to take good care of me It is important that I remain healthy as it directly relates to the quality of your lives and mirrors your overall health. Just because I am farthest from the brain, you neglect my aches, painand problems.Please “treat me with care” if you want me to last a lifetime……. KEEPING ME HEALTHY IS EASIER THAN YOU THINK  Oh!I need some support!

You love the old pair of shoes that you find comfortable, but they’re damaging me. Worn out soles of shoes put excess stress on your bones and joints making them vulnerable to injuries. As one ages, the mini fat-filled chambers on the bottom which serve as the shock-absorber, starts to thin out, that is when your shoes require orthotic support to protect me from injuries and pounding on the ground. Don’t squeeze me, it hurts!

Wearing very tight shoes make your toes mold into unnatural shapes which can lead to health issues later. Squeezing me could cause nerves to be compressed, inflamed &enlarged, a problem encountered more by people with low arches. Make sure that your shoes always have enough room so I can wriggle my toes freely and support so that I am comfortable. I am not comfortable when you cross your legs and sit.

The most comfortable position when you sit down is sitting with your legs crossed but it squeezes the the peroneal nerve along the knee, which can leave me numb temporarily. I hate the “pins and needles” feeling which is the nerve regaining function. Flip flops are bad for me.You love the flip flops as they are comfortable and easy to wear but they are very harmful to me. When you wear flip-flops, your toes need to work extra hard to keep the shoe on your foot, which puts unnecessary stress on me, leading to painful bunions or hammertoes. Being flat they put more pressure on arch for support while walking which can cause pain to radiate from my ankle to inner arch. All I ask is to keep me dry and clean

If you want to keep me in a clean and healthy environment, most importantly you must keep me dry and clean. Fungus grows best in a warm, moist environment such as shoes and socks and with around 125,000 sweat glands, they can get pretty moist. To avoid creating an ideal environment for fungus to grow, a swipe of antiperspirant on my soles and your shoes and socks can help keep moisture and odor to a minimum. If you put on weight, I have to carry the extra burden

If your weight fluctuates throughout your life it can cause the ligaments and tendons to loosen and weaken. This is especially true for women who have children and carry around a lot of weight for months. Do not wear the same shoe you have been wearing for years

Don’t try to squeeze your feet into the same size shoe you’ve been wearing most of your life,sometimes, going just half a size up can make all the difference. When you buy footwear you buy only as per one dimension though I am three dimensional

When people go to buy footwear, they buy them according to the foot size, i.e. length of the foot. But I’m three dimensional- length, width and height. You never check my width or height. For example if the footwear is tight at the toes you tend to buy a size bigger instead of a wider footwear. So you end up buying the wrong size. Please put some socks on me so I can avoid callous 

Friction from wearing shoes makes the top layers of your skin get thick and scaly which can be removed with the use of a pumice stone which helps remove excess dead skin cells. Apply lotion or foot cream often, preferably one with urea so that it’s strong enough to penetrate my thick skin. I hate ill-fitting footwear

Just as you love wearing a perfect fitting dress, I too feel real happy and comfortable wearing the perfect pair of footwear. If it’s a size bigger in length, I keep sliding up and down inside the footwear, causing friction at the bottom which can cause corns/callus, increased chances of sprains & fractures.If you wear tight footwear you could be at a higher risk of plantar fasciitis, toenails could get damaged, bruised, or become ingrown, I could get blisters, inflammation and you could start to feel soreness in the legs, hips, or lower back. All this could result in poor me suffering from aches & pains.

High Heels are not my absolute favourite

Many women love wearing high heels to office,parties or almost every day without realising how much pressure it puts on the forefoot, toes and heels, increasing the chances of my pain and injuries.  I am not discouraging you from wearing high heels but do not wear them for too long of a period of time if it's not necessary,stashing a pair of flats in your bag to throw on when needed, and wearing a different pair of shoes while in transit, for example. It could make me comfortable and give me time to breathe. I am scared of long nails, trim my nails weekly

Keeping the nails clean and trimmed reduces the chances for fungal or bacterial infection and ingrown toe nails. I would love to feel soft so please use a moisturising cream Moisturising me will reduce the development of dry scaly skin, cracked heels, callous and keep me soft. “The human foot is a masterpiece of engineering and a work of art.”, says Leonardo da Vinci. And so to keep this masterpiece in good shape, I would request you to get a preventive check done annually just as you would get a dental or an eye check done. Please take me to a Podiatrist who will help you take good care of me.