April 2019 is National Foot Health Month, and it’s already underway. To contribute we’re posting helpful tips to our social media channels that you can do yourself to keep your feet healthy, so keep an eye on our Facebook and Twitter!
What is National Foot Health Month?
As taken from the College of Podiatry’s website, “Foot Health Month is about focusing on good foot health, and raising awareness and understanding of podiatry – with a clear message that people should visit an HCPC registered podiatrist as the health specialists for foot and lower limb pain and problems.”
We see it as a great opportunity to really get across how important foot health is, and a way to provide you all with resources, information, and knowledge about your feet that you may not have known before this month. So, let’s get to it!
The Importance of Healthy Feet
Although you should aim to keep all your body healthy, we believe that foot health is drastically overlooked which can cause huge knock-on effects to the rest of your body. You should keep in mind that your feet make up for 25% of the body’s bones, about 18% of your joints, and about 6% of your muscles. This adds up to play a huge part in your body, even though they’re furthest away from our eyes and often neglected!
Think of all the daily tasks that you couldn’t do if your feet weren’t fully functional – you wouldn’t be able to walk/run, clean your house, get a shower (with ease) and much more. Just by doing any of the above regularly you’re contributing towards keeping your feet healthy, and we encourage you to stay active and regularly inspect your feet.
Unfortunately, though, because your feet are an integral part of daily activities, it means that they go through a lot of wear and tear, including the development of callouses and sweating A LOT (roughly half a pint of sweat a day). Constant pressure, movement, and build-up of dead skin can lead to further problems for your feet and other parts of your body in the long run. If you feel guilty of not looking after your feet, we strongly recommend that you see a podiatrist. You should never feel embarrassed of your feet, and we want everyone to have healthy feet that allows them to function the way we’re supposed to!
What Can I Do to Avoid Foot Problems?
There are many things you can do when it comes to looking after your feet, but we feel that some things should be carried out daily (that often aren’t):
- Maintain a healthy weight – we understand that this is not as easy as we state it here, but the more you weigh, the more pressure you put on your feet. This can lead to problems such as arthritis and joint deformities in your feet.
- Wear comfortable shoes – if there’s anything worth spending money on, we believe that it’s your health. Although there are many affordable varieties of shoe available, you should make sure that they are comfortable above all else. If this means that you must fork out a few extra quid, it’s probably going to be worth it in the long run. Foot pain is extremely uncomfortable and, as always, can lead to more serious issues.
- Clean your feel daily – this may seem obvious to some people, but the amount of people I know that think the residual soapy water from a shower will clean their feet is rather large. You should wash your feet daily and dry them thoroughly (especially in between your toes) to avoid fungal infections or Athlete’s Foot.
- Moisturise your feet – honestly, I don’t know many people that do this, but especially in the older people I visit, dry feet are a prominent issue. Moisturising your feel can prevent cracking, bleeding, and foot pain, which will make your feet look and feel better while giving you more confidence about getting your feet out.
How Can I Take Part in Foot Health Month?
Just by reading this blog, discussing feet health problems, and considering changing the way you look after your feet, you’re already taking part. We encourage everyone reading this to spread the word about foot health, and I’m sure those that regularly visit a podiatrist can reassure others that it’s a blissful feeling during and after one of our treatments, so don’t be afraid! Although not necessary, we will always appreciate people sharing any of our blogs or social media posts regarding foot health to spread awareness.
To support the College of Podiatry, you can follow their social media at the following links:
And you can spread the word on your social channels with the #foothealthmonth2019 hashtag.
