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Foot problems are a common complaint and are also a common cause of aches and pains in other areas, including the knees, hips, and lower back.  In most cases, foot problems begin as a result of neglect.  There are some simple steps you can take to make your feet happy and solve a host of other muscle and joint pains at the same time.

Step One:  Go barefoot whenever possible.  The feet have many nerve receptors on the bottom of them that analyze pressure on various points on the feet and use that information to help you keep your balance.  In addition, those nerve receptors tell the muscles in the feet when to contract and when to relax, so as to maintain the arches of the feet and aid in mechanical stabilization.  When you wear shoes, the nerve receptors are in constant contact with the shoes, and are much less able to determine differences in pressure on the separate points of the feet.  This leads to poor muscle coordination in the feet and in most cases, eventual loss of the arches, making the feet and the whole body much more susceptible to the effects of mechanical shock.  Unfortunately, going barefoot most of the day is not practical for those of us who work for a living, so the best you can do is take Step Two…

Step Two:  Choose good shoes.  Now, by “good shoes”, I’m not talking about some expensive designer brand and I’m not talking about 3 inch pumps that look really hot.  I’m talking about shoes with good arch support and some shock-absorbing materials to take stress off of your feet.  Are such shoes ugly?  That’s a matter of opinion, but if you have to make a choice between good shoes and good looking shoes, I suggest you go with the good shoes at least most of the time.

 Step Three:  Use arch supports and/or shock dissipation shoe inserts.  Depending on your particular needs, some generic arch supports or gel shoe inserts may work very well for you.  If you already have some significant foot problems, I suggest you look into getting custom-fitted orthotics for your shoes.  There are various types of orthotics.  “Old-school” podiatrists may recommend rigid orthotics which do an excellent job of arch support, but have no shock absorption whatsoever and can be very uncomfortable, particularly for those who spend long hours on their feet, or engage in high-shock activities like running.  I usually recommend “semi-flexible” orthotics that not only support the arches but have built-in shock absorbing materials.  These are much more comfortable for most people and do a good job of not only helping the feet, but also helping with knee, hip, and back pain.

Step Four:  Exercise your feet.  I once saw a video about a woman who was born without arms and she did a lot of the things that you and I do with our hands with her feet.  In my professional training, I learned that the feet are actually anatomically structured to where one can develop fine joint and motor control that is equivalent to the hands, but most people never train the feet for this purpose, except for people like the woman in the video who have a compelling reason to develop foot dexterity.  Now, you don’t need to exercise your feet to the point of being able to sign your name using your foot, but some basic arch conditioning can go a long way toward making your feet feel better.  A very simple foot exercise is to place a towel on the floor and then place your foot on top of it and use your toes to “scrunch” up the towel. 

Step Five:  Massage your feet (or get someone else to).  Because most of us can’t avoid wearing shoes and spending a lot of time on our feet, even just a brief foot massage a few times per week can go a long way toward easing foot pain.  Masage can be done by using the hands to rub and press on tight areas, or you can use a foot roller, a golf ball, or any firm, round object to roll your foot on and rub out the soreness.  The massage effects can be further enhanced by rubbing or rolling the feet while you soak them in warm water. 

So there you have it, the five steps to happy feet.

Stay tuned to my natural remedies blog for more recommendations for healthy feet.

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