Healthy Feet for Life: Preventing Injuries

Maintaining healthy feet begins with preventing injuries from happening in the first place. You do not need to wait for foot pain or discomfort to develop before you decide to start taking care of your feet in a preventive, proactive way.

Let’s talk about a few simple ways in which you can prevent foot and ankle injuries, and where you can go here in St. Charles County for outstanding medical treatment to keep your feet healthy for a lifetime:

Maintain a Healthy Weight

Keeping your weight within your frame’s healthy range is beneficial for the entire body, but especially for the feet – which must support your full weight every time you stand and walk. Extra body weight puts additional pressure on your hips, knees, ankles, and feet, so maintaining a healthy weight will help to keep that pressure to normal levels.

Strengthen Your Supporting Muscles

Whenever you stand, walk, jog, or run, the muscles working are not only those in your foot and ankle areas but also in your legs and abdominal area. If these muscles in your legs and your core are strong, they will be able to help support your feet and absorb downward pressure as you perform your various daily activities. Strong lower-body muscles will therefore help to reduce your risk of a foot injury.

Warm-Up Properly Before Any Strenuous Activity

Proper warm-up exercises and gentle stretching are all imperative to avoiding joint pain in your feet. Your body temperature should gradually increase before a workout, getting the muscles warm and able to withstand injury during exercise.

Perform easy cool-down movements in order to allow your muscles to cool off when you’re done exercising. These pre-and post-exercise routines will help you avoid getting a sprained ankle, muscle strain, or joint pain.

Don’t Ignore Foot Pain or Lower-Leg Pain

Take a break when some movement or activity becomes too uncomfortable. Check your posture, and ask others for feedback about how you may be moving incorrectly without realizing it. If your foot pain persists, see a skilled podiatrist for an evaluation and possible treatment.

Wear Supportive Footwear

To best support your feet, be sure to wear shoes that fit well – and which are not too tight and not too loose. Your footwear should have supportive cushioning in the soles which will absorb shock every time you take a step. You can add insoles inside your shoes to help relieve pressure from your feet.

Whenever possible, avoid wearing flip-flops, sandals, high heels, and shoes with leather soles. These types of footwear do not support your feet well and could even lead to foot pain if you wear them for too long.

Foot and Ankle Care in O’Fallon and St. Peters, MO

Here at Advanced Bone & Joint, our board-certified doctors specialize in orthopedic services and podiatric care. Our podiatrist Dr. Anthony Lombardo has more than 20 years of experience in treating foot and ankle conditions, and he can help you enjoy an active lifestyle with much less pain.

If you have any questions or would like to schedule an appointment, contact us today at (636) 229-4222 or fill out our appointment request form online now. We look forward to helping you keep your feet healthy for life!