Advice on Foot Care

There is something about the holidays which compels people to ignore foot pain. It could be the holiday spirit …. but it is more likely the stress of shopping and organizing multiple social events, the endless hours walking up and down shopping malls with bags of gifts strapped around both arms and the running in and out of stores in shoes that were not designed for more than sitting in a chair at work.

It is very common for conditions like plantar fasciitis, the most common cause of heel pain, to start or become worse during the holiday season. Most people are so busy during the holiday season that not only do they not have time for a visit to the doctor, they hardly have enough time to think about making an appointment.

By the time January rolls around and everyone returns to their normal schedules and can finally make a doctor’s appointment, the heel pain is so severe that they limp into the office. At this point, it is much more difficult to treat.

To help avoid this scenario, you only need to follow a few tips.

• Wear supportive shoes: This is the most important step.
  • Excess walking in soft, flexible shoes can cause heel pain. When heading to the mall for those returns, make sure you are in a good pair of shoes.
  • It is common to slip-on soft, fuzzy, warm slippers in the winter to walk around the house. With more time being spent indoors, it is easy to walk 1000 steps in your own house in the evening. Soft shoes and hard floors exacerbate heel pain. More information on supportive shoes.
• Stretch daily: If you already have heel pain, do a series of calf and arch stretches daily. This will only take a few minutes out of each day, but the more you stretch the faster you will heal. More information and diagrams on stretches for heel pain.
• Arch massage: Using a rolling pin or a softball, remove your shoe and roll your arch over the ball to help stretch the plantar fascia. Diagram of an arch massage.
• Try a night splint: No time for therapy during the day? Try stretching at night while you sleep with a night splint. There are many night splints and they range from hard plastic to a soft socks. The goal with all the night splints is to stretch out the plantar fascia to accelerate healing.

More tips, images and diagrams on diagnosing and treating plantar fasciitis.

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