Achilles Tendinitis Can Be Treated With Preventive Foot Care

Avoiding foot pain in advance is the best way to prevent expensive surgeries later on. Despite the fact that many people ignore foot pain for long periods, pretending that the pain isn't serious or wishing it would fix itself are inappropriate responses to the foot pain dilemma. There are plenty of ways to help your feet stay strong, healthy, and pain-free with only a few changes to your daily routine. Here are a few reasons why metatarsalgia occurs, how to resolve issues with feet such as Achilles tendonitis, and how minor changes, for instance using high heel insoles, can help.

High Heels Can Spell Trouble for Feet

High-heeled shoes can wreak havoc on feet when worn regularly. From the narrowing of the toe box (the part enclosing the front of the foot) to the angle of incline, this type of footwear can cause permanent damage to feet. First, when narrowing of the feet is forced, as it does in a high heeled shoe, the mid-foot and toe regions are forced into a tiny space where they cannot function properly. The tendons, muscles, and ligaments are strained into a tight area for what the foot needs. Over time, nerves become packed together, blood flow is decreased to areas of the foot (particularly in the toes) and painful foot issues develop.

How a Foot Massage Can Ease Achilles Tendonitis

Massage is a great method for soothing aching and sore feet. The soothing movement of the muscle fibers increases blood flow to the area. Massage also carries healing, oxygen-rich blood into the affected foot. Once muscles are relaxed, nerve endings can begin to stop firing so that pain can be relieved. If muscles and nerve endings are particularly irritated by a certain pair of shoes or an activity, inflammation will occur. In that case, it is advised to use ice packs or frozen vegetables to decrease inflammation. Elevating the feet higher than the heart during this time is also very effective in allowing the extra fluids to be drained from the foot.

Achilles Tendonitis Can Be Eased with This Stretch

Achilles tendonitis can really put a damper on anyone's day. The shrinkage of this vital tendon can cause contracting in the lower leg. It can also be a major contributor to shrinking enough to rip during activity such as running. The way to lessen the tendon's tightening in order to lessen pain is to apply gentle stretching to the affected part. Sit on the floor with both legs extended in a seated position. Then, slowly lean the upper body forward and your hamstring will be engaged in a stretch. Now that the legs are warmed up, softly coax the feet towards the head to focus on the Achilles tendon. Hold the stretch for about half a minute, rest for one minute, and repeat 5 times.

Massage, Stretch and High Heel Insoles Can Prevent Painful Foot Conditions

In today's high-fashion world, lack of willingness to give up these types of shoes is regrettable. However, with the use of insoles for high heel shoes, metatarsalgia can be relieved with consistent wear. It is advisable to wear shoes with heels no higher than 2" and with a wider-profile heel such as a wedge to avoid future metatarsalgia. If feet are sore at day's end, consider changing to flat dress shoes for 3 days out of the week to allow the feet some time for increased blood flow which will help feet heal in between wearing higher heels. Be sure to rub feet and stretch them to encourage utmost blood flow to the feet.