Feet are so important! They also tend to be forgotten about unless there’s some sort of issue, like your foot cramps or there’s a blister. When a body part does as much for you as your feet do, it’s essential that you take care of them. Taking care of your feet can lead to so many health benefits as well. Keep reading to find out more about these.
Top Health Benefits of Caring for Your Feet
• Better Balance
You may notice that you have better balance once you start taking better care of your feet. This is usually noticed when you’ve been wearing the wrong type of shoes. Most shoes for men and women alike are too narrow near the toes. What this does is force the toes sideways, which, in turn, can result in balance issues.
• Stop Bunions
Those squished toes can also lead to bunions! Bunions stick out and then exacerbate issues when wearing shoes in the future. While they don’t hurt, they can result in severe foot deformities and can only really be fixed with surgery.
• Knee and Back Pain
Wearing the wrong shoes and not taking care of your feet can lead to knee and back pain as your body needs to work extra hard just to get you where you are going. The strain can then result in permanent damage that may require surgery to help fix if possible.
How to Take Care of Your Feet
• Get Better Shoes
One of the single best ways to care for your feet is to wear better shoes. For most, this will mean one thing: go wide. The issue with buying wide shoes is simply the lack of options in traditional stores. Brands just don’t carry or even make wide sizes, which is why you need to find shoe brands that offer women’s extended size shoes, both lengthwise and widthwise. Doing this will let you finally wear shoes comfortably.
• Improve Your Posture
How you stand is going to impact your feet, knees, and back. So, start paying attention to how you stand, with particular emphasis on your feet. For example, you may need to adjust your stance so that it’s wider and your feet have more surface area. Working on centering your balance at your core can also help your feet.
• Regularly Stretch
You will want to regularly stretch out your entire leg and pay particular attention to your joints. Doing this can help improve mobility and balance, which in turn can help your feet and your overall health and well-being.
• Keep Them Clean and Moisturized
Regularly keep your feet clean, moisturized, and also dry. Without a good set of hygiene routines involving your feet, you may end up with several skin issues. The most serious of those issues is gangrene, first known as trench foot. While gangrene isn’t an issue for people in their everyday lives, it can become a risk if, for example, you’re hiking a multi-day or even a week hike.