By Kylie Thompson, BS, CPT, LMT
We usually don’t think about our feet. Until they hurt. We tend to take them for granted, but like other parts of our body they can get tired, overused, sore, and in need of some attention. When they start to hurt it can lead to many other problems. When your feet hurt you don’t want to do much of anything. You just want to stay off of them. Your body likes to move, though. And your brain functions better when you are active. So foot pain can quickly lead to other issues.
Foot pain can cause other pain in your body. If your foot hurts, you change the way you stand, walk, and move. Those changes affect your legs. When your legs hurt, you make more changes in what you do, which affects your hips, then your back, then your neck.
Some jobs involve being on your feet most of the day. Often it is on hard floors or rough terrain. You may have a long walk from the parking lot to your job. At home we walk around to take care of our place, our family, and our belongings. You shop, stand chatting with a friend, stand in lines, and walk around doing errands. You cook, do laundry, clean and put things away. You may make multiple trips up and down stairs every day. Yard work and home maintenance keeps us on our feet as well. You may kick things out of the way or stomp your feet to let out some frustration.
You may do extra walking for exercise or from an inconvenience, or run to make it somewhere on time. If you enjoy sports you use your feet to run, jump, and kick. Your feet take a real pounding since they support all your body weight, along with the extra force from the exertion. For exercise or fun activities you use your feet for yoga and fitness classes, hiking, climbing, kickboxing, and dance - and hauling all of your equipment around. Your feet have things dropped on them and they get stepped on. You step on unexpected things such as rocks, tools, or toys (Legos!).
We squeeze our feet into uncomfortable shoes or boots. Sometimes it may be for the sake of fashion, such as high heels. Other times, work footwear is uncomfortable. Sandals may be more comfortable, but they may not provide the support your feet need.
Your feet do a lot for you. Give them some attention with a massage so you can keep doing what you want! Massage provides relief from Plantar Fasciitis, heel pain, and other common foot pain. Most muscles that move your foot start in your calf, so relieving foot pain can also reduce calf pain too. All of your leg joints are affected by your feet. Joints are under pressure from muscles and bones pulling and twisting on them. Relieving foot pain allows your muscles and joints to be in their proper positions, and with less pressure on them, you feel better.
Click here to schedule a massage with K.C. Massotherapy, and relieve some of that foot pain!
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