It would be no exaggeration to say that the health of your feet is critical under normal circumstances, but if you lead an active lifestyle, their function is paramount. Every day, your feet carry you through life, providing support, mobility, and balance for your entire body, which is no small accomplishment. If you routinely engage in more active pursuits, their already enormous burden increases substantially, which is why proactive foot care will serve you well — especially as you age.
At Foot and Ankle Care of Passaic, Dr. Sean Rosenblum and our team applaud the active lifestyles of our patients in Lodi, New Jersey, and we’re here to help every step of the way. To that end, we’ve pulled together a few tips for prioritizing foot care as you age so that you can maintain your active lifestyle.
Enough can’t be said about choosing the right footwear (and we’re mainly talking to our female patients on this point). Though you may enjoy throwing on your sneakers and going for a run, if you spend the rest of the week jamming your feet into pointy shoes with heels, you’re creating some potentially serious problems, including:
In fact, there’s little that ill-fitting shoes can’t negatively impact, especially as you age and the wear-and-tear begins to add up in your feet and ankles. To drive the point home even further, once conditions like bunions or hammertoes develop, they can get progressively worse as you age and lead to problems with arthritis.
If you want to maintain an active lifestyle, it’s critical that you wear shoes that fit your feet comfortably, allowing plenty of room for your toes to spread and carry the load. As well, you should ensure that your athletic footwear fits snugly to avoid injury.
A great way to provide a little extra support for aging feet is by wearing custom orthotics. When we custom design your inserts, we do so with an eye toward providing your feet with support in areas where wear-and-tear has weakened your foot structures. For example, if your arches are falling because of a problem in your posterior tibial tendon, orthotics can relieve the pressure on this small tendon and provide support for your arches.
If you routinely hit the pool or showers after your active pursuits, be mindful of protecting your feet against harmful fungal infections. Always wear shoes in these damp, public environments, and keep your feet out of sweaty socks for prolonged periods. And the older you get, the more vulnerable your skin and nails are to a fungal invasion.
We’ve saved one of the most important rules of thumb for our active patients for last — don’t delay treatment. If you’re experiencing pain or discomfort in your feet, no matter how minor, early intervention on our part can save you a world of trouble down the road.
For example, if you love being active, but you develop heel pain, this may be your body’s way of letting you know that you’re overstressing your feet. With our help, we can ensure that you find relief from the immediate pain and help you avoid the problem down the road. Though this may entail some rest, this timeout is crucial for the overall health of your feet. As we mentioned earlier, as you get older, small injuries can lead to ongoing arthritis, which can permanently sideline you from your active life.
If you’d like to learn more about providing the care your active feet need, please give us a call at (973) 218-5720, or use the online scheduling tool to set up a consultation.
