Special Occupation Groups
Help for Military Personnel
 You may be in great shape, but if your feet aren't, they may be keeping you from optimum fitness. Here are some tips to treat minor problems and to prevent ongoing foot discomfort that will inhibit your active participation on your feet:
Sore Spots or Points of Pressure
Often the tops of the toes can rub in the shoes particularly if the toes are contracted or bent (hammer toes). Try using some moleskin pads available from the drugstore. A doughnut shaped pad will take the pressure off the sore spot and place pressure around it. Don't use medicated pads because they tend to destroy the surrounding skin. Pressure points on the bottom of the feet or sides of the feet can be treated this way as well.
Callouses
This is a thickening of the skin usually on the balls of the feet. They are due to excessive pressure or friction which results from a foot imbalance. It's best not to use a razor blade to treat these. Pads going around the callouses will relieve pressure. Better yet, have a podiatrist scrape them away for you which is painless. Correcting the foot mechanics helps callouses clear up.
Ingrown Nails
If your nails are ingrown and sore (usually the big toes are involved) they can be easily treated. Leaving them untreated can cause infection. Treatment is painless and lasers can even be used to cure them. You can walk right after these procedures.
Warts
Warts are a common nuisance and spread easily and rapidly. Have them attended to by your base physician. Wear sandals in common showers and locker rooms since that is where warts are often transmitted. Lasers can be used to vaporize resistant warts.
Sore Arches and Heels
Sore arches and heels are often related to the feet flattening or rolling in (pronation). Ice packs or frozen peas provide temporary relief and using adhesive tape helps as well. Apply successive strips of tape along the arch of the foot by starting on one side of the foot, going under the arch and up the other side a couple of inches.
A properly made prescription orthotic device may be required. This is something that can be made for you by a podiatrist after casts and biomechanical measurements are taken of your feet.
"RICE" for Injuries
It's best to get the problem diagnosed immediately, but if you do sustain an injury, applying the principles of "RICE" will help.
This stands for Rest, Ice, Compression and Elevation. Rest always helps. Ice or Frozen peas reduce pain, inflammation and promotes faster healing. Compression wrap such as a tensor bandage or "coban" (by 3M) helps a lot. Elevate your feet when possible to reduce swelling.
Athlete's Foot Fungus
This is frequently transmitted in showers and locker rooms and sandals are helpful to prevent getting this problem. Anti-fungal foot sprays or powders such as Tinactin and Desinex are helpful. Your base doctor may need to prescribe a stronger anti-fungal agent. Change your socks once or twice during the day if possible.
Hints for Runners
If you're a runner, good quality running shoes are a must. They tend to lose their support and cushioning after about 300 - 400 miles. Subtle foot imbalances can make your problems worse if you're a runner and so it is a good idea to have a foot examination.
Decrease your mileage if you are getting pain. Also eliminate speed work outs or steep hills if symptoms persist.
Stretching Exercises
These are particularly important if you're a runner or active in sports or even just doing a lot of walking. Calf muscle stretching exercise with one leg forward and bent while the other leg is back and straight, will stretch the calf. Hold for 30 seconds and repeat for the opposite side.
Your feet need not hold you back from your activities. If you are getting sore feet or discomfort this is not something that you necessarily have to live with. If you have any specific question, our office would be pleased to answer them for you.
Help For Teachers
Ask any teacher about to retire, and they'll likely tell you that their feet will be pleased by their forthcoming retirement.
Most teachers are aware that long hours each day on their feet can often result in foot or lower leg fatigue. Certainly this can take away from the teaching experience. Here are some tips to keep you going on those hard, terazzo floors of your school:
- When possible, soft soled, laced walking shoes are ideal for support and comfort. Women who are interested in wearing more of a dress shoe may want to consider the soft soled flats or low pumps that provide added cushioning on the hard, unyielding floors of a school.
- Standing for prolonged periods can result in contraction of the calf muscles. Try doing stretching exercises throughout the day where you simply lean against the wall with one foot forward and one foot back, keeping your back knee straight. Hold for 10 seconds. You can then bend the back knee and continue to stretch.
- Many people think foot pain is normal. It is not. If you have painful corns or calluses, a podiatrist can easily and painlessly clear these up for you.
- Sore spots on your toes or feet can often be accommodated with "moleskin" pads commercially available at drugstores. Be careful not to use any medicated pads on your skin because they can often damage the normal tissue.
- Sore arches or heels may mean that you have a foot imbalance. Flat feet often cause strain to the arches and can be easily corrected with orthotic devices prescribed by a podiatrist.
- Ingrown nails are not common among teachers but they do occur. Many teachers have told me over the years that they have feared having this attended to because of pain. The fact is that they can be painlessly treated and ongoing discomfort can be easily alleviated.
Exercises
Sitting Exercises: When at your desk, if you get a chance, consider doing some range of motion exercises with your feet and ankles. Simply rotating your feet in circles and moving them up and down enhances their flexibility and avoids stiffness in muscles and tendons. Also, try extending your legs and bend your feet up at the ankle to stretch the calves.
Walking as an exercise is excellent. If you feel too tired to exercise it may be that taking up a walking program may give you even more energy. Start off with short, easy distances and increase your mileage gradually.
Orthotics Advisory
Avoid getting orthotics from commercial centers. These are no more than expensive arch supports that don't correct the mechanics of the gait cycle. Sophisticated computer graphics look impressive, but the end result is basically a stock item arch support that is being dispensed by a retailer. You're better off seeing a foot specialist who can prescribe an orthotic that works precisely according to your foot mechanics. Follow up visits are important.
It's hard to be an enthusiastic teacher if your feet are sore. A little care and attention to your feet can enhance your level of comfort so that when your retirement comes, your feet will be ready to do what you want them to.
Foot Care for The Working Woman
A Baker's Dozen Self help Tips
It goes without saying that women's dress shoes are not designed with comfort in mind. Nonetheless, there are things that women can do to keep their feet more comfortable both during work and after hours. Here are some ideas that may help you:
- If you're required to wear dress shoes at work, consider shoes with cushioned soles if possible. Certainly, lowering your heel height by even an inch will make a big difference.
- If you're active in sports, do lots of stretching for your calf muscles. Leaning against a wall with one foot forward and one back is useful. This is especially important if you wear high heels at work since your calf muscle undergoes shortening and will be over-stressed once in a lower sports shoe.
- If you must wear a dress shoe, take a look at the shape of your foot and the shape of the front of the shoe. If the shoe is much narrower that your foot, then surely your toes will be pinched.
- If your toes do get pinched, particularly your little toes, consider wearing a little pad on the toe to relieve pressure. As long as they are not medicated, this should be helpful.
- Sports insoles such as "Spenco insoles" add lots of cushioning to your shoes. They're usually available in sports shops and can be trimmed to fit a dress shoe. They also can be shortened to just reach the ball of the foot so they don't make the toe box area of the shoe too tight.
- Wear good quality running shoes or walking shoes as much of the time as possible. For example, prolonged walks, shopping, or even going to and from work can be made a lot more comfortable by wearing this type of footwear rather that dress shoes.
- If you're working behind a desk and get a chance to slip your shoes off, try doing some circles with your foot and up-and-down motions with your toes. This will let the muscles relax and stretch a bit before they get back into the confining dress shoe.
- Shoes are not always the cause of women's foot problems. Often mechanical imbalances can create such problems as bunions, heel pain, arch pain and even hammertoes. The causes of your foot problems should be evaluated and corrected.
- Prescription orthotic devices are now available that can be worn in women's dress shoes. They often enhance comfort and prevent additional deforming forces from taking place, such as bunions, heel spurs, etc.
- Feet that ache at the end of the day can often be helped with proper podiatric care. In the meantime, consider using an ice pack (frozen peas works well) applied to sore areas for five minutes at a time; elevating your feet for ten or fifteen minutes at the end of the day (when possible) is helpful.
- Callouses are a frequent complaint. They are caused by faulty foot mechanics, excessive pressure under a bone, or too much friction. They can be easily treated and prevented from recurring. In the meantime, "moleskin" padding helps.
- Corns, which are concentrated areas of thick skin, usually over a bony prominence on toes, can really hurt. Protective pads help but the cause of the corn can be corrected with new techniques such as "minimal incision procedures".
If standing in the kitchen at home for long periods, try using your running shoes for that added support and cushioning.
- Many working women feel that painful feet are a fact of life. In the 1990's this need no longer be the case. With a little care and attention to your feet, you should be able to walk over 100,000 miles in your lifetime with minimal problems.
Foot Health Tips for Veterans
If you are reading this, you likely have over 125,000 miles on your feet. Some days they may feel like it, but here are some ideas to make your feet feel younger.
- You should be wearing well cushioned, soft soled shoes all the time. Even dress shoes now have these soft soles. Laced shoes are better than slip-ons.
- Elevating your feet at the end of the day or after a long walk is helpful. For added cushioning in your shoes, try SpencoR insoles. They should be the thin flat insoles that sell at sports stores or some drugstores.
- Over-the-counter arch supports won't do much for you. If you have sore feet, a prescription orthotic device designed from casts of your feet and precise measurements will give you the support and correction of your foot structure that you may need. Podiatrists do biomechanical foot examinations and can prescribe these for you.
- Corns and callouses can be painful. Don't use razor blades or other tools to get rid of them. A podiatrist can easily and painlessly treat these for you to give you immediate relief.
- If you do use corn pads, make sure they are not medicated so that you do not damage the surrounding skin and cause infections, making the problem worse.
- Consider using moisturizing cream if your feet are dry or if you are getting scaling or cracking of your feet or heels.
- Try changing your socks a couple of times during the day and even changing your shoes.
- Try some gentle stretching exercises for your feet by pointing your toes up and down, doing circles with your feet and this keeps the motion going.
Many veterans think they're "over the hill" and it is too late to do anything about foot pain. But in fact, it is never too late to get relief from pain in your feet an this can be accomplished without surgery.
Walking is great exercise, and comfortable feet can made a big difference!
Seniors' Tips for Foot Health
If you are over 65, then you have over 100,000 miles on your feet! Nonetheless, that doesn't mean it's too late for foot comfort. While you can't trade in your feet like a new set of tires, there are lots of things you can do for your feet in order to walk in comfort:
- Wear good quality running shoes or the shoes designed especially for walking. Many seniors love to wear their running shoes all day long.
- Corns and callouses can be painlessly treated by a podiatrist. Don't use over-the-counter remedies as they can damage surrounding skin. Relief of pain is often instantaneous with a visit to a podiatrist..
- Corrective procedures are being performed by podiatrists in their offices to permanently remove such problems as corns, ingrown nails, etc. The treatment is virtually painless and you can walk right away.
- Gentle exercises such as moving your feet in circles or up and down help to improve mobility and flexibility.
- Calf stretching exercises reduce tightness in the back of lower leg muscles particularly with women who are used to wearing higher heels and change to lower heeled shoes. By leaning against the wall and placing one foot forward and one foot back, bend the forward knee and you will feel the calf muscle of the opposite leg stretch. Hold for ten seconds.
- Add cushioning to your feet. Soft soled shoes help, but consider an insole such as "Spenco" which is a thin flat foam insole that will add lots of cushioning to your feet. As you get older, the fat pad under the bones at the ball of the foot tends to get displaced forward and therefore reduces the cushioning at the ball of the foot.
- Consider having your foot mechanics evaluated by a podiatrist. Structural imbalances that lead to bunions and callouses can be corrected at your age. A podiatrist can take casts of your feet and have an orthotic device fabricated to be worn comfortably in your shoes to reduce pressure to those areas that are experiencing excessive strain. A store bought "orthotic" is not prescribed to your foot but sometimes can lend a bit of help.
- Ingrown nails can be sore. The nail can penetrate the skin and act as a foreign body. Avoid chemical "cures". Again a foot specialist can painlessly clip away a segment of the nail for immediate relief and then a procedure can be performed by laser to permanently remove the offending nail border while leaving the rest of the nail intact.
- Varicose veins are common in your age group. The best thing you can do for them is to elevate your feet when you can. The next best thing is walking. The worst thing is dangling your feet, at the side of the bed, for example.
- Circulatory problems are common particularly in diabetics. Your family physician, podiatrist or vascular specialist can evaluate your circulation. Smoking is the worse thing for your circulation since it takes only one cigarette to reduce blood flow through your arteries.
- Walking programs are an excellent idea for exercise and fitness. Get clearance from your family doctor first and then once you have comfortable walking shoes or running shoes, start your program gradually and build up your distances slowly. Avoid hills at first or uneven terrain that can create an ankle sprain.
Keep walking, and by offering your feet a little extra care and attention, they should keep you going for many more miles to come!
Foot Health Tips for Hotel Employees
There is an old saying, "when your feet hurt, you hurt all over!" Service with a smile is not always easy when your feet are aching, particularly for those in the hospitality industry who are on their feet all day long.
Many people think that having sore feet is normal and that there is nothing that can be done.
There is, in fact, a lot you can do to give yourself more comfort while on your feet so that you can focus your attention on customer service and not the pain of sore feet. Here are some tips that may help you:
- Comfortable shoes will make a big difference for men and women. There are now both ladies and mens dress shoes that have cushioned soles that will reduce the jarring of the hard floors of the hotel.
- If you spend a lot of time standing on your feet, doing some occasional stretching exercises for your calf muscles may provide you with some relief. Simply putting one foot ahead of the other and bending the forward knee will stretch the opposite calf. This can be done every so often for more flexibility and comfort.
- Toes that are sore from corns, which are thickened areas of skin, can be easily and painlessly treated by a podiatrist. The acid preparations sold in drug stores often can do more harm than good and should not be used on corns or callouses.
- If you have painful callouses on the soles of your feet, they are due to a foot imbalance. The bones under these callouses are experiencing too much pressure and this can be relieved by having your foot mechanics corrected by a podiatrist.
- Sore arches or heel pain, are a common problem with hotel employees. Heel pads sold at drug stores and sporting shops may provide some cushioning, or applying adhesive tape under the arches may provide some temporary support. Usually heel and arch pain is due to a mechanical foot imbalance which can be corrected with orthotic devices prescribed by a podiatrist.
- Ingrown nails occasionally occur with hotel employees. Many people fear lost time off work or severe pain in treating these, and so go on to suffer without having the problem looked at. These can be easily treated by a podiatrist with usually little or no pain.
- Cushioned insoles sold at sporting goods stores often provide enhanced comfort for those who spend a lot of time on their feet.
- Tendonitis or strained areas of the foot, can often be relieved by applying ice, or frozen peas, for example, for 5 or 10 minutes during your off time. Stretching exercises or range of motion exercises can help this problem as well.
In the 90's, foot pain should be a "thing of the past". If sore feet are keeping you from working at 100% capacity, then it's time to have your feet checked for good foot health.
By working in a hotel, you probably will wind up walking over 120,000 miles in your lifetime on one pair of feet that you can't trade in. A little care and attention to your feet may go a long way in making you more comfortable and providing better service to your customers.
Dr. Nesbitt is the former president of the Canadian Podiatric Sports Medicine Academy and Ontario Podiatry Association. He is currently in private practice in The Madison Centre, North York.
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