"When your feet hurt everything hurts"... OUCH !

Standing on hard floor surfaces such as concrete in work environments such as studios, sound stages, salons, sales positions at department stores, bank tellers, cocktail waitress , models, dancers and walking trade shows can take a terrible toll on you physically. The shoes that you wear performing these activities do not usually provide the proper support for your feet. They are not cushioned or supportive enough to absorb the force that the ground creates. Floor surfaces usually do not have a lot of padding and can cause your body to experience fatigue, low back pain, tired & sore muscles, tendonitis and foot pain.

Often times these problems can be easily resolved by supporting the arches of your feet. With a supportive arch support in your shoes many of those symptoms will disappear. Dr. Rosenberg's Instant Arches is one of the supportive arch support products available to help solve those problems www.instantarches.com and to cool off those hot tired feet after a long day of standing at work, Dr. Rosenberg's Cool Soles is another helpful product www.coolsoles.com Placing a soft insole in your shoes is another way to help cushion your feet.
"So be kind to your feet and your feet will be kind to you"!

Orthotics... to get or not to get....that is the question !

Orthotics are hand casted molded devices made of high-impact plastics or graphite materials. They are designed to gently correct the position of the bones of your feet and hold them in proper alignment. They will fit in most flat shoes and can also be made for fashion shoes. They can slow down the development of Bunion deformities, relieve plantar fasciitis and heel spur pain as well as reduce knee, hip and back pain. Many foot injuries are the result of poor foot mechanics where you have exceeded your own physical limitations. This can cause muscle fatigue or break down causing tired and painful feet. Orthotics reinforce the proper alignment of bones and muscles so that those painful problems will not occur.

Orthotics will improve postural and spinal alignment. They will also allow your foot to adapt to different types of walking, running and hiking surfaces by providing better shock absorption for the bones and joints of your feet.

The answer to the question is to get them, if you want to feel more balanced reduce the risk of foot injuries and improve your over all walking and exercising comfort.

If the shoe fits......wear it !

Some foot problems can occur because you love the shoe but it is not your size, your really are a size 8 and you want to wear a size 7 or it is just a "Hot Looking Shoe, you have to have it and you are only wearing to the restaurant and kicking it off once you get there". By trying to stuff your foot in a shoe that dose not fit properly can cause all sorts of foot problems. It can aggravate an already existing foot problem that usually dose not bother you, such as a bunion or hammer toe. It can also cause a soft tissue injury such as a tendonitis, bursitis or myositis. This is an inflammation of a tendon , bursa or muscle in the foot.

If the shoe is too narrow you can develop a neuroma which occurs by irritating and pinching the nerves in the front part of your foot or aggravate one that you already have but does not hurt. If you have bunion deformities a narrow shoe can trigger pain in that specific area. If your shoe is to big for your foot it can cause toe problems in the tip of the shoe and your foot will slide forward causing friction problems on the ball of your foot, top of your toes and the back of your heels. If you have one foot bigger than the other, fit the larger of the two feet and place an insole pad, arch pad or tongue pad in the shoe that fits the smaller foot This will take up some of the extra room and make the shoe fit better.

"So be kind to your feet and they will be kind to you"!

Pain after exercise, Can I wish it to get better?

Anyone who is active and exercises is susceptible to after exercise pain "OUCH"! This could be as simply as taking a very long walk, jogging, running, playing golf, tennis, hiking or an aerobic class. The pain is sometimes sharp and localized or it also can be all over. There could be swelling, redness and heat found in the injured area. What you do not want to do is "WISH", "HOPE" or "PRAY" for the pain to go away. Wishing only lasts the first 24 - 36 hours, if the pain dose not begin to subside then it is time to seek medical attention. Tips for pain relief,,,To reduce the pain, swelling and inflammation in an injured area; your foot ( plantar fasciatiis, tendinitis, arch pain heel pain)...REST it, then apply ICE which is the first line of defense. When an injury occurs, it causes an inflammatory response in the body which creates heat, swelling and pain. Ice will vasoconstrict the superficial blood vessels in your body, causing blood vessels to narrow at the injury site. This helps calm those acute and chronic foot and leg injuries down and speeds up the recovery of the injured tissue. Apply ice in 20 minute intervals 20 on 20 off. COMPRESSION is another part of the recovery program, by wrapping the injured area using a compression bandage it will help reduce the pain and swelling component of the injury. Finally, ELEVATE the injured area . Elevation can also help eliminate swelling. So, kick your feet up and relax and help your wishing come true!