Did you spend a wonderful couple of weeks with your family at the beach over the holidays? Long days spent walking along the beach, swimming, surfing and maybe even water-skiing or kite surfing? Happy memories now that you are back at work or school, but are you finding that your feet are suddenly a bit sore when you first get out of bed or when you stand after sitting down for a while? This could be a condition called plantar fasciitis, when the muscles of the feet have been over-worked and have become inflamed and irritated.
Walking on soft sand is hard work for feet, especially if those feet are used to being in shoes most of the time. Suddenly doing a lot of walking on a flexible surface can cause the muscles to strain and sometimes overextend at the joints. As with any muscle in the body, if it is stretched beyond it’s normal range of motion then the result is inflammation which leads to pain and discomfort if not treated.
Plantar fasciitis is one of the most common things we see at Armadale Podiatry clinic, especially around February to March. People are back from their holidays where they have been doing different activities, usually without shoes on. They then return to their normal routine and some find that the symptoms resolve over a couple of months if they are wearing good supportive shoes. If their footwear isn’t supportive enough though, the symptoms may linger and if left untreated will turn into a chronic condition of inflammation within the connective tissues of the feet.
To avoid this happening at all, make sure that when you are planning to holiday at the beach for any length of time, you spend some time doing exercises to strengthen your feet before you go. Your podiatrists Joanne or Norma can help you with this. When you are at the beach, avoid walking on the very soft sand for long periods and stay on the wetter sand which is firmer. Also wearing sandals or thongs with arch supports built in will assist in relieving tired foot muscles during the day.
If you find that your feet are still sore when you are back in your normal routine, particularly when you first stand on them after sleeping or sitting for any length of time, then call Armadale Podiatry Clinic for an appointment to assist you. There are many therapies available to us to assist you in getting back on your feet and reducing that initial weightbearing pain and stopping the plantar fasciitis. This will allow you to get back to your normal routine so you can save up for your next holiday!
