For a long, long time in the West, the feet were the most neglected parts of our body. Civilization and weather conspired to wrap them in leather or fur, clad in plastic or rubber. Out of sight and out of mind, it was not until the second half of the 20th century that the feet were rescued by fashion and cosmetics and stepped out of their shell, earning the attention they deserve.

Eastern cultures treated the feet as objects of health and beauty. Chinese acupuncture doctors over four thousand years ago treated bodily ailments through nerve endings on the soles and feet. Ancient Vedic writings from India and Egyptian papyrus scrolls contain foot massage techniques to heal various bodily ailments. The West was kept in the dark until the late 17th and early 18th centuries, when European missionaries brought these Eastern secrets and applied them to patient care and rejuvenation.

So it is rather recent that we have finally recognized the value of foot care, turning it into a science that is growing in sophistication and interest. As the rising numbers of podiatrists – foot doctors – and foot massage parlors all over America can attest, the value of foot care in total human wellness and health is quickly gaining appreciation.

When your feet hurt

Pain is a sure sign that you are neglecting your feet. There are many causes of pain, but the most common is that your shoes don’t fit. They are either too tight or too big. Two common mistaken attitudes at the time of purchase cause this.

One common mistake is to buy tight shoes, thinking that the shoe will expand with use until it fits perfectly. It doesn’t. The other is to buy larger shoes because the shoe will shrink until it fits. It won’t.

If the shoes are not comfortable, they don’t fit. Just remember that when you buy new shoes, they should be comfortable the moment you try them on. There is no such thing as a break-in period. Is there any wisdom to the suggestion about what time of the day to buy shoes and to make adjustments – either tighter or looser shoes – at the time you buy them? Yes, a bit, but the amount of expansion won’t matter much, since our feet don’t increase greatly in size during the day, unless you have a sickness that makes your feet swollen, or you do a lot of walking, but you should still buy shoes that feel comfortable the moment you try them on.

Poorly fitting shoes can really kill you. Remember, your feet support your body structure, and when your feet are in pain, you walk, stand, and even sit differently. These affect your back and neck, making you feel pain all over that you can relieve for good once you throw away those shoes.

Some Common Foot Pains

Some of the common painful maladies of the feet are heel pain, numbness in the ball of the foot, and Achilles tendonitis.

Heel Pain (Plantar Fasciitis)

Two million Americans suffer from heel pain, commonly caused by plantar fasciitis, which is brought about by too much walking, absence of support for the arch of the feet, an injury, or spending too much time standing up. Pain is normally felt when taking the first step in the morning or when getting up after being seated for long periods. Heel pain can be treated with pain relievers, ice (apply to the heel 15 to 20 minutes before going to bed), stretching, physical therapy, night splints, and orthotics (custom shoe inserts or properly-designed footpads). If all these fail, doctors inject the heel with cortisone or correct the problem with surgery. Shockwave therapy is also an option.

Numbness (Neuroma)

Pain and numbness in the ball of the foot is often caused by the enlargement of a nerve that runs between the ends of the long bones, called metatarsals, of the foot. Also known as a neuroma or tumor of the nerve, it is usually benign. Symptoms are a sharp pain in the ball of the foot, numbness, and a burning sensation especially after standing or walking in tight shoes, high-heeled shoes or dress shoes. This is treated with footpads, physical therapy, ultrasound, cortisone injections, or surgery.

Achilles tendonitis

Achilles tendonitis is often caused in women by high-heeled shoes and happens when the tendon connecting the calf muscle to the back of the heel bone is inflamed. Men develop this when the same tendon is overstretched through any form of stressful physical activity like running or bending. In both cases, the pain can be treated with therapy or surgery.

Foot deformities and growths

Even if you wear comfortable shoes, your feet can develop pain-causing deformities and growths. Examples are bunions, hammertoes, calluses, corns, warts, cracked heels, and deformed toes.

Bunions

Bunions are the painful enlargement or misalignment of the bone at the base of the big toe, usually caused by poorly fitting shoes. Some bunions are hereditary and lead to arthritis of the joint if left untreated, progressively getting worse. It also prevents women from wearing stylish shoes because bunions make the feet look ugly. Bunions can be shaved off with cosmetic foot surgery. Modern procedures are fast and effective and recovery time is faster. It used to take months after surgery before the patient can return to work. Now, the recovery period is down to a few weeks.

Hammertoes

Hammertoes happen when the joints of the toe become contracted and the toe begins to curl inwards. The deformity can be either flexible or rigid depending on the behavior of the muscles attached to the toes. This can become worse if left untreated with cosmetic surgery. Toes are straightened and the foot is narrowed to allow normal, fashionable shoes to be worn.

Hammertoes and bunions may also be caused by arthritis, so consult your podiatrist and medical doctor to find out which treatment is best.

Calluses and Corns

Calluses are hard thick dead skin found at the bottom of the foot, heel or ball of the foot. This is usually caused by excessive pressure and friction between the shoe and the skin.

Corns are also hard thick dead skin, usually found on top of the foot, covering areas of protruding bone, hammertoes or contracted digits. They can also be found in between the toes where there is excessive bony prominence on the side of the toe. This is caused by irritation from poorly fitting shoes.

Calluses and corns are your body’s way of telling you that your shoes do not fit properly, or your bones are getting deformed. They are the body’s way of protecting the prominent bony areas under the skin. The best solution is to have your foot bones checked for deformities and to change your shoes to a pair that fits well.

Generally, it is not a good idea to use a sharp instrument like a callus shaver to remove these growths as you might hurt yourself – unless you ask a professional to do this service for you. Using a pumice stone is safer. For best results, remove calluses when the skin is soft and supple, like after a bath or shower or after soaking your feet in a foot spa.

Warts

A wart is an area of thick, dead skin usually found at the bottom of the foot or between the toes. It is often confused with a callus. Warts are caused by the human papilloma virus (HPV) and differ from a corn or callus in that the skin lines disappear in warts while in calluses or corns, the skin lines can be seen. It can be painful when the wart appears at the bottom of the foot. There are many treatments available. Consult a doctor for what is best for you. Examples are salicylic acid application, creams, or freezing the wart with nitrogen and peeling it off.

Cracked heels

Heels crack due to dryness and irritation. There are many things you can do to help reduce cracked heels, such as using moisturizers and creams on your heels and using backless shoes. For severely cracked heels, there are prescription creams with acids in them that will help eat away the dead skin. A good trick is to apply a heavy cream such as Vaseline on the heels and to wear socks over the cream while you sleep. You will see a great improvement after a few days.

Deformed pinky toe

Sometimes, your shortest toe, called the pinky toe, acquires a strange shape. Its sides are flat, it does not look like a normal toe, and the toenail is very tiny. You can have your pinky toe surgically reshaped through cosmetic surgery. A lot of women who want to wear open-toed shoes or sandals do it. Toes can be reshaped, but not much can be done for the toenails. Recovery is fast. You can wear a sneaker after three to four weeks and use your normal shoes on the sixth week after a toe-reshaping procedure. You can also have your toes shortened or even lengthened to make them really look beautiful and perfect.

Toenail Problems

The two most common toenail problems are fungus and poor toenail trimming technique.

Fungus (onychomycosis)

Fungus causes onychomycosis, the thickening and discoloring of the toenails due to an infection of the nail plate by the same fungus that causes athlete’s foot. If your feet perspire a lot, you are prone to fungus infections. The nail turns yellow or brown, produces a rancid odor, and begins to crack, flake and peel from the underlying skin. Sometimes, the entire nail comes right off. Possible treatments are the application of ointments – not really effective, with only a 30 to 40 percent cure rate, and cumbersome to use – and oral medication. Applying antiperspirant on your feet keeps them dry. A more costly treatment is having your feet injected with Botox to freeze the sweat glands. Try to avoid wearing the same pair of shoes everyday. Air them to keep them dry, especially during the winter months. Fungus thrives in moist, warm conditions. Foot perspiration becomes smelly only because of bacteria and fungus, so keep them out by spraying your shoes with disinfectant, or saturate a tissue with rubbing alcohol and insert them into your shoes overnight. If you don’t get rid of the smell, try using scented insoles.

Ingrown toenail

Ingrown toenails are another problem. This happens when the nail curves into the surrounding skin and causes pain and infection. Anyone, young or old, man or woman, can get it. The main causes are improper trimming of the nail, use of tight-fitting shoes, or nail injuries. See a podiatrist as soon as you suspect that you have an ingrown toenail. When left untreated, the infection can spread to the bone below the nail, making treatment more difficult, in which case the whole nail should be removed.

Some people, after having the ingrown toenail removed, find it coming back. If you have such a chronic case, you can consider having a permanent nail procedure performed so that the edge of the nail never grows back. Any podiatrist can do this for you. The best solution is to clip your toenails straight across and not dig into the corners to prevent them from growing inwards. Also, avoid wearing excessively pointed shoes as the pressure causes an ingrown toenail.

Avoid Walking Barefoot

One of the joys of walking on the beach is going barefoot. Podiatrists, however, advise against it, especially if you are diabetic or have any foot problems. Walking barefoot, even inside your own home or backyard, exposes you to the risk of stepping on broken glass or rusty nails that can wound your feet, or make you prone to infections from viruses that cause warts on your soles. If you want to let your feet breathe, wear sandals or a pair of flip-flops. If you must walk barefoot on the beach, take precautions.

Foot Care Benefits

You can avoid unwanted bodily pains and illnesses by taking care of your feet. Dedicating some hours a week to foot care should be a part of your health and beauty ritual, an advice that applies not only to women but to metrosexuals who have a regimen for looking good and feeling good.

Learn to do foot massage, on yourself or on your partner. This is one skill you will appreciate forever. Coupled with advances in podiatric medicine like foot makeovers, foot facelifts, and toe tucks, basic foot care will make your feet healthy and beautiful, helping you feel good and relaxed the whole day.

Pamper your feet and you can go far.