The holidays are winding down, the kids are back to school, routines are starting again and suddenly we’re all trying to remember what day of the week it is! After a summer of holidays, days out, sandals and plenty of walking, September is a good time to give your feet a little reset too.
How are your feet feeling?
Summer can be great for our feet ,more time outdoors, more walking and plenty of fresh air ,but it can also leave them feeling a little worse for wear.
Maybe you’ve been living in sandals for the last few months, walking around barefoot on holidays or spending more time on your feet than usual. Dry heels, hard skin, blisters, corns and troublesome toenails can all creep up without us really noticing.
And then there are those little niggles that we’ve been telling ourselves we’ll “sort out after the summer”…
Well, September has arrived!
Time to get back into good habits
As we swap the sandals for runners, work shoes and school shoes, it’s worth giving your feet a quick check.
Have a look at your toenails, check for any areas of hard or cracked skin and think about whether you’ve noticed any pain or discomfort over the last few months.
If you’ve been putting off dealing with something, now is a great time to get it sorted before it becomes a bigger problem.
It’s also a good time to look at your footwear. After months of open sandals and flip-flops, going straight back into a tight pair of shoes for eight hours a day isn’t always going to make your feet happy! Make sure your everyday shoes have enough room around the toes and feel comfortable from the start.
Don’t just put up with it
One of the most common things we hear in the clinic is:
“I’ve had it for ages, but I thought it would go away.”
Sometimes it does. But if you’re regularly getting heel pain, arch pain, forefoot pain, painful corns, ingrown toenails or another foot problem, it’s worth getting it checked rather than simply working around it.
A small problem now can be much easier to deal with than a painful problem that you’ve been putting up with for months.
So, while you’re getting everyone else organised for September, don’t forget about your own feet!
A little bit of attention now could make a big difference as we head into autumn.
New season. New routine. Happier feet.