Enjoy the Holidays WithoutWearing Out Your Feet

By Mikel Daniels, DPM, MBA

We Treat Feet and Ankles!

. https://wetreatfeetpodiatry.com/

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Enjoy the Holidays WithoutWearing Out Your Feet

Moderation is the key to any holiday. This applies to more than what goes on your plate between Thanksgiving and New Year’s. It also applies to shopping and exercise. Your feet still need a break when the holiday calendar gets crowded.

Think about a shopping day followed by several hours cooking dinner. Add a Christmas party in shoes you rarely wear. That is a lot of extra demand on feet accustomed to a different routine. A sudden increase in activity can lead to overuse injuries even if you never set foot in a gym. So if you know it will happen, what can you do?

My advice is straightforward: enjoy yourself without trying to fit everything into one day.

Shopping Counts As Time On Your Feet

Walking through stores counts toward your activity for the day. This is important for those counting their daily steps. As a matter of fact, so does standing in the kitchen, hanging Christmas lights, and even shoveling the dreaded holiday snow. Always give yourself permission to sit down before your feet start hurting. Spread errands across several days when possible. Rome wasn’t built in a day.

Overuse can contribute to plantar fasciitis and Achilles’ tendon problems. We see stress fractures where activity increases too quickly. Pain that worsens with walking or swelling over one. You cannot reliably tell a stress fracture from a less serious problem by how tolerable the pain feels. Limping through the rest of your shopping list is not a treatment plan.

Your Holiday Shoes Still Have To Fit

A shoe does not get a pass because it matches your outfit. If your toes are crowded or your heel rubs before you leave home, change shoes. Choose footwear with room for your toes and support appropriate for the activity and wear socks that protect your skin. Shoes should fit comfortably without needing your feet to suffer through a breaking-in period (they don’t break-in, they break You!). This matters particularly when diabetes makes a small skin injury harder to recognize or heal. 

Diabetes Means Checking Even When Nothing Hurts

Peripheral neuropathy can reduce sensation. You may not feel a blister developing or notice an injury when it happens. Lack of pain does not mean your feet are fine. You should always check both feet every day, including the soles and between your toes. Look for redness or swelling. Check for blisters and open areas. Use a mirror if you cannot see the bottoms of your feet. Call your podiatrist promptly about a new wound or an unusual change in your foot. Do not wait until after Christmas to ask about it. Spreading redness or fever with a foot wound requires immediate medical attention.

Start January At a Pace
You Can Maintain

A New Year’s resolution should not mean going from little activity to long workouts overnight. Increase activity gradually and stop when pain develops. Pushing through can make an overuse injury worse. That New Year resolution can quickly fall apart if you hurt your feet doing it. Enjoy the holiday season. Always take breaks before you need them. If all of this fails, and you have foot pain or diabetic foot concerns, call your local podiatrist for an appointment.