Aren't feet amazing? 26 bones, some 100 muscles, tendons and ligaments and 33 joints keep each foot and ankle flexible and functional. The complicated engineering structures deserve more careful attention than they usually get but, as summer days take their toll, our feet bear the brunt of our abusive treatment.

We walk barefoot on the beach and on rough floors, and use footwear that is often unfit foot health. As feet come out of their socks and take some airing, we suddenly become very conscious of what they are made of. With the presumption that feet are meant for footing it out, we allow them to fall into disrepair and then blame them for our aches, pains and discomfort.

 

Self-inflicted damage

1. Feet need a stable, secure and firm hold to be able to do their job properly. Cramped feet are just as bad as flailing feet let loose in larger-sized footwear. Shoes should fit properly at all times, especially children's. Ill-fitting shoes lead to painful legs and backs, and cause calluses, corns and blisters, or worse, bad walking habits. Generally speaking, what you save on cheap shoes will be spent on treating the outcome.

2. Walking on rough surfaces with unprotected feet roughens the skin of our soles. Left untreated, rough skin cracks and causes pain and increases the possibility of skin infections. Slowly and gently remove rough skin by soaking your feet in warm water for ten minutes and then rubbing the rough skin off with a pumice stone. Alternatively, use a specially created topical product to remove the rough skin.

3. Treat yourself to a regular professional pedicure for some specialised pampering. This can help avoid the formation of ingrown nails and rough skin.

4. Love high heels? Wear them at your own risk. Good quality heels do exist and wearing them occasionally will not cause more than some discomfort. However, avoid plunging into flat house shoes once you get back home. This will cause you considerable pain in the base of your foot which lingers for a few hours. Instead, step off your high heels and walk around on tiptoes, gradually allowing your over-stretched feet to return to their natural posture.

5. Avoid being barefoot in hotel and gym baths or spas, and in public or unsanitary showers or on pool and boat decks. These are breeding grounds for fungal and bacterial infections like athlete's foot, verrucas and warts because fungi and bacteria thrive in warm wet environments. Wear non-slip beach ballerinas, flip-flops or swimming shoes and don't forget to take them with you on holiday.

6. Wear beach shoes whenever you are at the beach. You never know what sharp and pointed edges may lurk beneath the sand and in between those pebbles.

7. If you have developed diabetes, ask for specialised advice about appropriate footcare.

 

Expert words - Yvonne Grattan - Podiatrist

What does a podiatrist do?

A podiatrist provides preventative care, diagnosis and treatment of a wide range of problems affecting the feet, ankles and lower legs. Specialist skills focus on infections, ailments, defects and injuries of the foot and lower leg, as well as treating foot and nail conditions related to other major health disorders.

 

Who is your typical client in Malta - age, status, condition?

A podiatrist provides such a diverse service that there is no typical patient. The ages vary from babies through to people at end-stage of life. My typical days include appointments dealing with corns and calluses, verrucas, surgery for ingrown toe nails, bunions, fungal nails, bio-mechanical assessments and the provision and fitting of orthotics (prescription insoles).

 

What are the most common complaints - are they seasonal too?

Common complaints can be plantar fasciitis (heel pain), bunions, ingrown nails and corns. There are seasonal factors, for instance during January, plantar fasciitis tends to be on the increase as people start exercise regimes after Christmas without proper training and preparation. They do too much too quickly and injure themselves. In summer the cases of fungal infections increase due to the warmer temperatures and the humidity. I also get quite a few patients attending for sea urchin spine removal.

 

What should we teach children (and note for ourselves) about proper foot care throughout life?

As my parents told me "Look after your teeth and feet as you need them to last ". I find that feet are often the most neglected part of the body. People expect their feet to take them wherever they want to go and they are rarely given more than a nail cut.

Wearing good supportive shoes that are the correct fit is so simple and yet many wear the wrong size shoe and shoes that are completely inappropriate for a particular activity. We think nothing of going to the dentist every six months for our check-up. It should be the same with our feet, at the very minimum.

Having a podiatrist assess your feet is so much more than people think it is. That small investment in time of having a consultation could potentially reduce the risk of injury, slow the onset of osteo-arthritis, and reduce the need for amputation due to diabetes.

Looking after your feet, ankles and lower legs means they will look after you. Exercise has been proven time again to improve your heart, mood, joints and ultimately your health. Don't take your feet for granted.