Huffington Post
After last week’s article did you spend the weekend stretching, lifting, and jumping to be ready to survive a Jurassic World level disaster in style? Did you set a new 40 time in some four inch heels? Or are you dealing with the pain of de-feet? Do your feet need a few days on the couch and an aspirin, or three? Instead of naps and aspirin, we’ve got some tips on how to get over that high heel hangover.
Vetwshoes
There’s a lot of pressure to look good on the weekend and that pressure becomes literal when you’re doing it in heels. The day after don’t worry about looking chic, make sure you wear something that spreads out the weight of your feet evenly. In an ideal world this is a pair of cushioned sneakers with thick socks, like our Excell Full Cushion Socks, but flats will work too. The goal here, just like having a king size bed to yourself, is to spread it out.
North Shore Athletics
Those same exercises that make it easier for you to be extra graceful on heels can also help with fixing the pain. Just like how stretching can help prevent or treat shin splints when running, stretching after a long night on heels can help. Yoga poses like downward dog and sitting in a verasana position and range of motion exercises like writing the alphabet using just your ankle and big toe are good for helping reducing swelling and pain. If the pain is focused more on the back of the foot, closer to the Achilles, try a wall stretch to get the blood flowing there.
Mens Health
These two are a little more preventative, but when’s a better time to start preventative care than after something you swear you’ll never do again? Treat your feet well. We already know that high heels put a lot of pressure on certain parts of your feet so don’t make the problem worse by having things like poorly trimmed or outright ingrown nails. Make sure your nails are trimmed and that there aren’t any odd spots of extra pressure when you’re in your shoes. This is especially prevalent in pointy toed shoes. While you’re down there, keeping things trimmed and in line, check for any calluses you may have. Remember way, way back to two sentences ago when we talked about avoiding extra pressure spots? That applies doubly so to calluses, since they’re more likely to form in places that are already experiencing extra pressure. Make sure to moisturize your feet, especially on callused areas, and if the callus is bad enough, soak you feet in warm water for five minutes and then rub the callus with a pumice stone to remove dead skin.
Grandparents.com
Speaking of soaking feet. Soak your feet. Softening the skin up is helpful in the prevention of those pesky calluses we were just talking about. The warm water will open up your blood vessels and help get all the oxygen and nutrients where they need to be faster. Adding epsom salts or other mineral baths is extra helpful for this. Certain minerals, like magnesium for instance, can help speed up the healing process since magnesium is a regulator in over 300 different enzymatic processes in your body.
Pronails.com
Consider getting a massage. If you spend a lot of time in heels and your feet constantly hurt you may have strained a muscle in your foot or even have a muscular imbalance which causes the way you walk to create more strain on your feet. A deep massage can help with the muscle strain fairly quickly and be the beginning of the process of fixing an imbalance.
Orthoinfo.aaos.org
If it’s really bad the next day, treat it like any other foot injury and RICE it. By this we mean Rest, Ice, Compression, and Elevation. So spend a day in bed or on the couch with pillows under your feet to keep them up above your heart. Try wearing a pair of compression socks while alternating 20 minutes on, 20 minutes off with an ice pack to keep the swelling down. Make sure to stay hydrated and consider ibuprofen if the pain is a bit too much to just deal with.