Our most common type of patient at Sydney Foot Solutions is Nurses and Midwives. I think we all underestimate how taxing the role of these caregivers is on the lower limb and their bodies in general. I know after fifteen years of seeing the same types of conditions in Nurses and Midwives we now realise that the feet cop a battering day to day at work.
Not to mention it is vital for nurses and midwives to be proactive with their foot health otherwise they will simply be unable to continue their role in their current capacity. Unfortunately we all tend to put off treatment but nurses and midwives have such a physical job they don’t have the leeway that the rest of us have. Because they are standing so much common conditions that cause pain in the feet can become chronic very quickly and once these issue get to that stage unfortunately they become much more costly to fix and may even require surgery or pain killing injections.
So that’s why I offer these tips.
TOP TIP #1
Do Calf Stretches
Stretching your calves (the back of the bottom part of your leg) is vital to foot function and the calves can tighten the muscles at the bottom of the feet and as a result increase minor tears and pain. I’m sure patients in our clinic think all I do is talk about calves but the really are vital and cause so many knee and foot problems. They are particularly relevant when you stand for a living.
How to stretch your calves
- Find a wall and place the palms of your hands on it at around shoulder height.
- Place one foot in front of the other so that toes are pointing in the same direction and your feet are parallel to each other. The back heel should touch the ground.
- For the first stretch, bend the front knee and keep your back knee straight.
- Hold for 30 seconds.
- For the second stretch, bend the back knee of back leg.
- Hold for 30 seconds.
- Repeat on opposite leg.
How Often?
Perform 4 times daily / Hold stretch for 30 seconds
Continue for 3 weeks. If there is not a significant improvement in symptoms, book an appointment.
Top Tip 2
Tennis Ball
This exercise is great for loosening soft tissues and getting the natural lubricant back into your joints. It can help everything from plantar fasciitis to osteoarthritis. And great for nurses and midwives at the end of a day.
How to do this exercise:
- Sit on the edge of a chair with the tennis ball under your toes.
- Roll the tennis ball from your toes to your heel, applying as much pressure as you can tolerate.
- Roll the ball around in small circles on your forefoot (from your toes to under the ball of your foot).
- Now roll the ball around in small circles on your arch
(From the end of the ball of your foot to the beginning of your hell).
- Then roll the call around in small circles on your heel.
- Repeat the above process on the other foot.
Top Tip3
If you have pain get assessed!
So any pain that last longer than 3 weeks is on its way to being classed as chronic inflammation. Particularly when the area is heavily used in a work environment. So I would strongly suggest you get assessed by a podiatrist. So often I take a history and Nurse or a midwife has been in chronic pain for over 6 months, as result the problem is much harder to fix. We can usually still fix it but it costs more money and takes a lot more time all the while the poor patient is in pain.
We have successfully treated thousands of people with lower limb pain at Sydney Foot Solutions, any pain that last longer than 3 weeks should be treated ASAP. We believe this so strongly that we’re offering a 65% our initial assessment of your painful lower limb.
So, what do you have to lose apart from pain in your foot pain? Call now on 8966 9300 or contact us on [email protected]. You must mention this article at the time of booking to redeem this offer, which is limited to the first 20 bookings.
