Forget those aching feet — try these remedies for fast relief.
Aching feet will be the death of me. I can deal with a full day of standing (and yeah, standing can help burn extra calories but also wreak havoc on your muscles) everywhere else on my body besides my feet. Relieving the pressure on your feet can take some time. If you’ve been standing for a good eight hours straight, it stands to reason that your feet won’t be in fighting shape with a two minute foot rub. The following tips do involve a lot of stretching, which although feels incredible on your feet, needs to be done with care. If a stretch is outside your range of ability, just head along to the next one.
First things first, take off the damn heels. I love a good pair of shoes, but if you have aching feet, they aren’t helping anything. Pop them off when you get home and put on your favorite pair of slippers. Then you can get started on some stretches for your calves, ankles, feet, and toes.
It doesn’t matter if you do heels or flats during the day, it can feel nice to get a little bend back in your toes. Start off by standing on your tippy toes for 15 seconds. If you want to get some ankle action in, go from standing with your feet flat to tip toes a few times.
Next bend your toes under. One foot at a time place the tops of your toes on the floor and lightly press down. For this stretch it’s super important that you listen to your body and don’t push down too hard. If your toes don’t want to stretch this way, no big deal.
This flexed foot stretch feels incredible at the end of a long day on your feet. While sitting, keep one leg straight out in front of you, the other bent inwards. Use a towel to loop around your foot in a flexed position and lightly pull backwards. When you feel that tension start to release, switch to the other foot. This one is also excellent for stretching your calves.
When you’re done flexing, point your toes for 10-15 seconds to get the full range of the stretch.
For toes that have been cramped in pointy shoes, give a little bit of life back by lacing your toes with your fingers.
This creates space between your toes similar to those toe pedicure spacers. Stretching your toes the opposite way to how they’ve been cramped all day can help significantly with aching feet.
Putting your feet up is one of the best ways to release the pressure and pain in your feet. If your feet are really aching it can help to ice or heat your feet while you’re resting. The rule of thumb is ice for fresh injuries (add in the elevation and you’re bringing down inflammation) and heat to soothe old injuries. Sit with your feet up for a good half an hour and have a glass of wine to make your whole day of stress will melt away.
Keep your feet feeling limber on a daily basis with a little massage using lotion. Because who’s feet can’t do with a little bit of softening up? Massage your feet by smoothing the lotion over the muscles in your feet to relieve tension. The lotion works to help add slip and to hydrate your feet. Finish by popping on some socks and letting that lotion soak in.
Finally, take a look at your shoes. It’s not just what you’re doing in your shoes, but the shoes too can contribute to achy feet at the end of the day. Shoes with good support may not be your stylish go-to. When this is the case you can opt for adding shoe inserts that can make your favorite shoes more comfortable. If you can get away with sneakers during the day, opt for shoes that have comfortable bottoms and arch support over flat shoes like Converse.
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