One of the most important things about succeeding with any fitness regime is doing what you can to avoid hurting yourself. However, it can and does happen. If you go running, walking, or take part in any exercise that uses your feet, there’s a good chance that you could injure them. A foot injury can feel particularly frustrating and painful to deal with, so here are a few tips to help you recover from it all the better.
When should you go to a doctor?
It’s a good idea to go to the doctor for any foot injury, but when should you go? Arrange an appointment if the pain is worsening, if there’s swelling or if there is any tingling or numbness. You might need urgent care if there’s an open wound, if there are signs of infection, such as pus, if you’re entirely unable to put your weight on the foot or if you feel lightheaded or dizzy at all. If you don’t feel these or any other symptoms that are worrying, then home care might help.
Some RICE might help
The RICE acronym always applies in the case of a foot injury. This means Resting your foot and avoiding using it as best as you can, using Ice (frozen veg works too) around the area but don’t touch it directly, applying Compression such as an elastic bandage to support it and prevent swelling, and Elevating the foot to further reduce swelling. Beyond that, you might want to make use of an Epsom salt soak after a couple of days which can help to the ease the healing of muscles and connective tissues in the foot.
Get the therapy you need
Aside from taking care of the immediate injury, you want to make sure that it’s healing as best as possible and that you’re able to start working with it again in the future. To that end, you should get in contact with those who can provide sports therapy for foot injuries. Manual therapy and managed working routines can help you restore activity and motion to the foot sooner than you’re likely to if you were trying to recover yourself. Of course, recovery time and treatment effectiveness will depend on the condition of the foot and severity of the injury, too.
Returning to exercise
You might be eager to start working out again and to regain any progress you lost as a result of the injury but trying to get back to your exercise routine too quickly can exacerbate the problem, instead. Make sure that you wear a protective shoe or even a walking boot with the injured foot and begin exercising lighting. If there’s any sharp pain, even a little, you should stop and ice the foot. You may need more time to recover before you start working at it again.
If your foot isn’t getting any better, then you should make sure that your doctor is a part of the conversation. There are treatments and therapy types well beyond those mentioned here.
