Foot Care:
Keeping your Feet Healthy

A foot consists of about 26 bones and endures 1.5 times the bodyweight of a person when walking. In a lifetime, our little feet carry us an average of 150,000 miles. This is no small feat and our little shock absorbers deserve all the tender loving care it can get, and should be placed on a pedestal like any other masterpiece.

Sad to say, we tend to focus on grooming those parts of our bodies that are more visible to the public such as our face and hands. This should not be the case.

Feet care, should be as essential as dental hygiene. It should involve a daily regimen as well as a weekly routine. These rituals need not be expensive or time consuming. It is essential though that we have that level of awareness in order to commit to whatever grooming plan we may come up with.

Exercise
Let's start by ensuring our feet are able to handle the load we make it carry. Exercise is the key. Fitness expert Kelly Rose tells us that by sparing a few minutes every day before getting out of bed or before going to bed at night, we can ensure that our feet are fit. We have to focus on strengthening our quadriceps and by doing so we will in fact lengthen the muscle and improve blood circulation. Furthermore, focusing on this muscle area will consequentially strengthen our knee joints.

Now that we have armed our feet to cope with our daily activities, we can now focus on making sure that our feet looks and feels fabulous.

Nail and Skin Health
While in the shower, and while our skin is soft, we can use a pumice stone to scrub our soles and heels. Be careful though, as different spots require varying force. After drying off, we can trim our toenails and push back our cuticles using an orange stick. Let's top it off by massaging lotion and allow our feet to soak up all that moisture.  During the day, we can make it a habit to rub moisturizer every few hours. While we are at it, we can give our feet short massages.

Massages should start with stroking to stimulate blood vessels. We can then gradually apply pressure using our fingertips and knuckles. We can top it off by rotating our ankles slowly to the left and then to the right several times.

When we get home, we can treat our tired feet to a warm soak. All we need to do is pour warm water into a basin and add salt. Soak for 10 minutes. After drying off, we can apply moisturizer or petroleum jelly. This will make the skin in even the roughest areas of our feet soft overnight. Take note that committing to our morning and evening routines guarantee us that we will never have to experience cracked skin.

During weekends, let's indulge ourselves to a foot spa. This is also the opportune time to redo painting our toenails. If budget is tight, that's ok. We can do this at home. Let's start by removing all enamel and nail polish before soaking our feet in warm water with salt. Not only will it sooth the nerves of our feet but it will also soften and prepare our skin for some rigorous scrubbing. After scrubbing, rinse and apply moisturizer.

Let us always take the opportunity to massage our feet while moisturizing. We can then proceed by applying nail polish. Base coat first and then 2 coats of nail enamel and then a layer of top coat. Perfect! Not only are our feet relaxed and rejuvenated, they're rearing to wear those sexy sling backs and go partying!

Information is for educational and informational purposes only and is not be interpreted as financial or legal advice. This does not represent a recommendation to buy, sell, or hold any security. Please consult your financial advisor.