Many types of arthritis may affect the joints of the feet. It may cause pain, inflammation, make walking or standing difficult, and may make it difficult to find comfortable footwear. You may be wondering how having arthritis in your feet will affect you. Learning about your condition and ways you can manage it is an important step to taking control.
Practical tips that could help include:
- Keeping things in easy reach
- Using a hand rail to help you get up and down the stairs
- Using long-handled tools to pick things up or to clean
- Fitting levers to taps to make them easier to turn
- Using electric kitchen equipment, such as tin openers, when preparing food
If you have arthritis, there are a number of things you can do to manage your symptoms and improve your quality of life.
For example, you can:
- Seek advice of a Podiatrist who can assist you with advice about footwear and can assist you with orthoses to go inside your shoes to reduce joint pain.
- Ask your Podiatrist for specific exercises you can do to keep the joints in your feet and ankles moving and strong.
- Control your weight to ease pressure on your joints
- Avoid stress or injury to your joints to prevent or reduce the severity of osteoarthritis
- Ensure good posture to strengthen healthy joint structure
- Use Podiatry Care and a walking stick or cane to help prevent your condition getting worse
- Ensure that you regularly undertake weight-bearing exercise, such as walking, to help prevent osteoarthritis. This type of exercise will increase the strength of the muscles that support your joints.
- Eat Calcium-rich foods (including dairy products, nuts, seeds and fish) and foods rich in omega-3 which all contribute to a healthy, balanced diet and will help manage your arthritis. They will also reduce your risk of developing health complications such as heart disease, osteoporosis (weak and brittle bones) and obesity.