Lower Limb Care Program

Know Your Joints

WELCOME TO OUR LOWER LIMB CARE PROGRAM. THESE SIMPLE MOTIONS, STRETCHES, AND EXERCISES GO A LONG WAY PROTECTING YOUR LOWER LIMB WHILE HELPING YOU PERFORM DAILY ACTIVITIES WITH VIGOR.

KEY POINT:

Many issues in the knee, hips, and lower back have their origin in the lower limb.

Lower Limb Care 101

Your calf, ankle, and feet are often overlooked when it come to your health and training programming, but if you neglect them it can lead to a host of physical problems. Much come from not being able to move due to discomfort.

One study suggests that 80% of Americans experience foot issues. This is an issue because when you can not move it affects you not just physically it can affect you socially and mentally as well.

Everyday foot care is also very important to prevent infection and other foot ailments. Research has shown that the overall health of the body is affected when the feet are not taken care of. For example, joint stiffness could mean arthritis. Tingling or numbness could be a sign of diabetes. Swelling might indicate kidney disease, heart disease, or high blood pressure (see link).

Calf strains and Achilles tendonosis has been suggested to be due to a lack of strength, endurance, and flexibility. Like your foot this area should be attended to as well. I have seen many issues develop in the ankles, knees, hips, and low back because of calf and foot posture, tightness, lack of strength, inadequate movement control, and overuse of the lower leg. This page will hopefully help you prevent these issues from happening.  

Tips

• Wash: Wash your feet, really clean them

• Shoes: Wear the right shoes. Do not wear tight or loose shoes. Do not share shoes. Dry your shoes or use powder/spray to get rid of bacteria/fungi. Some suggest to alternate your shoes if you can not dry them or spray them with anti bacteria/fungi solution

• Socks: Wear clean socks

• Trim: Trim your toenails straight across

• Nails: Treat discolored nails. Do not do treat your own in-grown nail

• Elevate: Elevate your feet at the end of a day

• Stretch: Stretch your calf and bottom of your feet through one of our foot and calf stretches daily

• Exercises: Try some simple strengthening exercises of the foot and ankle daily  (see exercises below)

• Massage: Give yourself a foot and calf massage with a ball under your feet and foam roller under your calf (see exercises below)

• Lotion: As you get older it might be a good idea to use a lotion on your feet because as you get older, your sweat and oil glands decrease.

• Calluses: Address any calluses. Do not let a small issue get bigger

• Shoe Cushions: Some suggest if you have knee arthritis to wear a cushion. I suggest that it is a good idea for most people especially if you stand a lot.

• Flip Flops: Shoes with little or no support, such as flip-flops and sandals, are suggested to be avoided, which do not maintain support in the arch of the foot. It might be a good idea to wear them around swimming pools and locker rooms. Some though suggest that walking in the barefoot strengthens the arches.

• Barefoot walking: Walking barefoot as well as running outdoors is something that I would not suggest. There are too many potential dangers.That being said there are benefits of going barefoot at times. It might be a good idea to walk barefoot in your home to help strengthen the bottom of your feet, but that is a far as I can suggest. Please see this article at Healthline.

• Check feet: Lastly check your feet and the flexibility of your calves regularly. Maybe it would be a good idea to do that when you are cleaning them daily.

• Buying tip: Buy your shoes later in the day because your feet widen.

• Buying tip: If you over pronate or over supinate make sure you have the right shoes, especially if you walk or run. Pronation and supination is something you can get a rough estimate from by doing the Wet Test (see self-tests).