3 New Year's Resolutions for Healthier Feet

It’s tough to overstate the importance of healthy feet. Day in and day out, you rely on them to literally make your way through the world.

It’s also hard to exaggerate the number of people whose feet are in danger thanks to preexisting health conditions like diabetes and peripheral artery disease (PAD), which affect more than 38 million Americans and 12 million Americans respectively.

That danger comes in the form of tough-to-heal foot, ankle, and leg wounds, which is exactly what double board-certified wound specialist Dr. Thomas Rambacher and the team at Foot Ankle Leg Wound Care Orange County specialize in.

As experts in chronic lower limb wounds and diabetic foot ulcers, we’re well versed in some critical dos and don’ts when it comes to protecting your feet. So, as we enter a new year, we urge you to follow these three strategies for healthy feet, this year and beyond.

1. Only if the show fits, wear it

The reason why people with diabetes and PAD are in the line of fire for problematic foot ulcers is due to poor circulation to the lower extremities. Without good circulation, oxygen and other critical resources can’t get to the wound for healing, which leaves it wide open to infection.

So, your first mission is to avoid a foot wound in the first place, which means protecting your feet at all times with the right shoes.

To start, people with circulatory issues in their lower limbs should never go barefoot, and this rule applies around the house, as well. You never know what you might step on, so please make sure that you’re always wearing shoes.

And not just any old pair of shoes. Ill-fitting shoes can do just as much damage as going barefoot if there's friction between your foot and the shoe. So, please confine your footwear to shoes that fit snugly, but that also allow your toes to spread out evenly. 

2. Improve your circulation through exercise

Since we’re talking about New Year’s resolutions, let’s join a big one in the new year: exercising more.

People with diabetes, PAD, and any other condition that compromises the circulation into the lower legs can very much benefit from a good exercise regimen that can get the blood flowing.

Not only can introducing more exercise into your day help with blood flow, it can also lower your blood sugar levels and alleviate other side effects of these health issues, such as leg pain and peripheral neuropathy.

So, to avoid leg wounds and to improve your health on almost every level, get moving in the new year. You can start small with a daily, 30-minute walk and build from there.

3. Get checked regularly

We don’t want to use scare tactics, but they’re necessary from time to time. The reality is that up to one-third of people with diabetes will develop an ulcer, about half of these ulcers will become infected and, of these, 20% will result in amputation. And the same scenario can play out with PAD.

Given the seriousness of the threat, it’s critical that you have an experienced and knowledgeable foot health team in your corner, such as the one we have here. 

We know exactly what to look out for and how to best protect you against foot, ankle, and leg wounds. Not to mention, we also know what to do should a wound develop.

So, in the new year and beyond, it’s critical that you keep up with your regular foot health appointments, and we want you to come see us at even the smallest signs of trouble. Even a blister or ingrown toenail can pose problems for some people.

With a little effort on your end and some expert oversight on ours, we feel confident that we can help you stay one step ahead of problematic foot wounds. To learn more, please call our office in Mission Viejo, California, at 949-832-6018 or request an appointment online today.