How can diabetes affect your feet?

Diabetes can cause a limited blood flow to the feet, sometimes this can result in weakness of the feet and makes sores difficult to heal. Symptoms of low blood flow can be numbness and pain, as well as dry skin and cold feet. Sometimes tingling may occur, and this may be a symptom of diabetic neuropathy, a type of nerve damage caused by a consistently high level of glucose in the bloodstream. Diabetic neuropathy is a serious medical condition so consistent numbness or tingling in the limbs should be taken seriously and advised by a medical practitioner.

If you have diabetes, to properly care for your feet you should:

• Have your diabetes reviewer refer you to a podiatrist if you experience numbness, tingling, cold feet, or foot pain.
• Keep feet clean and moisturized to avoid cracked skin and sores or wounds that could be difficult to heal.
• Wear comfortable shoes that don’t cause friction sores, calluses, or ulcers.
• Don’t walk on surfaces that may graze or wound the skin of the feet.
• See a podiatrist for other foot health issues that can escalate such as ingrown toenails, corns, or hard skin.

How to keep feet clean and minimize the chances of infected sores.

Foot baths not only help keep the feet clean and skin moisturised but can also help in inflammation reduction and an increase in blood flow to the feet. Diabetics can benefit from regular foot baths if dealing with the symptoms of diabetes. For the added benefit of its antifungal properties, 2-4 drops of tea tree oil can be added to a foot a bath to help keep feet and nails bacteria-free. If dry skin on the feet is an issue, Epsom salt or coarse sea salt can be added for an exfoliating effect. Always moisturise feet after a foot soak to protect the moisture barrier of the skin.

How to keep feet moisturised to avoid cracked skin.

Avoiding cracked skin is important for diabetic feet because cracked skin can lead to infections and sores that are hard to heal. Cracked skin is more common in feet that lack blood flow. By keeping feet moisturised you can reduce the chance of dry and cracked skin. To remove dry skin, consider using a pumice stone during a foot soak, then moisturise. Use a moisturiser that is thick and made for feet or hands as a facial or body lotion will be less moisturising because it is designed not to clog facial pores. Look for moisturisers with added moisturising properties such as Hyaluronic Acid that helps the skin to hold onto its moisture.

A foot massage with a moisturiser also helps to increase blood flow and to absorb the moisturiser into the feet. With a generous amount of moisturiser, apply all over and use the thumbs in upwards and outwards T-motions across the length of the foot to soothe muscles and stimulate blood flow to the area.

How to keep feet warm and dry.

Because of the chances of decreased blood flow in diabetic feet, the feet may become cold, sometimes going tingly or numb. Cold feet can cause discomfort, muscle cramps, and dry skin. To keep feet warm, wear insulating socks such as specialized thermal socks or thick wool socks, and wear slippers when walking on cold surfaces. Additionally, keeping feet dry can be beneficial for heat retention and to decrease the chances of sores from tender skin. Wearing boots or shoes that are designed with leather or suede over non-waterproof materials such as canvas can be beneficial if in a wet climate.

Footwear for diabetics.

Diabetic shoes should be well fitted, not too small or too large, to reduce the chances of corns, calluses, or blisters forming from friction and pressure. Signs of an ill-fitted shoe include redness, tenderness, and pain. Diabetic feet can sometimes be prone to swelling or inflammation, so a wide fit that does not constrict the feet may be a good option. Cushioning with an insole is also good for diabetic feet to help in pressure distribution to stop calluses from dry skin. Shoes such as flip-flops, backless shoes, and high heels are not advised as they can cause uneven weight and pressure distribution.

Here at Uufey shoes, we offer a range of wide-fit shoes and boots, with added cushioning from our orthotic inserts, that are ideal for sensitive feet. Our full leather, suede, and leather-lined shoes are a perfect choice of footwear to keep feet warm and dry, and thick rubber soles add height and stability without damaging high heels. Uufey shoes are designed with a wide fit and deep heel cups, giving sensitive feet stability, cushioning, and support.

According to the NHS  ‘A brisk 10-minute daily walk has lots of health benefits and counts towards your recommended 150 minutes of weekly exercise’, therefore any walking is beneficial, if you don’t have the time in your day to fit in a full 30/60-minute walk, doing a quick and easy 10 minutes is still effective and very achievable.

Walking to improve our physical health

There are many reasons why walking daily is massively beneficial to our day–to–day life starting with weight loss, it’s proven walking 30 minutes a day helps reduce body fat, although walking may not be the most strenuous form of exercise, it is an effective way to get in shape and burn fat. While you cannot spot- reduce fat, walking can help reduce overall body fat (including belly fat), which, despite being the most dangerous type of fat, is also the easiest to lose!

As well as this walking 30 minutes daily can also help towards increasing cardio cardiovascular fitness, if you go at a brisk pace at least 3 miles per hour. This can also help strengthen our bones, walking at least three to five miles a week can help build your bone health.

Walking to improve our mental health

A daily exercise can help wonders with your mental health such as anxiety and depression, walking thirty minutes can help keep your anxiety at bay, just as chronic anxiety and stress release excess hormones that wreak havoc on your physical and mental well-being, exercise and walking, specifically release feel-good endorphins that serve as natural painkillers.

Not only this walking daily is great to help your, self–perception and self–esteem, as after exercise you, mainly tend to feel a lot more focused, alert and feel like you’re able to complete the tasks of your day more efficiently. A study found that walking was positively associated with better and improved sleep. The individuals who averaged the most steps during the month-long- study and who spent the most minutes being active reported significantly better sleep, on average than those who walked the least.

3 quick tips to prepare you for walking daily

1. Make sure you have the correct footwear as this will help towards the ultimate comfort whilst getting, your daily steps in which will make you enjoy your daily walks a lot more, as you’re not going to feel good walking in uncomfortable shoes and could result in serious foot conditions such as Plantar Fasciitis.
2. Be sure to warm up, starting out with a slow-paced walk then building up into a brisk walk won’t feel as hard when first starting to walk daily!
3. Make a playlist of all your favorite songs, this will help you enjoy your walk that little bit extra and get you in a good mood! Not only does music pump up our mood it is also proven to help improve our workout speed (quicker calorie burn). This is because we synch our stride with the music’s tempo or BPM (beats per minute). The faster the BPM the quicker you will go, which will then lead to more calories burned! To improve, as well as this, make sure you’re using the correct technique, walk at a steady pace, swing your arms freely and stand as straight as you can.

Podiatrists are healthcare professionals who have been trained to diagnose and treat abnormal conditions of the feet and lower limbs, as well as this they also correct and prevent deformity, keep people active, mobile treat infections, and relieve pain. Not only this a podiatrist will give you and your family advice on how to look after your feet and what type of shoes to wear.

How can a podiatrist help you?

Podiatrists are medical specialists who have been trained to assess, diagnose, and treat conditions related to our feet, ankle, lower limbs, and their associated structures. Injury, overuse, or conditions causing inflammation involving any of the bones, ligaments, or tendons in the foot, can cause foot pain.

So, if you’re struggling with sore feet and don’t know why you can book in with a podiatrist, and they can give you advice and even medical help with the issue and tell you what the condition is, etc.

If you’re an individual who has recently noticed pain on your toenail or you’re noticing the skin next to the toenail becoming tender or swollen this could indicate an ingrown toenail, a podiatrist can also help with this by removing the ingrown toenail and may prescribe something to also help!

Ingrown toenails and sore feet aren’t the only conditions podiatrists help with those are just a few examples, if you’re having trouble with any sort of foot conditions like the ones listed above that is what a podiatrist can help with.

What foot conditions do podiatrists treat?

• Toenail problems such as thickened toenails, fungal nail infections, or ingrown toenails
• Corns and Calluses
• Verruca’s
• Athlete’s foot
• Smelly feet
• Dry and cracked feet
• Flat Feet
• Bunions
• Heel pain
• Blisters
• Gout
• Sport Injuries

How to know if you need to see a podiatrist

You may want to see a podiatrist for advice and treatment if you have painful feet, thickened or discoloured toenails, cracks or cuts in the skin, growths such as warts and verruca’s, scaling or peeling on the soles, or any other foot-related problem.

How can Uufey Shoes help with any of these issues?

Uufey Shoes provide footwear with amazing support and comfort although anyone can benefit from wearing Uufey Shoes products, individuals with foot conditions such as Plantar Fasciitis, Flat Feet, Sensitive Feet, Diabetes, etc will benefit the most from our products.

Uufey shoes are designed with comfort as its number one priority as who wants to wear uncomfortable shoes? With built-in orthotic features. Uufey’s footwear range includes many features such as removable inserts, EVA midsole technology, orthotic footbed, wide fit, deep heel cups, and stability improving soles.

Three  Zone Comfort is infused in every pair of shoes during the production process, providing you with,

• Stability: Reduces muscle strain and helps you to maintain balance.
• Arch Support: shock-absorbing arch supports are ideal for preventing and treating heel pain and plantar fasciitis.
• Cushioning: extra support for ultimate comfort and durability.

How Can High Heels Damage The Feet?

High heels may be beautiful, but can they be hiding a less than beautiful reality for your foot health? High heels give legs a slender and toned look through drastically altering the position of the foot. By balancing most of the weight on the ball of the foot, pain in this area can arise as well as a hardening of the skin and blistering. This can even cause a shortening of the Achilles tendon. Other problems caused by unnatural weight distribution are arch pain, as well as pain and cramping in the toes. 

As a secondary effect of an altered weight distribution of the foot, your walk gait may be altered when wearing heels to accommodate discomfort and help balance. This may go on to cause strain and stress to muscles in the ankles, legs and knees. Prolonged stress on areas of the foot can eventually lead to conditions such as bunions and hammertoes, and even arthritis in extreme cases. 

The Science Behind High Heels

High heels force the foot into a plantar flexed position, like when pushing the gas pedal of a car. This position is achieved through engaging the ankle joint and can over time cause stiffness of the Achilles tendon. When wearing high heels, muscles are engaged even in a non-moving stance position. This causes muscle strain and fatigue. 

Naturally, a foot in motion rolls from heel-to-toe in a back-to-front motion. When wearing heels however, the gait is altered and reduced in length, with weight and force unnaturally distributed, resulting in knee flexion as well as hip and lower back strain. This can cause a higher risk of knee osteoarthritis because the knees absorb shock over the natural foot motion distribution. 

How To Wear Heels Safely

Obviously, heels are not the best for your feet, but sometimes that’s not going to stop a person when heels are such a fashion staple. Here are some tips to prevent some of the described foot problems when wearing heels:

• Limit your time and take a break. Taking a break between long periods of heel wearing can help ameliorate some of the compounding stress and tension. Try carrying an extra pair of shoes and switching out your heels throughout the day, or slipping them off when seated. 
• Stretch. Try some stretches focusing on stretching the Achilles tendon. Facing a wall for support with knees slightly bent, stretch one leg backwards with both feet remaining flat on the floor until there is a stretch resistance in the tendon of the stretched leg.
• Find the correct fit. Poor fitted heels will exasperate gait and strain problems. Make sure your shoes are as comfortable as possible and don’t allow the foot to slide when walking.
• Add padding. Heels can cause pressure on the balls of the feet, added padding such as an insole could help keep pain at bay. Additionally, adding padding around common pressure areas such as the little toe and heel can alleviate some pressure that may negatively affect posture and gate. 

What Are The Alternatives To High Heels? 

Fashionable footwear doesn’t have to be uncomfortable. To keep your toes healthy, it’s best to wear supportive, well-fitted shoes, along with measuring your feet and wearing the right shoe size.

If you like to elongate your frame with heels, why not try an alternative such as platform shoes or block heels? Unlike traditional high heels, block heels don’t drastically alter the position of the foot, and sometimes the slight elevation of the heel can be beneficial for people who feel discomfort in flat shoes because of tendon or arch problems. 

Here at Uufey we provide comfortable, orthotic, fashionable footwear. Orthopaedic Footwear aims to correctly align the foot position and give the feet optimal comfort and can also help prevent foot conditions by supporting joints and muscles.

Included in our range is Shine Orthotic Sandal. With a raised heel, this sandal alternative gives added height whilst not compromising on comfort. Stilettos may be iconic, but you will always look your best when you feel your best. 

Please note the content of our blog is not intended to substitute for professional medical diagnosis or advice. 

Why Do People Get Injuries When Running?

Running injuries commonly happen when a person uses the incorrect footwear for their needs, or use incorrect technique resulting in a strain injury. When running, a lot of stress is put on the joints of the legs, feet and lower back. Strain can be an immediate injury or gradually sustained over time from this stress.

During running, our posture naturally self-corrects to the most comfortable running position, but this may go on to cause gradual strain to other areas of the legs and feet, for example, heel striking may feel comfortable but could eventually lead to calf strain if the running shoes don’t have enough shock absorption. 

Here Are Some Of The Most Common Running Injuries:

Achilles Tendinitis

Achilles tendinitis is when the heel tendon becomes inflamed, usually with the symptoms of swelling, unusual warmth, and soreness. If care to reduce further damage is not taken when showing symptoms of Achilles Tendinitis, this may result in a tear of the tendon, usually needing surgical intervention.

Hamstring Injuries

Because your hamstring helps to stop your lower leg momentum when running, gradual tears in the hamstring fibres can occur. Stiffness, tenderness and pain are symptoms of hamstring strain and efforts should be made to rest the muscles before a permanent injury.

Knee Strain

Knee Strain is the most common running injury with up to 50% of running injuries being to the knees. Runners Knee refers to pain around the knee and kneecap that although isn’t usually permanent, can take up to 6 weeks to go away when the knee is given proper time to recover by not being put under stress with hard exercise or excursion.

Stress Fractures

Stress Fractures are hairline cracks that form in the bone after stress. The impact stress of running can cause these hairline cracks to form in the feet and legs. Pain, tenderness and swelling can all be symptoms of hairline cracks. Should you suspect a hairline crack you may wish to see a doctor for an X-ray and rest the bone by not doing hard exercise.   

Should you get an injury you may wish to follow the RICE protocol – rest, ice, compression, and elevation.

Rest is important to stop an injury further progressing and to begin healing. Ice can help to reduce swelling and pain in an area of discomfort. Swelling can be prevented by compression with either a sock or bandage, and elevation can further reduce swelling and pain by raising the affected area above the level of the heart. Keep the RICE protocol in mind should you sustain a running injury but always seek professional medical advice if pain does not go away.

Prevention

You can aim to prevent running injuries by employing the right running technique and footwear.

Correct Technique

The three strike positions are heel strike, mid-foot strike, and toe strike. The one in which you choose to employ in your running technique depends on your physique so that force is distributed around the feet and legs in the most optimal way for reduced stress. Heel striking can be high impact on the knee and tibia.

Mid-foot striking can stop over-striding by keeping the legs closer in line to the body, distributing weight more evenly. Toe-strike can be stressful on the calf and Achilles heel, but is often referred to as the natural way to run as the ‘springiness’ of the tendons helps in continuing momentum, however tendons in the legs can become strained. Running form will vary by individual but keep these factors in mind when experimenting in finding a running style that is comfortable for yourself and always stop if pain occurs.

Correct Footwear

Footwear that absorbs shock and so reduces the risk of stress injuries is important for runners. Orthopaedic footwear should also fit the feet correctly, comfortably supporting the arch and midsole, and helping the foot stays in correct posture.

Opting for suitable footwear such as Chemin, a supportive orthotic trainer with shock absorption will help protect your feet from injury. Chemin cushions the ball of the feet for correct running posture and gradually moulds to your foot to fit like a glove. The lightweight EVA midsole will conform to your specific foot shape for unique support, providing maximum comfort and support when running.