As summer comes to a close, it’s sadly time to put sandals aside in favor of closed shoes and boots. While these styles help protect feet from the elements, they can also be the source of annoying calluses on the feet.
According to Webmd.com, a callus typically develops when there’s been extensive rubbing against the feet. It is a thickening of the outermost layer of the skin and are usually painless. However, according to Dr. Ramona Brooks, a podiatrist and spokesperson for the American Podiatric Medical Associations, there are a range of precautions you can take to avoid developing calluses.
Check Your Shoe Size
First make sure you have an adequate fitting shoe, advises Brooks. “You don’t want a shoe that’s too large where the foot is moving around,” she said. “That causes areas of friction and rubbing and that’s how you end up developing a blister that later can develop into a callous.”
Cushion Control
Next, make sure there’s adequate insole padding within your shoes. This is essential to protect the feet, especially those who have a lot of bony prominences, a point on the body where the bone is directly below the surface of the skin and are at risk for developing pressure sores that can end up in a wound.
Watch on FN
There are also people who suffer from fat pad atrophy, described by Mortonsneuroma.com as the gradual loss of the fat pad in the ball or heel of the foot, most common in an aging population. This can result in bones that are very prominent, said Brooks, which can cause rubbing and eventually callusing.
Shoe Silhouettes
Brooks also recommends avoiding pointy-toe shoes in favor or styles with roomier rounded or squared toes, lessening the chances of feet rubbing against the interior of the toe area.
Foot Care Regimen
Moisturizing your feet is another way to help prevent the thickening of roughened skin, according to Brooks, coupled with regular exfoliation with a pumice stone or file. Thickening of the skin is the body’s way to protect itself from friction at pressure points.
Sock Effects
Wearing the right socks also offers some protection from callus formation, such as styles with some padding in the heel and ball of the foot which are high pressure points.
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