As a podiatrist , I have many discussions with my patients about the benefits of wearing good footwear and the problems that wearing bad boots or shoes can cause.
The winter months in the UK can be very wet and make it even harder to make good footwear choices.
Wellington boots are often the ‘go to’ footwear when when walking our dogs, mucking out horses or just walking in wet, long grass.
Unfortunately our feet can feel like a ‘bag of bones’ in wellies as there is often no rear-foot or indeed mid-foot support hence our feet can move around too freely. This can cause pressure and friction on our toes as well as pain in our heels, ankles, knees, hips and back if worn for too long.
My advice is to try and swap your wellies where possible with high ankle boots with laces made out of a waterproof material, or alternatively a rubber ankle boot which has a velcro or lace fastening.
Having a firm heel counter and support around the mid-foot is especially important for those of us who wear orthotics as it doesn’t counteract their good work in putting our feet and lower limb in an improved position .
Yvette Mann Podiatry works out of Luck’s Yard Clinic every Thursday snd Friday and I look forward to seeing you with any of your foot care and biomechanical enquiries.
Please call 01483 310298 to make an appointment or discuss your requirements
Photo: Tatiana Syrikov, pexels.com
