Your feet and ankles bear the brunt of most of your everyday movements, so it’s no surprise that they are vulnerable to injuries.
Whether you’re an athlete or someone who exercises daily, you’ll want to know what steps you can take to avoid hurting your feet and ankles. While there’s no foolproof injury prevention strategy, there are ways you can minimize your risk for such problems. Consider these tips that we’ve prepared from our foot and ankle doctor here at Joint Replacement Institute in Naples, Florida to help you protect your feet and ankles from injuries.
Tip #1 Observe Correct Body Mechanics.
Correct body mechanics is essentially good posture in motion—holding your body the right way when you move around. The same principle applies to your feet. Knowing the right way to walk, jump, land, pivot, and do activities of daily living helps you minimize your risk for muscle fatigue and injuries.
Tip #2 Make Sure Your Shoes Fit the Activity
When it comes to sports or exercise, gearing up with the proper shoes is central to both minimizing your risk for foot and ankle problems and improving your performance. Pick footwear that’s designed for your physical activity: consider getting a pair with the right combination of support, traction, flexibility, and comfort.
Tip #3 Stretch.
Stretching exercises, when done the right way, can effectively help improve the range of motion of your ankles and strengthen the structures supporting and protecting these joints from injuries. Never stretch in a way that causes pain or other types of discomfort.
Tip #4 Mix things up.
Switching up your activities can help you reduce your risk for overuse injuries to your feet and ankles by allowing your body to engage various lower-extremity muscle groups instead of overtaxing just one particular group.
Tip #5 Pay Attention to What Your Body Is Telling You.
Pain is your body’s way of putting a message across that something is wrong. It stands to reason that regardless of your activity if you feel ankle pain, stop what you’re doing and don’t put off consulting a foot and ankle doctor.
Foot and Ankle Doctor in Naples, FL
Here at the Joint Replacement Institute, our board-certified foot and ankle doctor, Dr. Jamie Weaver, goes beyond providing high-quality non-surgical and surgical care. She takes great pleasure in sharing useful information to help patients become better equipped to make the wisest decisions about their foot and ankle health.
If you have questions or would like to schedule an appointment, call our office at 239-261-2663 or use our convenient appointment request form. Our friendly staff is here to address all your questions and concerns. We look forward to seeing you!
