Feet and footcare before an active travel adventure.

Talking about feet, foot-talk,

We walkers need to make sure we take care of our feet so that they can take us comfortably along those trails and paths we love. This means a lot more than just putting on a pair of shoes. It means taking care of the intricate network of bones, tissue, muscles, and nerves which connect every part of our foot, ankle, and toes. 

We use our feet all day long, every day of every year of our lives. So what do we have to do to make sure we can continue to enjoy walking throughout our life? We need to exercise them and then we need to rest them, reward them.

We need to keep our feet and nails healthy by washing them, massaging them, and cutting the nails short enough. Avoid getting black toenails by not bumping or rubbing them on the front of your shoes. 

It is important to care for blisters or hard skin, corns, and cracks but much of that can be avoided.  You might ask: can I have a pedicure? - Yes, it is okay to have a pedicure but you want to make sure that you don't set out on a walking holiday with newly scrubbed skin that might blister - so plan ahead for that too and allow time for any skin to completely recover from scrubbing or pumicing.

When we travel internationally we can find ourselves sitting on a plane for a number of hours. This is a moment to remember to exercise, even sitting down. You can draw the letters of the alphabet with you foot as you sit in your seat - and don't forget to do both of them!

We have many different muscles and so you need to move the feet in different ways, not just doing rolling motions from ball to toe, but also lifting yourself up onto your tiptoes which stretches the muscles in your calf, hamstring, and trunk muscles. You may have heard about rolling your feet on a tennis ball but you can also use your water bottle for that! Don't forget to wiggle your toes and stretch them out on the floor. 

Boots - The most important tool for a walking tour is a good pair of boots. They need to fit so you need to try them on when your feet are warm and in walking socks so you can tell that they are not too tight. Walk around the shop and stand in different positions. They need to be big enough for your toes to wiggle! 

Try on different types before purchasing. Different boots suit different purposes - shop assistants should be able to measure and advise you. Different brands suit different types of feet.

When you are on your feet all day, hiking, site-seeing or visiting monuments, if your feet are sore then your humour will be too! Please do take note of this and choose your footwear carefully. DO NOT bring a brand new pair of boots that have never been worn. DO NOT wear tennis shoes on stony and slippery paths, through puddles and mud. Buy shoes in which YOU feel comfy.  Most importantly, don't let aesthetics rule sense 😉

Socks - are the software that goes inside the hardware - choose them to fit around the ankles, with an elasticated heel and resilient fibres padding the sole. There are many fibres to choose from and it is important to consider the climate you are going to be walking in. 

 

During a walk, you can use a rest stop to take off your shoes and air your toes, shake out your socks and boots to make sure there are no little stones in them.  Take the insoles out of the boots at night so the boots have a chance to breathe. 

I often feel rejuvenated when I have aired my feet halfway - suddenly I am ready to go on!

We are keenly watching the covid-19 vaccine rollout across the world and looking forward to getting back on tour. We are keeping fit too and we've found many ways to keep walking during a lockdown!

Talking about being ready to go on - the Nobile family is ready to get going and meet up with you all again!