For men concerned about their feet or anything to do with their lower legs, a podiatrist is the ideal person to give you help and advice.
Certain foot issues tend to affect gents more than ladies (although anyone can suffer from them) – often because men are a wee bit inclined to leave things until they get really painful. Don’t make this mistake, because these conditions won’t get better on their own.
Choose the Right Shoes
Men don’t have high-heel issues to worry about, but they can still end up with the wrong shoes. Whether you’re at the gym or in the office, you need shoes appropriate for your activity.
Your comfy old trainers may feel just right but they won’t give you sufficient support, cushioning and stability to keep your feet and ankles healthy and injury free.
Hard Skin, Corns and Calluses
Some or all of these are inevitable if your footwear doesn’t fit properly. Constant friction and pressure in the wrong places mean blisters, sores and hard skin are sure to follow. Lumps of hard skin (corns) often develop from here and this leads to more painful friction, so the problems continue.
Fungal Infections
Shoes and socks create a warm and sweaty environment, especially if you wear the same shoes all the time. This encourages fungal infections such as brittle, discoloured toenails. Bits of the nail may break off and sometimes the entire nail. This is going to hurt and can easily lead to further infection.
Athlete’s foot is another one for men to watch out for. It’s prevalent in damp places such as swimming pools, changing rooms and showers. Symptoms include sore and itchy skin around and between the toes. A nasty burning sensation is also common, and the skin can become scaly. In extreme cases, the affected area can become infected.
Achilles Tendonitis
The Achilles tendon is the longest tendon in the body. It connects the heel to the calf muscle and is vulnerable to overuse issues – for example, sports activities that focus constant pressure on specific areas. The additional stress on the tendon also causes inflammation and pain. The tendon can even rupture, which isn’t nice at all.
Again, the right sports shoes are essential to protect your feet from impact and for balance and support. Together with the right warm-up and cool-down exercises, this goes a long way to minimising the likelihood of Achilles problems.
Ingrown Toenails
Men are often less inclined than ladies to have professional pedicures, but these aren’t just about making your toenails look fancy. If you cut your nails at an odd angle or leave them too short they will start to grow into the skin. They can also be squashed in by poorly fitting shoes and, in both cases, the results are very painful indeed.
Gout
This is a particularly painful form of arthritis whereby uric acid deposits accumulate in the big toe joint. The pain can be intense and accompanied by swelling and tenderness.
It affects men more than ladies, as the latter tend to have lower levels of uric acid. There are a variety of causes including too much alcohol or red meat (high sugar and fat levels) and lack of exercise.
Fortunately, gout can be treated or even prevented by regular exercise and improving your diet.
Expert Help at Feet By Pody
Keep these painful and debilitating conditions at bay. Our experienced podiatrists will help you to stay active and pain-free. We can advise on footwear and exercise, and treat all conditions affecting your legs and feet.