Wearing flimsy flip-flops and teetering heels, running on hot pavement, climbing rocks or up the high-dive ladder, backyard barefoot BBQs, dancing until the wee hours, hiking in the north woods, sprinting to catch the bus: it’s a miracle our feet want to get out of bed every morning. According to the American Podiatric Medical Association, at least half of us suffer from recurrent foot pain, from plantar fasciitis and sprains, to blisters and bunions. There are many small cogs in the machine that continually get put through the paces: each foot has 26 bones, 33 joints, and more than a hundred muscles, tendons, and ligaments—and they absorb tons of pressure each day to get you from Point A to Point B. Reward your feet for all the hard work they do in order to stay on your toes for a lifetime.
Get Cracking
Chiropractic care isn’t just for necks and backs. Chiropractors can treat plantar fasciitis, sprains, and other common foot ailments, too. Josh Rutzick of Drake Chiropractic favors multiple approaches to relieving foot and ankle pain. “I use a combination of deep tissue massage, therapeutic ultrasound—which sends warming waves to deep tissues to stimulate blood supply—and adjustments to get the joints moving,” Rutzick says. “I’m also finding overlap in chiropractic and acupuncture treatments that provide more benefit than one treatment alone.” To achieve the best result, he uses both Western– and Eastern–style acupuncture. Treatment length varies, depending on the type of injury and how adapted your foot has become to its condition. Drake Chiropractic, 261 N. Ruth St., St. Paul; 651-287-0935
Be Flexible
Molly Hall of Buddhas Foot Reflexology has been a registered reflexologist for almost nine years. By massaging feet and applying pressure in specially denoted areas, she’s able to bring relief to a wide variety of health problems, including foot pain and injury. “I think of myself as the middleman,” she says. “Our body is such a complex system; if you give it some encouragement to perform better, it will. Reflexology relaxes you and moves oxygen through your bloodstream and organs. It helps your body do what it already does.” According to Hall, patients have reported relief from such issues as pain in the ball of the foot, bunions, corns, plantar’s warts, plantar fasciitis, and more. She also recommends keeping a foot roller around or rolling your feet over a golf ball daily to increase circulation and loosen up tight or torn fascia that can cause pain. $55 for hour-long session. Buddhas Foot, 1219 University Ave. SE, Mpls.; 612-703-6842; buddhasfoot.com
Polish Up
Look good, feel good. Sometimes a little pampering and beautifying is enough to get you back on your feet. Block off an hour (or more) for a long spa pedicure. Make sure it includes massage or reflexology to pamper tissue and alleviate sore spots. After a little sloughing, buffing, and polishing, you’ll feel like you can float out the door. Guys, you’re not excluded from this service. Juut SpaRitual for feet/Amigo SpaRitual for feet, Juut SalonSpa, juut.com for locations
