What do we bring with us on an overseas trip? Non-matching sneakers? Perhaps. Read on to find out!
With slightly short of two weeks to go, it is about time to pull out our suitcases and start packing for Europe. (That is the most ideal scenario, but sadly it does not always happen in real life.) When we travel, we walk A LOT, and by that, we mean a minimum of 10,000 steps a day. Walking just seems to be a big part of travelling – you walk here and there, and before you know it, your feet are tired and you wonder how you are going to do that again the next day. So, there are always FOUR things we must pack into our bags to make sure our feet are up for the 10,000+ steps days, every day.
1. Compression socks
These are great for long haul flights and after a long day of exploring. The knee-length socks are excellent in keeping the blood flowing when you are on a long haul flight because nobody wants DVT (deep vein thrombosis). If your ankles and feet tend to swell in tropical weather, and/or after a lot of walking, put the socks on before you go to bed, your ankles and feet will be happy again the next day! These are also a good choice if you have plantar fasciitis, Achilles tendinitis, and sore calves.
2. Orthotics
Giving your feet some solid support is key to walking long distances. Soft shoes (sorry Sketches…) often FEEL comfortable to be in, but they often contribute to achy feet. When you walk on a soft surface, your feet have to work harder to stabilise themselves, as well as generating propulsion. In return, your foot muscles get overused, fatigue faster and recover slower. By putting orthotics into a pair of supportive shoes, your feet will be able to conquer 10,000 steps without too much of a problem. Keep in mind though, your feet have muscles after all, and like any other muscles in the body, if they haven’t been exposed to a huge amount of exercise, they do fatigue as well, so it’s completely normal to still feel tired in your feet. The difference is how fast the feet get tired and how long they take to recover!
3. Heat patches
We love these self-heating patches because they are easy to use and you can use them for pretty much anything – to relax yourself after a long day, to relieve achy muscles, or to keep you warm on a wintery day…Yeh, you really can be quite creative when it comes to using these heat patches. On that note, can we please tell you again that you should always use heat instead of ice on muscles? The only exception is when you have an acute injury (e.g. ankle sprain) and intense swelling.
4. Spiky balls
Last but not least, how can we go without any spiky balls? Some of you would have learned how to use one from us. If not, it’s pretty straight forward. Spiky balls are a great tool to knead all the tight spots in your feet away. Put your foot on top of the ball and apply pressure (like, really pushing your foot into the ball), you will feel it if there is a tight spot. Keep working on those tight spots and you will feel incredibly light in your feet!
If you are off to an adventure soon, we hope these tips help! If not, save them for next time! All these travel essentials are available at the clinic, so if you are keen to get yourself equipped, come on down and we will get you sorted.