Honoring Women with Good Foot Health

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March is Women’s History Month. At Texas Foot Specialists, we thought it would be a good time to remember some significant accomplishments by American women:

  • Rosa Parks took a bold stand for civil rights in 1955 when she refused to give up her seat in the “colored section” of a bus to a white man, earning the title, “Mother of the freedom movement.”

  • Sandra Day O’Connor was the first female justice on the U.S. Supreme Court. She served from 1981-2006.

  • Marguerite Higgins was the first woman to win a Pulitzer Prize for Foreign Correspondence for her work as a reporter and war correspondent for the New York Tribune during WWII, The Korean War, and the Vietnam War.

Of course, this is only three of many, many amazing women we’ll be recognizing this month. It also seems like a fitting time for us to honor women by focusing on female foot health.

Podiatric Tips

Not surprisingly, the majority of women’s foot health problems can be traced back to their shoes. Thankfully, many shoe manufacturers have upped their game and designed styles that are attractive without being harmful to your feet. However, there are still plenty of shoes out there that will hurt your feet both in the short and long term. Some things to consider:

  • Limit time in heels higher than two inches, particularly styles with narrow, pointy toe boxes. High heels force the feet forward, squeezing the toes together and pushing them up against the front of the shoe. This can result in hammertoes, bunions, and ingrown toenails.

  • You should also avoid thin, skinny heels as they create instability and increase the risk of falls and ankle sprains.

  • Don’t forgo good arch support. Fashion boots and certain other styles are notorious for having little or no arch support. Shoes that allow your feet to fall flat are more likely to cause heel pain.

If you are experiencing any foot or ankle pain, contact our Sugar Land 281-242-4448, Pasadena 281-991-0600, or Houston 713-664-6677 offices so our podiatrists, Dr. Bruce Miller and Dr. Gregory Mangum can evaluate and treat any disorders. No woman should be held back by foot pain!