Summer … Let’s talk about heels.

I know the feeling. We’ve been sitting at home in the cold, enjoying the extra red to keep ourselves warm, and we find ourselves a fraction heavier than we were before the winter set in. But now… the sun has arrived! The warmth on our skin, the sunshine on our faces and the best of events calling for us to join in. We want to get moving again, run along the beach, kick off the shoes and get amongst the sand.

However, when we get up in the morning, the heels have an extra ache. Or, after our first few walks along the beach, we get home, and as we rise from the couch, we feel those heels getting a bit tender again. And no, I am not talking about the cracks in the skin. I am talking about that ache under the base of your heel that, all of a sudden, makes you feel 40 years older. However, you think “This will be ok, it warms up, I’ll be fine”.

You cannot wait to see if this improves. You should get onto this sooner rather than later to keep you moving and active while the sun shines. We tend to ignore this until it gets too painful or limiting that it begins to affect us every day. However, the longer you leave this pain, the longer it will take for us to get you better. The irony is that the more we can keep you moving and help you lose any winter kilos you attracted, the better your feet and body will feel.

So, here are a couple of suggestions to keep this under control or limit its impact as we move into summer.

First, get help early. Seek us out while it is an annoyance so we can do a few small things to keep you moving and have fewer restrictions. Please do not wait until next winter to seek help; it will take 12 months to be back to 100%.

Second, only make small changes to your routine. For example; keep the shoes on for a bit longer before you get too excited by the appeal of thongs, take some short walks, to begin with, then build up the pace/ distance/ time/ complexity, stay mobile and stretch/ roll/ get strong in combination with the walking and jogging that you are doing.

Most of all, stay aware!

Enjoy the good times spring, and summer brings, but use this time to build into it rather than jump straight off the pier into the ocean!

By John Osborne
Aus. Podiatry Assoc. Certified Sports Podiatrist, B.HS,M Pod Prac and PhD Candidate.