These Feet Are Made for Walking

Oh the things I have taken for granted in my life walking pain free is by far the greatest of them all. I mean I never gave it a second thought. I was raised with a family friend being a quadriplegic so I was humbly aware of the blessing of being able to walk at all. That is somehow where the thought stopped for me. It never went to, "What if you could walk but it was bitterly painful?" (Enter psoriatic arthritis).

Let’s just say that I no longer take that for granted on the days when I have minimal or no pain. These days are few and far between.

Rise and shine

For years now, every morning when I wake up and swing my legs out of my bed, and get ready to take my first steps for the day. I stop and give thanks that my feet can touch the floor. That I am able to get up and walk to where I need to be. Be this to get coffee, go to the loo or to tend to my child.

There is this moment of hesitation every single morning between giving thanks and actually getting out of bed. I am sitting there, wondering what pain level my feet will bring this morning. It would seem that in the mornings after having the night off that my feet greatly protest getting up. Let me tell you, they have got game.

The pain varies from mild to severe and then, at worst, the kind that makes me sit back down. Alas each day one way or another I make my way up and get doing what needs to be done. Painfully aware that there are people who would take the pain if they could just move their own feet.

Steps for health

Over the last few years as I settled into a sedentary job, and spent more time sitting, I started walking less. As my feet and body got more painful, I adjusted my routine to sit more simply because it was too painful to walk for very long periods of time.

As a result, I no longer moved as much and I have gained excess weight, which does not help my situation at all. This, too, is a work in progress, over the last year there have been some adjustments made in my lifestyle. To start walking more and by doing this hopefully, I will give my feet some strength and get my weight down too.

Coping with sore feet

So here we are in the New Year and I am ready to start this journey. Some tips as to walking with sore feet as I start my journey.

Get good shoes that work for you, try on many and walk a few steps, you will find something that fits snug without being too tight. Walk short distances every other day, do not jump in and want to walk 10km in the first week. Be patient with yourself and give your body time to adjust and increase your distance bit by bit. Walk a surface that works for you.

I find that flat, hard surfaces (tar roads) create a lot of pain for me when walking, so I opt for green belts in and around my area. Rest when you need to, it does not matter how long you need to rest for. Do not push your body past its pain threshold, you will no doubt regret this. When I get home, I soak my feet in an epsom salt bath and rub them down and lift them up so they can rest.

I find that overall the walking has helped my pain levels slightly and I can feel my feet muscles getting stronger. My hope is that they will then be able to support my sore joints and bones. There are so many joints down there, 33 if I am not mistaken.