Remedying Your Foot Pain at Home

You don’t have to leave your house to tackle your foot pain. Try these at-home remedies to feel better fast. Managing foot pain can be a challenge at the best of times. But with the current COVID-19 pandemic continuing to define daily life, more and more people aren’t comfortable visiting a healthcare facility if not strictly necessary. For that reason, now is a good time to learn ways to remedy your foot pain at home.  No matter what’s causing your foot pain — whether it’s abnormal foot anatomy, pregnancy, obesity, or general overuse — these remedies can help your feet feel more comfortable until you’re ready to speak with a doctor. 

Tips for Soothing Foot Pain at Home

• Apply Ice: If you are experiencing pain in your foot joints due to trauma, infection, inflammation, arthritis, bursitis, or gout, an ice pack can help relieve some of the pain. You can make a homemade ice pack by wrapping ice or frozen vegetables in a small towel and placing it right on your foot for 15-20 minutes at a time.

• Stretch Your Feet: Stretching your feet regularly can help you prevent painful arches and plantar fasciitis-related pain. Otherwise, overstressed muscles may painfully contract or spasm. Try sitting in a comfortable chair and using your hands or a strap to stretch the ankle and toe joints. Try targeting your calf muscles as well by doing a runner’s stretch against a wall. Hold each stretch for 10-20 seconds to get the maximum benefit. If possible, try stretching after a warm soak when your muscles will be relaxed.

• Exercise Your Feet: In addition to stretching, it’s a good idea to do exercises for your feet, toes, and ankles to help strengthen and relax them. A few exercises to try are: 

1. Picking up objects with your toes and moving them from one pile to another
2. Making circles with your ankles
3. While standing, rising up on your toes and lifting your heels off the ground
4. Rolling the bottom of your foot on a frozen water bottle, tennis ball, or golf ball

• Take a Foot Bath: When painful feet are caused by overstressed muscles and connective tissue, one of the best things you can do is take a warm foot bath. Soak your feet for 5 to 10 minutes for more relaxed feet. If possible, try adding Epsom salts to the water for an added soothing effect. If your feet are swollen, hot, or tired in addition to being painful, use cool water instead of warm for the foot bath and elevate your feet for a half-hour or more after the soak.

• Try Touch Therapy: Apply lotion or oil to the soles of your feet and massage it in while applying gentle thumb pressure to any sore areas. As you massage your foot, focus on the plantar fascia — the prominent cord-like structure that runs the length of the arch from the ball of the foot to the heel. A tight plantar fascia can often be a root cause of heel soreness.

• Wear Comfortable Shoes: This may be obvious, but wearing comfortable shoes can be hugely beneficial. That means finding shoes that aren’t too tight OR too loose. If you usually have to wear painful shoes to work, take advantage of being trapped inside due to the COVID-19 pandemic to give your feet a break. 

When to See a Specialist