Foot Care for Athletes

Athletes, just like non-athletes, tend to only think about their feet when they are in pain. For everyone, but non-athletes specifically, proper foot care is essential, because they are using their feet much more than a non-athlete. They can suffer from injuries by repetitive motion, overuse of the joints, and recurring stress on the bones. Not to mention, they are also more prone to fungal infections due to all of the time that they are spending in shoes.

Fortunately, with proper foot care and SteriShoe, many of these conditions can be prevented, or at least mitigated. SteriShoe helps athletes by eliminating 99.9%  of the bacteria in shoes that come into contact with UVC light. Kill the germs that cause foot odor, fungal infections, and Athlete’s foot by shopping SteriShoe today.

Schedule Pre-Season Physicals

Before you start training for the next season, schedule a physical with your podiatrist to make sure that everything looks healthy. If anything, they will identify areas of concern, which usually doesn’t mean you cannot perform, it just means you’ll be better prepared to manage the risk appropriately. 

Practice Good Foot Hygiene

This might sound like a no-brainer but it takes more than a daily shower to keep your feet clean and healthy. Use a gentle soap and clean between your toes and dry your feet completely after bathing. If you are showering in a locker room or training in a public swimming pool area, then it is essential that you wear flip-flops when walking around. These areas are breeding grounds for athlete’s foot, fungus, and bacterial infections. This will help keep the fungus and bacteria away, which will help you continue performing as often as you should. 

In addition to cleaning your feet, you should be changing your socks often, which might mean several times a day if you train often and sweat a lot. Socks with special pads of moisture-wicking properties are highly recommended. In addition to wearing clean socks, you may also need to use more than one pair of tennis shoes, and you must keep them clean. The SteriShoe insert has a built-in fan that dries your shoes so the next time you use them, you aren’t putting your feet back into moist shoes that will surely spell trouble for your feet. 

Replace Old Shoes

Last season’s shoes may not be good for this season, depending on the condition they are in. They may be too worn down to provide the necessary grip or shock absorption.It is also recommended to avoid buying used shoes or hand-me-downs, as they are likely already “conformed” to the different set of feet, which will create pressure points and pain. Not to mention, they may also harbor fungus from the last owner. 

Incorporate Warm-Up Exercises and Stretching Into Your Routine

A weak ankle is a rolled ankle. There is no shortage of exercises you can use to strengthen your feet and ankles, which will go a long way in ensuring that your feet and ankle don’t get injured, keeping you playing to the best of your ability. 

Cross Train

One great way to improve your fitness and athletic skill at a faster pace while building endurance and strength, and minimizing injury risk, is to cross-train. If you typically participate in “high impact” sports, then you may want to incorporate sports or activities of the “low impact” variety into your routine. This approach has a number of big advantages, including the fact that you test and challenge your muscles and joints in a variety of different ways, improve your overall coordination and fitness in ways that benefit your performance, and give your joints and muscles time to rest and recover, which minimizes your risk of overuse injuries. 

Try SteriShoe

When you’re consistently using the same pair of shoes for training and performing, you put your feet at the mercy of the bacteria living in your shoes, which isn’t very merciful. The last thing you want is for your feet to become infected from all the bacteria living in your shoes. Keep your shoes clean so you can stay on your A-game. Try SteriShoe, a podiatrist-recommended shoe insert that uses UV light to kill 9.99% of the bacteria that come into contact with the light. The SteriShoe shoe insert even has a built-in fan, which will dry your shoes between uses so you never have to put your feet back into moist shoes. Try SteriShoe today!