The suffering of Queen Letizia: five massages at home to take care of your feet when you wear heels

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It is not just

, from the age of 40, practically 80% of women suffer from foot problems, according to data put on the table by the Spanish Association of Podiatric Surgery

during a course of

and ankle that he organized at the University of Murcia.

And much of the blame for this huge percentage is not wearing the right shoes.

"The deformities occur especially in

, because they wear

narrower

the San Antonio Catholic University of Murcia (UCAM) and president of the AECP.

Narrow, and with a very high heel.

That is why Morton's neuroma, with which Queen Letizia has been dealing for some time, "affects women between 25 and 50 years of age much more, with a ratio of 8:1 compared to the male gender, says

, doctor of the Podiatry clinic that bears her name. How can we take care of our feet to avoid it when we wear heels?, we asked the expert. "It's as if you were asking me how to

of our lungs when we smoke: quitting.

If we wear

we are already 'not taking care' of our feet.

However, we can choose less aggressive ones and limit their use, "she replies.

Because good footwear is the best

work to avoid subsequent injuries.

So much so that it is also the mission of

to carry out biomechanical studies "to guide the type of shoe and even the type of sock that should be used," pointed out

.

What is Morton syndrome?

GTRES

"This is a fairly common

and is caused by irritation of the interdigital nerve between the third and fourth fingers," explains Dr. Rafael Llombart Blanco, a specialist in the Department of

at the University Clinic of Navarra, and "it It manifests as a

in the support area of ​​the sole of the foot a little before the place where calluses appear, almost at the base of the fingers".

Its most common symptoms include

of the area, pain when stepped on and even

of the foot

"It occurs with an electrical sensation in the fingers near the nerve that can sometimes be so painful that it prevents walking," says the expert.

"And everything that takes away space at the foot is going to make it

," adds

"It is a very annoying pain because it is

, like the one we can feel when we

our elbow. This means that when the pain appears it is accompanied by a bodily reaction of

movement », explains Pilar Nieto, president of the College Officer of Podiatrists of the Valencian Community (ICOPCV) And it gets worse when it gets cold and we need winter shoes, explains another specialist, traumatologist Ramón Navarro, head of the Foot and Ankle Unit of the Cemtro Clinic, because the Pain is due to

caused by rubbing on the

.

How to choose a good heel

"The problem with high-heeled shoes is that they cause the entire weight of the body to be carried in a single area of ​​the foot, without being distributed with the

. In the long run, this causes a

of the nerves of the fingers and generates all kinds of problems, because we don't tread correctly either," explains

a physiotherapist specializing in

at the Fisalia Clinic in Madrid.

In this sense, what most influences is the difference in height between the front of the foot and the back.

And here it is convenient to stay in the

, because

.

"The best thing is that there is two or three centimeters of difference between the sole and the heel. From there, the higher and thinner the heel, the worse. A good shoe for the foot must have both the base and the heel. wide", assures

.

How do we gain height?

"A good alternative is to resort to

of about six or seven centimeters, because in this case the weight is better distributed throughout the foot."

And how to choose a good shoe

As

"the foot is designed to go

, so the footwear has to be the closest thing to that and, above all, respectful of the joints and mobility. It has to be wide enough to accommodate the foot without

, supportive but flexible, especially in the area of ​​the metatarsals. And always in the correct

: if it is flat, the length should be 1-1.5 centimeters more than the longest toe".

What does she have in mind to choose hers?

"That they have a wide toe box, fastened at the ankle and not excessively high, in theory the correct height of the

should not exceed four centimeters," she replies.

And what about sports shoes, at some point also questioned?

"Abusing footwear in general is not ideal, since the muscles of the foot are limited, but if you have to choose between

, without a doubt the latter. A suitable one respects the perimeter of the foot and does not subject it to lateral pressure or overloads", says

, who recommends walking

in an environment that is not aggressive for the foot, like our house, whenever possible.

Five self-massages at home

Massages

and some exercises can help us overcome Morton's syndrome and other problems associated with wearing high heels.

"They are specific techniques to

and prevent tension from accumulating in the foot. If we remove the load to which we have subjected it with the use of

, the muscle rests and the foot does not suffer as much", explains

When heels are worn on a regular basis, he

taking care of the foot with a professional massage every two or three weeks, and being attentive to the first

, "because the problem does not arise from one day to the next, the small initial discomforts accumulate and end up generating a very

process that sometimes prevents walking," he warns.

In addition, at the end of a day in heels, it is best to relieve pain and inflammation with a small

that reduces the stress that the foot has endured.

Laura Torremocha Peña, also a

at the Fisalia Clinic, explains how to do them and recommends these five.

• Self-massage of the foot with a ball

  .

  We stand up and put a small rubber ball under the sole of the foot.

  We begin by rolling it along the entire plantar fascia to self-massage it, and later we will place the ball in different areas of the foot.

  First of all, we will put it under the base of the metatarsals and we will roll it again, but this time crosswise.

  Once we have done the exercise, we will advance the foot a little more and we will roll it again.

  Finally, we will place the ball right in the center of the foot and press down slowly for a few seconds.

• Ice massage.

  To perform this massage we have several options.

  One of them is to freeze a bottle of water, place it under the base of the metatarsals and move from there to the bottom of the foot.

  The other, take a little ice, wrap it with a towel or cloth and slowly press on the painful areas and slide it crosswise helping us with our hands.

• Finger and instep massage.

  We can support the foot on the ground or on top of a ball.

  We start by placing our thumbs in the middle of the instep and slowly pressing and sliding them until we reach the toes.

  We should notice a sensation of tightness or slight pain, but this should not be very intense

• Stretching of the plantar fascia and fingers.

  We bring our fingers up until we achieve a feeling of tightness helping us with our hands, and we hold the position for 15-20 seconds.

• Metatarsal mobilizations.

  We start with the foot relaxed.

  We try to separate and stretch our fingers as much as we can, and hold the position for five seconds.

  We will repeat the exercise between 6 and 8 times.

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