January 26, 2023
Our bodies have a lot of work to do on a daily basis, to put it lightly. But one critical function is blood circulation, which is at the top of the list in terms of importance.
You can experience many health conditions without proper blood flow, ranging from aches and pains to serious heart problems. That's why it's wise to learn the ins and outs of blood circulation. There are several components to this broad topic. These include:
What is blood circulation?
The link between blood circulation and heart health
Blood circulation benefits
What is the cause of poor blood circulation?
The link between blood circulation and foot health
How to improve blood circulation
Photo by pch.vector from FreePik
What is Blood Circulation?
Blood circulation is how your blood vessels deliver nutrients and oxygen to your cells and body parts.
The issue with blood circulation is that we can easily restrict blood flow when we neglect to care for ourselves. Furthermore, blood flow is not an "all-or-nothing" dynamic; we can go about our routines with poor blood circulation and not even realize it!
But the longer you proceed through life with poor blood flow, the closer you become to experiencing health conditions and frequent aches and pains.
The Link Between Blood Circulation and Heart Health
The circulatory system distributes blood throughout your body, with the heart at the centre of all the action. This system has three main components: the heart, blood vessels and blood itself. This system is the reason why we can function every day. As a result, it's safe to say it's a rather critical function of the human body.
Your heart pumps around eight pints worth of blood every single day. This means that if your heart is in poor health, it can affect blood flow. The same is true if you switch things around: if your arteries and veins are in poor condition, it can affect your heart health. More specifically, when your arteries deliver oxygenated blood throughout your body, the blood then has to find its way back to where it came from. Your veins do this by bringing the blood back to your heart, making its way towards your lungs to "drop off" carbon dioxide and "pick up" more oxygen.
Blood Circulation Benefits
It keeps your heart healthy.
It keeps your feet, legs and other body parts healthy.
It allows all vital organs to function properly.
It keeps you feeling sharp and alert (blood delivers oxygen and glucose to your brain)
It reduces aches and pains, including foot pain.
What is the Cause of Poor Blood Circulation?
How you live your life can determine how efficiently your body distributes blood. Since plaque build-up, narrowed vessels and blood clots are the main culprits behind circulation restriction, preventing these interferences is important.
Likewise, you can tackle many causes of poor blood circulation by adjusting lifestyle habits. Your family doctor or healthcare specialist can address diseases that lead to poor blood circulation.
Here are some reasons your body may be struggling to distribute blood:
You live a sedentary lifestyle without exercise.
You smoke cigarettes.
Your diet is lacking in healthy foods. Furthermore, a high fat and high cholesterol diet can lead to plaque build-up (atherosclerosis) in the vessels.
You have high blood pressure (when blood pushes against the vessel walls, it can weaken them).
You have diabetes. This disease can cause excess glucose to harm your blood vessels.
You have blood clots in your legs.
You are overweight. Obesity can be a risk factor for other causes of poor blood flow.
Photo by brgfx from FreePik
The Link Between Blood Circulation and Foot Health
When blood efficiently flows from your heart to your legs and feet, you reduce your risk of developing muscle pain, stiffness and weakness. Your feet and legs can also give you signals that you are having a problem with blood circulation.
But how does blood reach your feet?
There are specific arteries that transport blood to your legs and feet. One, the femoral artery, starts in the thigh area and extends downward toward the knees. This artery is responsible for transporting blood to your lower body and branches off into six other arteries along its route, all of which must supply blood to a different body part. Then there is the posterior tibial artery, which transports blood to the plantar surface of the foot.
Foot and leg issues may occur if you neglect your health by disregarding these arteries. For example, peripheral artery disease (PAD) may develop. This will lead to plaque build-up inside the femoral artery, and the vessels will narrow, greatly reducing the amount of blood that can pass through.
Here are some indicators that you need to improve blood circulation to your feet:
Numbness
Cold feet
"Pins and needles"
Foot pain
Discolouration
Varicose veins
Foot fatigue and "heaviness."
Swelling (edema): your body's lower extremities can swell if your heart cannot circulate blood properly. When blood collects, your vessels release fluid into the surrounding tissues.
Photo by Drazen Zigic from FreePik
How to Improve Blood Circulation
The primary way to boost blood circulation is to move your body. You can also use medical devices and make lifestyle changes.
When you perform exercises and stretches, the blood vessels around the targeted muscle will expand thanks to the chemicals the body releases when you move. This signals your heart to pump more blood into the more spacious vessels. Furthermore, your muscles will receive more oxygen, transforming glucose into muscle "fuel."
Harvard Health also notes that leg stretches that stimulate blood flow can protect against heart disease and strokes. Their study also showed that working the muscles in the hips, knees and ankles for 45 seconds at a time leads to better blood flow in the arteries of the lower legs, as well as less stiffness and pain.
Virtually any type of exercise improves your body's overall blood flow system. In addition to a regular stretching routine, you can try light to moderate cardiovascular exercise, yoga, and playing sports.
Compression stockings are also excellent (and stylish!) medical devices that boost blood flow in the lower legs and feet. You don't have to have a serious condition to use them; you can get them if you spend a long time sitting at a desk during the work day, frequently travel, or spend a lot of time lying down in bed. They are excellent for those experiencing conditions that greatly impact blood flow, including:
Pregnancy-related blood pooling in the feet and ankles
Chronic venous insufficiency
Deep vein thrombosis
Phlebitis
Natural ways to improve blood circulation include eating a healthy diet. According to Healthline, foods that boost and stimulate blood flow include cayenne pepper, garlic, fatty fish, beets, nuts and leafy greens. Furthermore, quitting harmful habits like smoking cigarettes can also help you exercise efficiently. You will notice the effects of improved blood circulation between 2 to 12 weeks after ditching smoking.
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December 8, 2022
Have you ever felt a prickling, tingling, or pins and needles sensation in your feet? You may be experiencing numbness in your toes. At times, it may even feel like your foot has fallen asleep, which occurs after keeping your foot in the same position for an extended duration.
What's happening in your foot and toes when they go numb? The underlying sensation is likely a result of peripheral neuropathy. Peripheral neuropathy is a catch-all term for more than 100 types of peripheral neuropathy. It refers to damage to the nervous system, which hinders the network of nerves that relays information to your brain.
There are various reasons why you experience numbness in your feet or your toes. Possible causes may include poor blood circulation or a byproduct of diabetes. The sensation may be numb; in other cases, you may not feel anything since your feet or toes lack feeling.
In this article, we outline five potential causes for why your feet or toes may go numb.
Frostbite/Frostnip
It's no secret that Canada experiences cold winters. Low temperatures and high humidity can make keeping your feet warm and dry difficult. That's why frostnip, and its successor, frostbite, are possible during Canada's winter months.
There are various degrees of skin and tissue damage due to cold. They are:
Frostnip is a mild cold exposure injury that doesn't cause permanent skin damage. A slight numbing sensation may occur during the frostnip stage and minor (but temporary) nerve damage. Frostnip should subside naturally by escaping the cold and returning to warmer temperatures.
Superficial frostbite is the second stage of cold damage to your toes. Your skin may feel warm, and you likely experience a more intense numbing or tingling sensation.
Deep frostbite is the third stage and most severe form of cold damage. You may experience total numbness and loss of sensation in your toes. The toe muscles and joints may no longer work, and you're at risk of permanently damaging the skin and nerves in your toes. Blisters form 24-48 hours after exposure. Afterwards, the area may turn black and harden as the tissue dies.
It's critical to recognize signs early. If you're outside for extended periods and feel your feet and toes are cold, it's time to head inside. Once you reach the numbing and tingling sensation, the damage begins to occur and will only worsen if not addressed. With minor forms of frostnip, the feeling will return to your feet and toes with no long-term effects. With frostbite, you risk permanent and irreversible damage.
Diabetes
Diabetes is a severe condition characterized by high blood sugar levels that can lead to blood flow and nerve issues. 3.4 million Canadians, or roughly 8.1% of the population, live with diabetes as of 2017–2018.
Regarding the foot, diabetes can complicate the nerves and blood vessels in two ways:
Diabetic neuropathy, a common long-term complication of Type-2 diabetes, causes nerve damage, leading to loss of sensation in the legs, feet and toes. A lack or loss of feeling in your feet and toes is dangerous as it can mask injuries, cuts, or other conditions.
In peripheral vascular disease, sugar accumulates in the bloodstream and can cause poor blood circulation. Blood vessels can narrow, block, and spasm due to PVD.
The best action for diabetes is to monitor your symptoms consistently. Further, a foot specialist can check for adequate circulation, signs of neuropathy, and risk for foot ulcers.
Rheumatoid arthritis
Both rheumatoid arthritis and rheumatoid vasculitis can cause numbing and tingling in your feet and toes. RA, an autoimmune disease where your immune system mistakenly attacks healthy cells in your body, can affect the nerves in your feet through inflammation and swelling.
Similarly, rheumatoid vasculitis targets the blood vessels in the feet, inhibiting their ability to transport blood. Reduced circulation can cause your feet and toes to be numb, creating a tingling sensation. Typically, one develops rheumatoid vasculitis after having RA for some time.
Tarsal tunnel syndrome
Tarsal tunnel syndrome is an ankle nerve condition that has downstream effects on the feet and toes. Analogous to carpal tunnel syndrome in our hands, tarsal tunnel syndrome occurs when a nerve becomes compressed—specifically, the posterior tibial nerve inside the ankle.
The tarsal tunnel itself is a narrow space next to the ankle bones. It's covered with thick ligaments and contains veins, arteries, tendons, and nerves (including the tibial nerve). When the tunnel becomes compressed, so does everything inside. Compression reduces blood circulation and puts pressure on the nerves that connect your feet and toes with the rest of your body.
The exact cause of tarsal tunnel syndrome can be tricky. In many cases, it's a variety of factors, including:
Flat feet
Bone spurs and cysts in the ankle
Varicose veins
Inflammation
Osteoarthritis
Tight shoes
Acute ankle injuries
Tarsal tunnel syndrome symptoms include sharp, shooting pain, pins and needles, or a burning sensation on the inside of your foot, close to where your foot meets your ankle. The numbness may radiate to the toes as well.
Morton's neuroma
You may suffer from Morton's neuroma if you've ever felt a sensation akin to having a pebble stuck in your shoe. This type of neuroma targets the base of the third and fourth toes. When the muscles and tendons become inflamed, the nerve becomes increasingly compressed, inhibiting its function.
You may develop Morton's neuroma with poor biomechanics - namely, overpronation (when your foot rolls too far inwards when walking or running). Biomechanical abnormalities unevenly distribute weight in your feet, adding too much (and too little stress) to certain parts of the foot. Over time, overpronation adds stress to the ball of the foot, causing it to thicken and become inflamed. As such, the foot's nerves can become compressed.
High heels (which promote poor biomechanics) are also a common contributing factor to Morton's neuroma.
The best course of action to treat Morton's neuroma is for a foot specialist to fit you with proper footwear or custom foot orthotics. Fixing your footwear and correcting your biomechanics will help distribute weight and stress in your feet more evenly.
Other causes of numb feet or toes
You may experience numb feet or toes for reasons other than those outlined above. For instance, your feet may fall asleep when you are asleep, and as a result, your feet may feel numb upon waking up. Being sedentary and keeping your feet and toes in the same position for extended periods may also create a numbing or tingling sensation.
Other, more uncommon causes may include:
Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease is a group of conditions that can cause nerve damage. It's genetic, and the mutations in the genes affect the nerves in your feet and the protective coating of your nerves, which can inhibit signals between your feet and brain.
Guillain-Barré syndrome is a rare disorder where your immune system attacks your body's nerves. You may experience weakness, tingling, and numbness when it affects your feet.
Vasculitis describes inflammation of blood vessels. Most types of vasculitis are rare. Vasculitis can cause a numb sensation in the feet due to a thickening blood vessel wall. As such, the thickening of the vessels can restrict blood flow to the limbs.
When in doubt, if you ever feel numb or have a tingling sensation in your feet for abnormal or irregular reasons, contact a professional for a proper diagnosis.
September 19, 2022
Swollen feet can catch you off guard at any point during your life. And since it's often not painful, it can be tricky to pinpoint what's causing swollen feet and ankles. Simple lifestyle factors can play a major role, but additional symptoms often indicate a more serious health concern.
Feet swelling is the result of two occurrences:
Edema: The medical term for swelling. It occurs due to fluid buildup under the skin.
Inflammation: Your body's healing process to foreign invaders and injuries. Foot swelling can also occur for other reasons unrelated to inflammation.
When excessive fluid builds and gets trapped in your body's tissues, your feet become puffy under the skin. Furthermore, if you press on swollen feet with your fingers, they will often retain the shape, similar to memory foam. Foot and ankle swelling can also make the skin look shiny or stretchy.
Now it's time to discuss some common causes of swollen feet. Some of these can be solved with lifestyle changes and healthy living, while others may require medical intervention and appointments with your chiropodist.
5 Swollen Feet Causes
Foot injuries
Prolonged standing
Pregnancy
Diabetes
Inflammatory foods and weight gain
Foot Injuries
Often, edema results from inflammation. This is our body's response to trying to protect us from harmful invaders. When your body senses danger, it releases chemicals from its white blood cells, boosting blood flow to the affected area and causing swelling and redness.
Inflammation-related edema is often associated with an injury like a foot or ankle sprain, fracture or infection.
Since injury-related swelling is the body's attempt to heal itself, it can last for a few months following injury. Additionally, inflammation-related foot swelling is almost always accompanied by pain, redness, reduced mobility and sometimes a warm feeling in the skin.
If you practice at-home treatment methods (rest, elevation, ice, compression) and visit your doctor, your foot swelling will go down as your injury heals.
Prolonged Standing
The simple effects of gravity on our vascular system can cause your feet and ankles to swell. If you spend consecutive hours standing up, the water in our blood enters the tissue in the feet and lower legs, causing edema.
Neglecting to move and continuing to stand for long periods is bad for older adults since it contributes to venous insufficiency. This condition arises when the vein valves in the legs become even more unable to stop blood from pooling.
Sometimes an adjustment to your work schedule and making some lifestyle changes is all you need to address swollen feet. Be sure to rest tired, aching feet and relax for a while if you notice mild swelling after a long day.
Pregnancy
Going through nine months of pregnancy can do wild things to the human body, with foot swelling being just one change pregnant women experience.
If you notice foot swelling during pregnancy, rest assured that it's normal. First, the growing uterus puts much more stress on the veins than usual, contributing to vascular inefficiencies. Your hormones, particularly estrogen, are also so out of whack that they cause fluid retention in the ankles and feet.
Mild edema is common for pregnant women, but if it's sudden, severe and causes pain, you should see your doctor. Many women experience relief when they stay off their feet, gently flex and stretch their feet and wear compression stockings. Wearing loose socks and pants can also help promote blood flow.
Diabetes
High blood sugar often causes localized edema in the feet and ankles. When you don't have natural insulin in the body, you're not able to absorb sugars. This causes glucose levels to build, affecting the lining of small blood vessels and reducing blood flow. This poor blood circulation then impedes the body's ability to distribute fluid and it gets trapped in the feet and ankles.
If you have diabetes, your feet become incredibly vulnerable to damage and complications. As such, people with diabetes need to regularly check in with a foot specialist for diabetic foot care.
Inflammatory Foods and Weight Gain
Inflammatory foot swelling doesn't just occur with injuries and infections. Eating refined carbohydrates, sodas, fried/salty foods and red meat are all known to cause inflammation in the body.
Fried foods produce advanced glycation end products (AGEs), stimulating inflammation. Red and processed meats are also full of AGEs, and too much sugar triggers excessive, fast weight gain and insulin resistance, both associated with inflammation. And of course, several studies highlight how too much salt can cause an increased inflammatory response in the body.
You can stop harming your health and fight foot swelling by choosing foods that fight inflammation. Some examples include:
Tomatoes
Olive oil
Fatty fish (like salmon)
Leafy vegetables
Berries
Oranges
Additional Swollen Feet Causes
Gout: This painful arthritic condition can cause sudden swelling and tenderness.
Age: Adults are more at risk of developing diseases that contribute to edema as they get older. Some examples include heart, liver or kidney disease.
Lymphedema: Damage or blocking of the body's lymph system can trigger edema in the feet and ankles.
Blood clots: When clotting occurs in the legs it can prevent blood from returning back up to the heart, triggering swollen feet.
Medications: Blood pressure medicine, steroids, antidepressants, NSAIDs, and oral contraceptives have all been linked to foot swelling.
September 12, 2022
We've all heard the term cold feet to describe last-minute nerves. But cold and sweaty feet are a whole other ballgame.
Cold and sweaty feet can signal a common problem you can work on. Alternatively, they may indicate a more troubling medical condition that needs your attention. The most important thing to do is visit your family doctor or foot specialist when the problem becomes recurring.
Let's take a look at some causes of cold and sweaty feet, and what you can do about them.
Causes of Cold and Sweaty Feet
Hyperhidrosis
Peripheral Arterial Disease (PAD)
Menopause
Overactive thyroid
Raynaud's disease
Hyperhidrosis
This is essentially a term for excessive sweating, which can simultaneously cause cold feet. Many people clue into this condition if they experience sweaty feet without exercising or being in the heat.
Primary focal (essential) hyperhidrosis is the most common form and isn't a sign of an underlying medical condition. It occurs when the nerves in your body send too many signals to sweat glands. While embarrassing at times, it is certainly manageable. Secondary hyperhidrosis, on the other hand, is always associated with another medical condition.
Treatment
Foot deodorants, creams and sprays.
Antidepressants can lower triggers like stress and anxiety, which cause you to sweat more.
Nerve-blocking medications.
Daily foot hygiene practices: keeping feet clean and dry, regularly changing socks, etc.
Airing out your feet.
Breathable footwear.
Moisture-wicking socks.
Regular foot assessments to check for conditions that thrive in moist environments, like athlete's foot.
Peripheral Arterial Disease (PAD)
PAD is a serious condition that affects the body's lower extremities. Due to fatty plaque buildup, the blood vessels that transport between the heart and the legs become totally blocked or severely narrowed. Risk factors may include diabetes, being over 60 years of age and having high blood pressure and cholesterol.
Treatment
Medications called statins, which lower cholesterol.
Blood pressure medications.
Medications that increase blood flow in the legs.
Living a heart-healthy lifestyle, including a healthy diet and regular exercise.
Menopause
One of the most common culprits of cold and sweaty feet in older women is menopause. Due to hormonal imbalances, blood vessels expand and increase the level of blood flow in the body during this point in a woman's life, triggering night sweats. But hormonal changes can also slow blood circulation, quickly affecting the feet. Cold, sweaty feet can also contribute to insomnia in menopausal women.
Treatment
Estrogen therapy
Antidepressants
Eating a healthy diet low in sugar and salt.
Low-intensity exercise.
Monitoring stress levels.
Getting enough vitamin D.
Regular foot assessments to check for other symptoms, like foot swelling.
Overactive Thyroid
A thyroid disorder can cause plantar hyperhidrosis (excessive foot sweat) while also deregulating body temperature. An overactive thyroid also messes with our blood circulation, giving the feet and skin only a quarter of the blood supply they usually need. You should inquire with your family doctor about a thyroid condition if your feet are always cold and you've ruled out other causes.
Treatment
Medications called thionamides.
Surgical intervention.
The thyroid gland, courtesy of the National Cancer Institute
Raynaud's Disease
Raynaud's disease causes both cold hands and feet, as well as numb toes. Furthermore, Raynaud's can occur in its primary form or as an accompaniment to another disease, like lupus or Rheumatoid arthritis. Like many other cold feet causes, it decreases blood flow in certain body parts. This is due to blood vessels spasming in the affected areas.
Treatment
Calcium channel blockers can open the small blood vessels in the feet.
Wearing socks indoors.
Vasodilators, which relax blood vessels.
Severe cases may require surgery.
Additional Causes of Cold and Sweaty Feet
Anxiety disorders: Known to cause hyperhidrosis, severe stress and panic disorders can make you feel clammy and uncomfortable.
Exercise: An obvious cause of sweaty feet is regular physical activity. It's essential to keep on top of routine foot care if fitness is causing your sweaty feet.
Wearing small shoes: Sometimes sweat can't evaporate if our shoes don't fit properly.
Neuropathy: Nerve damage, common in diabetes patients, is known to cause excessive sweating and can disrupt regular body temperature
August 15, 2022
Have you ever experienced a burning sensation in your feet? Your feet may feel hot for no reason or tingle and become uncomfortable, especially at night. While hot feet syndrome is highly painful, it is extremely common and can affect anyone for several reasons. If you experience a burning sensation in your feet, learn about the cause and potential treatments for burning feet below.
Nerve damage
Also known as neuropathy, nerve damage occurs when the sensitive nerves of the feet are injured. This is usually caused by disease. Nerve fibers can become overactive, misfiring and sending mixed messages to the brain. Sometimes they may send pain signals, while other times, they may send feelings of tingling, heat, or numbness. These sensations may be manageable with only slight discomfort, or they may be completely debilitating.
The most common cause of neuropathy is diabetes. Alcohol abuse, vitamin deficiency, kidney disease, and the side effects of some medications can also cause nerve damage. The nerves of the legs are often affected as well, causing pain and numbness to radiate down the lower legs and into the feet and toes.
Infection
Another common cause of burning feet is infection. Certain types of infection can cause hot feet. When the feet become inflamed, they can feel hot and uncomfortable. The skin of the feet may feel as though it is tingling and burning, and if not promptly treated, some infections may spread up the leg.
Blisters and cuts that become infected may cause burning feet. Fungal infections, such as athlete's foot, can also cause pain and discomfort.
Other Causes of Burning Feet
Other possible causes of burning feet include:
Inflammatory Arthritis: Sometimes, arthritic pain can cause a burning sensation in the affected joints. This from excess inflammation buildup, is most often seen with inflammatory arthritis conditions like rheumatoid arthritis, gout and psoriatic arthritis. Treating the underlying arthritis can ease or make the burning sensation go away.
Contact Dermatitis: Contact dermatitis is your skin’s allergic reaction to a certain chemical or substance. It is associated with an itchy red rash. Sometimes, the rash can also feel like it's burning. Contact dermatitis is caused by allergens and skin irritants. Often, identifying and removing the allergen/irritant can resolve the reaction.
Symptoms of burning feet
The symptoms you experience will depend on the cause of your condition. Some common complaints include:
Feet that feel warm or hot.
A burning sensation in the feet.
Burning feet at night.
Numbness or loss of sensation.
Prickling or tingling sensation.
Increased sensation to the touch (hyperesthesia).
Impaired blood flow to the feet.
Swelling.
Itching.
Difficulty walking.
How are burning feet diagnosed?
Depending on your overall health, your health care provider may use a few different methods to determine the cause of your burning feet. If you have been previously diagnosed with diabetes, this is the likely cause of your neuropathy, and no further testing will often be required. However, if diabetes isn't the culprit, your doctor may order a blood test, a nerve biopsy, a nerve conduction study, or an electromyography test. These tests will help determine the exact cause of your hot feet and allow your doctor to provide you with the best treatment solution.
Treatment for burning feet
The treatment for your burning feet will depend on what's causing it in the first place. If your hot feet are the result of an infection, treating the infection should eliminate all symptoms. If you are suffering from a vitamin deficiency, such as a lack of B12, taking supplements of this nutrient will help. If you have neuropathy, the best option is to slow down any further progression of the disease and help minimize the severity of the symptoms.
Keeping your blood sugar levels stable and ensuring you take all prescribed diabetic medications will help keep your nerve fibers healthy. Minimizing alcohol consumption and following a healthy and nutritious diet can also help. On top of this, numerous prescription and over-the-counter medications can reduce your discomfort, help you manage your pain, and improve the quality of your life.
August 11, 2022
A rocker sole, sometimes called a rocker bottom shoe, is a shoe sole that has a higher thickness level and rounder heel than other soles. One of the primary purposes of a rocker sole is to ensure the wearer doesn't have a flat surface along the length of the foot.
There are two popular types of rocker soles:
Half-rocker soles (toe-rocker soles): The sole curves upward toward the toes.
Full-rocker soles (heel-to-toe rocker soles): The sole curves upward toward the toes and downwards towards the heel.
Can Wearing Rocker Soles Help With Certain Foot Conditions?
Absolutely! Chiropodists often recommend rocker soles to people with specific foot conditions, including arthritis, diabetes and metatarsalgia.
Osteoarthritis / Hallux Limitus (big toe arthritis) / Rheumatoid Arthritis
Rocker soles help manage big toe, midfoot, and ankle arthritis. First, they limit movements of the foot joints, preventing excess tissue damage. The structure of a rocker sole also allows you to continue a normal walking motion without added strain to the joints.
A forefoot rocker sole (half rocker sole) is excellent for big toe arthritis, as the rocker extends just behind the metatarsal heads (another term for the ball of the foot), reducing motion in the big toe joints.
The heel-to-toe (full rocker sole) is suitable for ankle and midfoot arthritis. Since the thickest part of the sole is towards the back of the shoe, it helps limit ankle and midfoot motion.
Diabetes
A rocker-bottom sole can help prevent the risk of diabetic ulceration. This is because rocker soles redistribute plantar pressure, alleviating this pressure under the forefoot. Diabetic neuropathy can also weaken the bones and joints in your feet. The curved structure of rocker soles mitigates this by pushing you forward to help with walking difficulty.
Metatarsalgia
Since metatarsalgia targets the ball of the foot, rocker soles are an ideal footwear choice for those experiencing this condition. The sole reduces the pressure felt under the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th metatarsal heads.
What Shoes Have Rocker Soles?
Now it's time to have some fun and look at a footwear selection that includes rocker roles. We'll also highlight some other beloved shoe features that maintain consistent comfort.
Clarks Wave 2.0
This everyday shoe from Clarks has a full rocker sole and is excellent for activities around Toronto, helping protect your feet all day long while guaranteeing comfort. The WaveWalk motion control technology and rocker sole help you effortlessly propel forward without tiring yourself out. Furthermore, features like the laced upper provide bonus support for your ankles, and the Contoured Comfort footbed works with the rocker sole to achieve maximum comfort. Lastly, the A C-Shell membrane keeps your feet dry from rainy weather. Overall, the Clarks Wave 2.0 is a relaxed, versatile shoe perfect for the spring, summer and fall.
Clarks Wave Skip
Rocker soles don't just come with runners, sneakers and trainers -- supportive sandals also feature them and add a spring to your step. The sporty and chic Wave Skip includes the classic Clarks WaveWalk motion control technology, supporting your gait and natural walking movements. It also includes the incredibly comfortable Contoured Comfort footbed. Lastly, the velcro straps ensure a snug fit without scraping against your skin and causing annoying blisters.
Clarks Mira Tide
The Mira Tide is another fashion-forward and supportive sandal with a half-rocker sole. The adjustable hook-and-loop ankle strap closure ensures comfort and makes them easy to wear all day long in the summertime. Furthermore, the Cloudsteppers cushioned insole provides pillow-soft comfort. This shoe has a round open toe, bonus ankle padding, an EVA (ethylene vinyl acetate) midsole, and a sockliner. EVA footbeds provide gentle shock absorption with every step, protecting your joints from wear and tear.
Saucony Endorphin Shift 2.0
This great half-rocker sole shoe helps runners and athletes with performance enhancement and propelling forward with ease. Thanks to the SPEEDROLL technology, it's suitable for both the treadmill and the road. The rocker sole gives you a speed boost, allowing the foot and ankle to roll forward while reducing impact with the ground. The Endorphin Shift also comes with other features that physically fit people love, like plush cushioning technology (PWRRUN) and breathable upper mesh.
