Dr. Molly's Pregnancy Journey: My Achy Feet

How do you stop achy feet while pregnant? 

There is a trifecta causing your feet to ache during and even after you’re pregnancy. First, your ligaments are being told to relax which then causes the muscles in your feet do extra work to stabilize all the bones in your feet. Then add the 20 to 30+ pounds you gain, in the short span of nine months, to those already stressed foot muscles.  Lastly, vascular and hormonal changes cause you to retain water especially during the last trimester. This extra fluid adds pressure to your skin, muscles and can compress nerves causing pain. These three things combined make achy feet inevitable during your pregnancy.  
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 Now if you’re one of the unlucky people that start having foot pain during their second trimester does that mean that you have to suffer for the remainder of your pregnancy every time you walk or at the end of the day? No! Emphatically NO! There are many things that you can do to ease your foot pain. 
3 home remedies for aching feet:

1. Wear supportive shoes. You don’t want to walk around with flip-flops, high heels or sandals because they won’t give you the arch support you need.  That doesn’t mean that you have to go out and buy SAS shoes or only wears tennis shoes but you do want to find a shoe that has arch support.
2. At the end of the day elevate your feet.  Then while they are elevated move your ankles back-and-forth like you’re pumping the breaks in your car. This motion will push the fluid out of your legs. Or you could have your partner rub your feet and/or the back of your legs. 
3. Stretch your calf to help alleviate any tension in the back of your leg lower legs. 

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Now what happens if these three things don’t help? It simply means you need to have a professional look at your shoes, how you move, while considering your lifestyle to give you an individualized treatment plan.

At Your Goals Physical Therapy we offer a Free Discovery session consists in depth conversation about your pain, a body movement assessment, and end with you knowing the root cause of you pain. This visit is 100% free and require no insurance approvals and no financial obligation. It is simply a way for you to learn more about our physical therapist and have them learn more about you. If you prefer to ask a question, feel free to email me. I read all emails and respond personally. 

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