Last Updated on July 29, 2018
Do you have bunions and cracked heels at your feet? Most of the time, we dismissed as dry skin or the fact that we may have stepped on something without knowing (for bunions and blisters).
But strange enough, after we remove the bunion, it comes back a few weeks later- on the SAME spot. Or after we treat the cracked heel with special creams, it comes back again. We dismissed it as due to dry skin but gets annoyed at the cracked heel, as it can be quite inconvenient and even painful when walking out in the sand (the pain is terrible if something like a grain of sand or a small pebble gets stuck).
Possible cause of Reoccurring Bunions and Cracked Heels.
Would you believe that it can be due to your posture and muscle weakness?
When certain part of your leg muscles are weak, it causes uneven pressure each time you land on your feet while walking or running. As the result, bunions and cracked heels developed due to the stress and pressure placed at a certain part of the feet that is not meant for that function.
For instance, if you have bunions at the balls of the foot close to the toes, it could indicate weak leg extensors or the lateral muscles of your calf. As the result, when you land on your feet, your muscles are not able to absorb the pressure, thus more pressure are placed on the balls of the feet.
People with flat feet (no arch on their legs) are especially vulnerable and would require proper sole inserts (orthondics) to correct the pressure placed on their feet.
If you always have reoccurring bunions or cracked heels, you may want to consider the following:
- get proper footwear with ortodics inserts
- strengthen and stretch your leg muscles (everything- from the foot, calf, soleus, quadriceps and hamstrings)
This seems silly but in the long run, if there are postural or muscle imbalance (one too tight and the other undeveloped), you may put more pressure on other parts of your body such as your ankles and knee caps. Eventually, this could led to degenerative diseases such as osteoarthritis, chronic knee pain, etc.
