Many aspects of your overall health, safety, and wellbeing can be negatively affected by foot problems, especially when they interfere with mobility and the ability to carry out activities of daily living (ADLs). Medical foot care plays an essential role in maintaining independence, comfort, and quality of life.
Routine medical foot care can have a range of benefits including:
🦶 Enhances Quality of Life
Good foot health allows individuals to stay more active and independent, leading to greater enjoyment of daily life. Without pain or discomfort, you're able to walk, stand, and participate in activities with less effort.
🦶 Facilitates/Extends Independence
Foot issues can lead to a loss of mobility, which may result in dependence on others for basic tasks. Routine foot care helps prevent these issues, enabling individuals to stay self-sufficient for longer.
🦶 Improves Mobility
Foot problems like corns, calluses, or bunions can restrict movement. Regular medical foot care can resolve these issues and ensure that people can move comfortably and with ease.
🦶 Decreases Risk of Falls
Regular Nursing Foot Care Can Help to Address and Prevent Foot Foot problems like improper nail trimming or thick calluses can make someone unsteady, leading to an increased risk of falls. Addressing these issues through foot care can reduce this risk significantly.
🦶 Promotes Foot Health
Regular foot care helps prevent the buildup of problems like fungal infections, ingrown toenails, or cracked heels, leading to healthier feet overall.
🦶 Improves/Relieves Foot Ailments
Conditions like plantar fasciitis, arthritis, or bunions can cause significant discomfort. Medical foot care can provide relief through proper treatment, whether that be therapeutic massage, stretching, or orthotic solutions.
🦶 Assists in Preventing Foot and Nail Infection
Infections are a serious concern, especially for those with diabetes or compromised immunity. Foot care involves proper cleaning, trimming, and the prevention of conditions that could lead to infection.
🦶 Contributes to Protecting Skin Integrity
Skin on the feet can easily become dry or cracked, which could lead to infection or other complications. Regular foot care can maintain skin health and prevent damage.
🦶 Minimizes/Relieves Foot Pain and Discomfort
Painful conditions like bunions, blisters, or arthritis can make walking or standing difficult. Foot care can relieve much of this discomfort, allowing individuals to stay active and engaged.
🦶 Improves Circulation
Conditions like diabetes or peripheral artery disease (PAD) can reduce blood flow to the feet. Foot care practices that include massage or exercises can help improve circulation and promote overall foot health.
🦶 Reduces Foot Complications
By addressing minor foot issues before they become serious, regular foot care can reduce complications like infections, ulcers, and even amputations.
🦶 Supports the Prevention of Diabetic and Non-Diabetic Foot Ulcers
By addressing minor foot issues before they become serious, regular foot care can reduce complications like infections, ulcers, and even amputations.
🦶 Aids in the Prevention of Amputation of the Lower Extremity
For At-Risk Clients with diabetes or other conditions that affect wound healing (neuropathy, Impaired or Altered Sensation, and/or Circulatory Disorders/Diseases, etc), medical foot care is a critical component of preventing severe complications like amputations.
👣 Objective: Empowering the Client to Make
Healthy Foot Care Choices
With consideration of strengths and limitations, the client (and/or (if applicable) POAPC*/SDM*/caregiver) will be educated to be able to recognize and change risk behaviours, and to adopt or maintain healthy foot practices. The key goal of medical foot care is not only to provide treatment but to educate clients, their caregivers, and anyone else involved in their care about the importance of healthy foot practices. By recognizing risk behaviors, individuals can take proactive steps to prevent foot problems before they escalate.
Ongoing assessment, treatment, and client (and/or caregiver) education are essential in promoting foot health, protecting mobility, and preserving limb function in vulnerable populations.
POAPC* = Power of Attorney for Personal Care
SDM*= Substitute Decision Maker