March 8th – 15th

Local podiatrist Sarah Byrne has shared these great tips for looking after your feet. Find out more about Podiatry, what it is, what they treat and how often you should see your podiatrist.

What is Podiatry?

A ‘pod’, or podiatrist is a medical professional devoted to the study and medical treatment of disorders of the feet, ankles and lowerextremities.

What is Hammer Toe?

This is an abnormal contraction of the toe, which is a ‘buckling’, this can occur due to a partial or complete dislocation of one of the toes joints. It is important to ‘get your feet out’ and do some barefoot moving. Here are some exercises that you can do sitting outside in your garden at home. Footwork exercises

Get your bare feet moving, strengthen your base and prevent falls. Get your feet ready for the sunshine and try one of our footwork videos. Looking after your feet is so important so get them moving.

5 Tips to reduce your risk of falls

1 Exercise! Get help and advice from a physical therapist about which exercises and activities you can do safely.  The stronger your muscles and joints are, the better they will be able to support you on a stable base when walking around. And they can react better and faster should you trip and hopefully help stop a full fall to the ground and stronger muscles will also help you get up more easily if you do fall.  The more active you are the better chance you have of maintaining your mobility and independence, which in turn is better for your health, self-esteem and self-confidence.

2 Speak to your physical therapist about local falls prevention programmes which will help you build strength, improve balance and give you some really good information on how to deal with a fall.

3 Speak to your doctor about your medication and ones that could be changed to reduce your risk of falling.

4 Have your eyes and hearing checked once a year. Good vision will prevent those accidental trips on things you didn’t see and proper hearing helps improve your balance and orientation.

5. See a podiatrist to take good care of your feet as pain can affect your ability to walk properly.

For more information on looking after your feet please get in touch with us at info@bridgehw.com or

call 01202 473 800