7 tips to find your feet
Be prepared for a tournament also means to be able to rely on yourself and make sure you won’t face any kind of problem before or during the game. Here are a few tips to make sure you’ll be able to give the best of yourself on the pitch.
Tip #1: Take care of your feet
It means taking care of your nails and remove dead skins. An accumulation of these ones can reveal some high tension zones between the foot and the shoe, which may lead to skin wounds.
The best option is to wash your feet the day before the game, so the skin won’t be too soft for the game (which may cause blisters).
To avoid skin cracks between the toes – also named athlete feet – it is also recommended that you dry your feet carefully after a shower. For the players that frequently have this kind of problems, here are some other tips to get rid of it:
- Use talc to absorb moisture,
- Let your feet breath us much as you can.
Tip #2: use flip-flops, but please, WITHOUT socks!
In addition to kill all the SWAG of the flip-flop, the socks prevents your feet from breathing.
Wearing flip-flops is also important in change rooms that are full of bacteria bad for the feet.
Tip #3: Know your feet
You can start by reading our feet facts, but an examination at a podiatrist would be a very good option.
Each foot being different, podiatrist can explain to you how to solve your little problems, pains, etc…
They will also be able to tell you if you need specific insoles to solve postural disorders.
Tip #4: beware of the blisters !
We are not all equal when it comes to blisters. People especially sensitive to blisters can use either tanning creams or acid products – like lemon juice – to strengthen their skin.
For example, these products can be used every evening, for two weeks before a competition. Since it could dry the skin, the use of a hydrating cream is recommended in the morning.
Once the blister is here, you can prevent it from getting bigger by using a special plaster. If it is already too big and disturbing, you can follow these steps:
- Wash the skin with soap and water
- Prepare the skin with an antiseptic solution
- With a sterilized needle, pop the blister, and completely drain it,
- Apply a plaster and / or compressive bandage.
Tip #5: don’t neglect the socks
While they are not recommended with flip-flops, socks are very important to maintain the foot in a healthy and dry environment.
Good sport socks are highly recommended since they will better manage moisture and decrease friction between the foot and the shoe.
Changing socks between two games can be a good option. Changing shoes between two days is COMPULSARY, may it be just for the fair-play…
Tip #6 : Warm them up
Warming up your feet can decrease the risk of injury. The most important is to prepare the muscles and joints, which will support repeated and numerous stresses during the day.
We all know the basic exercises; just take your time to warm up.
Tip #7: Take off your shoes between games
I’m not talking about the party, you can take off whatever you want during the party, but between two games it can be a good idea to take off your shoes. In addition to the subtle titling of the grass between your toes, the foot will dry and breath and the muscles will relax.
Extra Tip: At the end of the day, bath your feet!
Seriously, footbath is a way too underrated part of heaven on earth. To experience it:
- Find a basin,
- Fill it with warm water and soap,
- You can massage your feet with some micro bead soap (or sugar, if you can’t find micro bead soap on a tournament…)
- Have a beer, relax.
Footbath is not recommended if you have any wound on your feet.
Thank you so much for informing me that some people are more prone to blisters on their feet, but no matter your foot issues a podiatrist can help you solve the problem. For the last week or so I have had this big blister between my big toe and the next toe. It is rather painful and annoying. I wonder if I should look into podiatrists in the area that could help me figure out a way to treat it and keep my feet healthy.
I really appreciate your tip to try and get sports socks since they can wick up moisture! My wife is an avid runner and she told me that she has some small blisters on her feet. If the sports socks don’t work to solve the problem, I will be sure to take her to a podiatrist.