Don't Let Foot Pain Stop You From Exercising

For people suffering from foot pain or chronic foot problems, hitting the gym can seem out of reach. Many physically active people are prone to suffer from plantar fasciitis. On the opposite side of the coin, inactivity and weight gain pose risks to your feet. Your feet can absorb up to six times your body weight with every step.

Without exercise, your body may place unnecessary strain and weight on your arches, which causes pain making it difficult to exercise. It's a vicious cycle. But it does not have to be that way; you can stay on track with your health goals and get relief. Don't let foot pain hold you back. Try these tips for pain-free exercise, to stay healthy and help relieve your foot pain.

Without exercise, your body may place unnecessary strain and weight on your arches, which causes pain making it difficult to exercise. It's a vicious cycle.

Causes of Foot Pain

A good way to find a solution for your foot problems is to find out what is causing the problem, find something to relieve pain quickly, and find what will solve the problem in the long term. The first step is to find the source of the issue. Of course, if you have already been diagnosed with something specific, feel free to skip ahead to our solutions section. For everyone else, let us go into a little more detail about what you might have that is causing pain and why it is there.

Arch Pain

This one is the most common in athletic people and can disrupt your training. Fallen arches are particularly troublesome because the shape of your foot has changed, and you will need to work on it longer to heal. Fallen arches can be something you are born with or caused by standing or walking for very long periods without supportive footwear.

Flat feet can be treated with orthopedic shoes or physical therapy, and you will want to take special care if you are athletic and do a lot of high-impact exercise such as running, cross-training, or aerobics.

Heel Pain

Have you been having more trouble with your heel? Heel spurs might be the culprit. These are abnormal growths of bone on the bottom of your heel. You can get them from wearing the wrong shoes or having an unnatural alignment or posture. Activities like running and jumping have been known to cause it as well. That means that if you plan to be active, they can cause you much trouble.

The spurs may cause discomfort while walking or standing as well. People with flat feet or high arches (either side of the extreme) are more likely to have painful heel spurs. To treat them, wear shoes that fit well, and something like shock-absorbing shoes can give you a lot of relief from the symptoms.

Ball Of Foot Pain

If the pain or inflammation is in the ball of your foot, you may be dealing with one of these common problems in that area: Metatarsalgia or Morton’s Neuroma. And once again, ill-fitting shoes are the usual cause. It is possible to get metatarsalgia from strenuous activities such as running or jumping and can be very similar to the “stone bruise” (a bruise that feels almost like you are stepping on a small pebble every time you step on it).

With Morton’s Neuroma, you typically feel ball of foot pain, odd sensations, or numbness. Morton’s neuroma causes a thickening of the tissue around the nerves between the bases of the toes. Women tend to see this one more often because it can result from wearing high heels or tight-toed shoes.

Everyone’s feet are different and have their own unique shape. So why would you want to wear a shoe that is made for a “generic” shape which does not actually exist?

Tips For Pain Free Exercise

Now that you have an idea of what is causing your foot problems, you can work towards finding a solution. Read on to see how to get relief.

Wear Supportive Shoes

The first and most crucial step for foot-friendly exercise is to wear shoes that offer the correct support for your arches, plenty of cushion for your heels, and wiggle room for your toes.

• Arch Support: Plantar fasciitis is caused by the inflammation of the plantar fascia. This usually happens when the arch begins to flatten. Arches flatten over time because of weight, most commonly due to a lack of proper arch support in your shoes. Choosing shoes that offer the right kind of support for your arches can prevent them from flattening and help protect your feet from increased risk of plantar fasciitis.
• Toe Room: Toes are often overlooked and ignored, shoved into narrow toe boxes, but this is an unhealthy practice and can lead to nerve damage such as Morton's neuroma and deformities in the toes. KURU shoes are built upon a foot-shaped last, which automatically provides powerful arch support, and a wider toe box to promote better circulation and plenty of wiggle room.
• Heel Cushion: You are born with a pad of fat below your heel bone which offers natural padding and cushion as you walk. Over time, this fat pad breaks down and flattens, paving the way for painful steps, especially when working out. Our patented KURUSOLE technology flexes with each step to hug and cushion your heel to keep your fat pad where it belongs for a healthier and more natural cushion.

Choose Low-impact Exercises

While some impact can't be avoided during cardiovascular workouts, there are low-impact exercises you can do when your feet need a rest.

• Swimming: Swimming suspends your body in water and takes all impact out of the equation, but it is still one of the highest fat-burning exercises.
• Walking: Walking will give your feet a lot less weight to absorb than running or aerobics, which are high-impact exercises.
• Yoga: Yoga puts the focus of exercise on the muscles throughout the body rather than on the feet for a strong workout without the harsh impact.
• Cycling: Cycling is a great way to get a superb cardio workout while saving your feet from almost any hard impact.

Listen To Your Feet

Remember that pain is an indicator of a problem. It is not a nuisance or something to ignore. If your feet are sore or are beginning to ache, take a day or two off or try some low-impact exercises. A few days of recovery will serve your health better than pushing through and suffering a chronic injury.

You can see how much care KURU puts into our product and how they can help relieve the symptoms associated with your foot problems. So what are you waiting for? Give that new gym class a try, tell your workout buddy to push you a little further this time, or get started on a new goal. Not to worry, you got this! With KURU on your feet, you will feel like you are moving on clouds.

About Us

At KURU, we're on a mission to help you Heel Better™ with footwear technology designed to relieve foot pain, so you can live a life you love. Since launching our innovative technology in 2008, we’ve received more than 36,000 five-star reviews from thousands of customers who tell us their KURU shoes helped them get back to doing what they love.

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