There are lots of things you can do to help manage your symptoms. The best person to help is you! Changes in lifestyle and modifying your activities can reduce your symptoms and stop pain getting worse.
Try not to worry
It is only natural to feel worried. Feelings such as worry, anxiety and fear, or negative expectations about treatment are barriers that can prevent recovery.
Introducing lifestyle changes and modifying activities are the first steps to taking control of your pain.
Footwear
See our section with advice on appropriate footwear.
Exercise
It is very important that you keep moving.
You will need to find the right balance between rest and exercise. It is common that being over active can increase your pain, but too little activity can stiffen and weaken your joints.
Two types of exercise can help your symptoms – strengthening and aerobic.
Strengthening exercises
Strengthening exercises will improve the strength and tone of the muscles that control the foot or ankle.
Pain and swelling from an injury can weaken muscles within the foot and ankle resulting in altered forces going through your feet and ankles. Regularly doing strengthening exercises will help to protect the joints, and can reduce your pain.
Aerobic exercise
Aerobic is any low to high impact physical exercise that makes you short of breath. This can help reduce pain by stimulating your pain relieving hormones called endorphins. There are a variety of different types of exercise that you can do such as swimming, cycling or walking.
If you are not used to being physically active, it is best to speak with your GP to make sure your health allows you to undertake this type of self-management.
Foot and ankle condition-specific exercises
Local NHS Ayrshire & Arran MSK podiatrists have devised exercise programmes for a number of MSK foot and ankle conditions from the recent available evidence to help you improve your symptoms.
If you are unsure, then ask your MSK Podiatrist or MSK health professional on advice for what exercises to perform.
Managing activity
Pace yourself
If you are in pain don’t tackle all your activities of daily living, such as housework, at once. Break the harder jobs down into smaller time frames and do something gentler in between. Sometimes a short rest when your foot or ankle starts to feel painful can be helpful over the course of a day. Extensive walking or standing should be avoided if it aggravates your foot or ankle pain. It is recommended to pace rather than to fully stop all forms of movement or exercise so try swimming or cycling instead of walking or running. You may find that taking simple painkillers as previously mentioned may help you to keep active.
Walking
There is no need to fully rest until you completely recover from your foot or ankle pain unless specifically advised by your health care practitioner. Whilst recovering from foot or ankle pain try to walk normally with a heel to toe walking pattern and initially stay on flat, stable ground. You may need to shorten your stride to achieve this if your foot or ankle is painful or very stiff.
It is easier to lose your balance if you are experiencing foot or ankle pain, so avoid soft or uneven ground such as:
- grass
- stone chips
- cobblestone
- sand
Avoid walking on your toes, or side of the foot and try not to hold your knee or ankle stiff when walking as this can delay your recovery. Wearing the correct footwear is essential in helping your walking pattern.
If after longer periods of walking your pain increases, you may need to ice the affected foot or ankle to reduce any increases in swelling and help with your pain management, with the aim of reducing the duration of your walking in the future and trying alternative exercise that does not flare up your pain.
Stairs
When climbing stairs you may need to consider using handrails and go up one leg at time until:
- your muscles become stronger
- your pain subsides
It is better to go upstairs leading with the non-painful leg one step at a time. If coming down the stairs, then lead with the sore leg one step at a time and use the handrail.
Pain – flare up management
It is common for pain to flare up even though you may have been pacing your activity, building up your activities slowly or exercising gradually.
To help your foot and ankle pain recover, aim to keep your pain levels below 5 out of 10 throughout the day or when doing your exercises. It may be helpful to identify any triggers that may flare up your pain and modify these where possible. However, the most important thing is to manage the flare-up while it lasts.
Top tips to help manage flare ups include:
- Reduce your activities and exercises slightly but do not stop them altogether.
- Only rest for short periods of time and introduce regular stretch sessions.
- Break activities down into smaller chunks and pace them throughout the day.
- Wear appropriate footwear for most of the day, including in the house.
- Re-introduce icing for the foot / ankle.
- Consider over the counter pain medication.
- Ask for help (family, friends, work)
View further information on self-management.
Weight management
If you are carrying additional weight, this can place extra strain on the joints and tissues in your feet and ankles.
Losing even a small amount of weight can make a big difference to the strain on your joints, muscles, ligaments and tendons when:
- walking
- running
- going up and down stairs
There is no special diet shown to help foot and ankle pain but you should follow a balanced, low calorie-diet combined with exercise – such as:
- walking
- swimming
- cycling
Researchers say that being overweight or obese can not only increase your risk of developing foot and ankle joint pain, but will also make it more likely that your foot and ankle pain will get worse over time.
See the Body Mass Index (BMI) calculator to check how close you are to your healthy weight.
For classes to assist with weight management – see Weight To Go:
Heat and ice
A hot water bottle or ice pack (such as a bag of ice cubes or frozen bag of peas) can also be used regularly to help control your foot or ankle pain.
If using ice, wrap the ice pack in a towel and apply to the painful area for 10 minutes every two hours.
If you are using heat, wrap the warm compress in a towel and place it on the painful area for 20 minutes every two hours. Be careful to keep a close eye on your skin when using ice or heat. If you experience any pain or discomfort, remove immediately.
If you have any concerns about the sensation or feeling on the skin (for example peripheral neuropathy) where you are placing any of the mentioned compresses, ask a podiatrist or your family doctor (GP) to assess this before following this advice.
If you have any concerns that an infection may be present in the area, speak with a local pharmacist or GP prior to carrying out this advice.
Pain medication
A range of different medications may be available to help reduce your pain to allow you to move more comfortably.
Do not exceed the daily allowance of these medicines even if your pain is high and always consult a health professional prior to taking any new medication.
If you are unsure of what medication you can take, speak with your local pharmacist, practice nurse or GP for guidance.
It is important that if you are prescribed medication that you take them regularly and at the recommended dose (see medication packet for details).
All medicines can cause side effects, particularly if they are not used as prescribed. Side effects range from common to uncommon and vary from person to person. Information on possible side effects are available on the leaflet inside the packaging of your medication.
It is important to speak to your local pharmacist, practice nurse or GP if you are experiencing side effects, they may be able to change the dose or the medication to something that is more suitable.
Some medicines can take a number of weeks to have significant effect, however this is dependent on the person. It is best to speak again with your GP or pharmacist about what other options are available if you don’t feel your medicines are helping.
Smoking
Smoking interferes with blood flow and affects the healing times of the bones, tendons and ligaments within the foot and ankle. During your recovery it is recommended to either stop smoking or reduce the number you are smoking.
If you want help to reduce or quit smoking then see Quit Your Way Scotland (NHS Inform).
Daily aids
- Use handrails – When climbing stairs you may need to consider using handrails and go up one leg at time until your muscles become stronger. It is better to go upstairs leading with the non-painful leg one step at a time. If coming down the stairs then lead with the sore leg one step at a time and use the handrail.
- Walking aid – Using a walking aid, such as a stick, may be of benefit. This can be used to reduce the amount of weight going through the foot and ankle joints, especially during a painful episode. If you are using a walking stick, ensure you are holding this on the opposite side from the painful foot or ankle. For example, if you have a painful right foot, hold the walking stick in the left hand.
- Walking and trekking poles – If you are a keen walker then the use of two walking poles can help with balance and stability and make walking easier while still providing a great workout. They can reduce lower limb pain including foot and ankle pain when walking, reduce muscle soreness and improve walking efficiency.
- Walker boot or moon boot – If you have been prescribed a removable boot (walker boot) to wear to support your foot or ankle injury, this should be used for the prescribed period of time given to you by your health professional. This boot will enable you to walk more comfortably whilst your injury heals. In most cases you can remove the supportive boot when resting, at night and when bathing or showering. Do not operate any car, vehicle or machinery whilst your ankle is in a walker boot. See our full information on walker boots.
Driving
This advice is only applicable to sprains, strains and other muscle or joint injuries. It does not apply if you have had a collapse or seizure or another medical condition affecting your ability to drive.
Be aware it is your responsibility to ensure that you are fit to drive, as you are responsible for your actions and decisions when driving. You can be fined up to £1,000 if you don’t tell DVLA about a medical condition that affects your driving. If you drive a heavy goods or public service vehicle, the rules may be stricter. Please inform your employer of your injury.
Fitness to drive following a foot or ankle injury:
- Do not drive if wearing a walker boot or fixed cast.
- Do not drive if you are unable to move your ankle up and down to operate the foot pedals.
- Do not drive if your foot/ ankle pain prevents you from performing an emergency stop.
- Do not drive if you are unable to control your foot or ankle movements.
If you are taking pain medication, ensure the medication does not cause drowsiness or affect your ability to think clearly or react to a situation.
If your pain is affecting your ability to sleep at night, this can affect your coordination. If you feel sleepy or tired, you are advised not to drive until you are fully rested.
Ensure your lower leg has regained its strength and endurance to allow for you to drive safely for the length of your journey.
See the UK government website for further information on health conditions and driving.
Work
If your foot or ankle pain is affecting your ability to carry out your work duties, be proactive and discuss with your employer ways to help reduce your pain.
This may include looking at:
- Footwear choices or a review of the fit of your safety boots.
- Installation of rubber matting if your work requires long periods of standing on hard floors.
- Opportunities to reduce long periods of standing or increased rest breaks if your work is very strenuous.
- Avoiding long periods of fixed positions by introducing standing desks or more movement breaks.
- Reviewing work duties or role and times and duration of different aggravating work duties.
If you have been off work due to a foot or ankle injury, your return to work will be dependent on:
- your occupation
- the duties you need to be able to perform safely and comfortably
Discuss with your employer opportunities for:
- a phased return to work
- altered duties to help ensure a successful return to work following your foot or ankle injury
If you need a fit note for absence from work then please discuss this further with your GP (doctor).
Working Health Services Scotland can help you to manage your condition, allowing you to remain at work if you are:
- employed by a small business (less than 250 employees) and still attending work or absent from work (for any period of time)
- self employed and still attending work or absent from work (for any period of time)
If you are off with a health condition, we can also help you make a healthy, successful return to work. See our Working Health Services section for more information.
Contact
For further support with employability or benefits within Ayrshire and Arran, please contact Job Centre Plus on 0800 055 6688.
Alternatively, please get in touch with your council area’s Employability team:
- East Ayrshire Council – 01563 503000
- South Ayrshire Council – 01292 612301
- North Ayrshire – 01294 324949