Foot Experts Dispel Myths, Offer Advice on How to Take Care of Feet

The American College of Foot and Ankle Surgeons has recently issued a press release with advice for everyone about taking care of their feet. Many people don't realize that a lot of the advice they have received growing up was actually false information passed along as "old wives tales".

Other information you might have heard could have just been relayed incorrectly. Instead of relying on this incorrect information, the American College of Foot And Ankle Surgeons is trying to help you avoid making mistakes others have made using that information. They feel that by providing the correct information in a press release to help correct some of that misinformation that is out there.

Everyone knows that ingrown toe nails can be extremely painful and sometimes difficult to remove. In extreme cases they even require surgery. One "old wives tale" that many people may have heard is that cutting the nail in a v pattern into a point will help eliminate this problem. The press release says that is not true, and the toe nails will continue to grow downward regardless of how you cut them. It even indicates cutting in the "v pattern" could cause more harm than help.

As a kid playing sports I heard the phrase "just walk it off" many, many times over the years. It appeared that many people have fallen under the incorrect assumption that just because you can walk, your foot or ankle isn't broken. The press release says that is completely incorrect though. It says you might be able to handle the pain, but in reality you might be causing more damage by trying to "walk it off".

Bunions can be extremely painful. Another of those "old wive tales" that are out there is that there are certain types of shoes that cause bunions, especially ones that keep your toes close together. The press release indicates that those shoes will make a bunion more painful, but that they don't cause them. It states that most often bunions are inherited from family members and determined by the structure of the foot, not the shoes you wear.