Foot health was the focus of this year’s Age UK Falls Awareness Week and local residents in Bath and the surrounding area were urged to “think feet” to help prevent accidents.
Called Best Foot Forward, it aimed to highlight how taking care of your feet, tackling pain and discomfort, could help reduce the risk of falls.
Sirona Care and Health’s Chris Hurley, professional lead for podiatry at St Martin’s Hospital, in Bath, said she has met many service users who had suffered a fall in which foot problems were a contributing factor.
She said: “Foot health tends to be something people ignore unless they get a specific problem, or something particularly hurts, and then they may seek advice. It’s very often an area of neglect – people don’t tend to think of their feet until summer comes. Every year Falls Awareness Week has a different emphasis and this year we want people to ‘think feet’.”
As feet age, says Chris, problems can include loss of elasticity, poor circulation, altered foot shape and deformity, often with complications caused by diseases like diabetes or heart problems, while conditions like arthritis or hip fractures can make reaching your feet difficult.
She said: “Even a slight discomfort might alter the way you walk, or a sudden pain might throw you off balance, which can be complicated sometimes by lack of feeling in the foot as well.
“We do see people who have had falls where poor foot health is one of the contributing factors – if we can get service users, carers and others to think feet we can keep feet in a better condition.”
People can take a number of steps to improving their own foot health, says Chris, including filing toenails instead of cutting them, moisturising feet to prevent skin becoming dry and cracked and ensuring footwear – from socks and tights to shoes and slippers – is well fitting and in good condition.
Sirona’s podiatric service provides foot health assessments and ongoing care for patients with medical needs, such as diabetes or deformities, and has also teamed up with UK to provide a nail-cutting service, training the organisation’s staff to look out for problems that may need to be referred to the podiatry team.
Anyone seeking foot care services privately should check whether the foot health professionals are registered with the Health Care Professional Council (HCPC).
Chris gave a series of talks to fellow health professionals in B&NES and Karen Folan, a community specialist podiatrist, spoke to the public at Charlton House residential care home in Keynsham, at Ubley Village Hall and St Michael’s Day Centre in Bath.
