Memorize These 3 Facts about Back-to-School Foot Care

If we were to remove our Doctor of Podiatric Medicine coats and exchange them for schoolteacher hats, we’d be tempted to create a lesson plan to teach kids about back-to-school foot care. It might look something like this:
Foot Care Lesson Plan
Date: various first days of school in Cuyahoga, Summit, Portage, and Geauga Counties, August 2019
Lesson objective: Students will be able to name three facts about their feet associated with the transition from summer back to school.
Activities: 1). Read about foot care on Foot & Ankle Associates of Cleveland’s website. 2). Go shopping for back-to-school shoes. 3). Choose a sport; categorize various risks each sport poses to feet and ways to prevent those risks. 4). Shop for new athletic shoes. 5). Play foot symptoms/diagnosis matching game in preparation for written and oral evaluations.
Three facts to memorize
Perhaps we should stick to podiatric medicine! The above academic musings boil down to this: parents and students should memorize these three important facts about foot care at this special time of year –
- Kids need new shoes. Children’s feet can grow at an alarming rate. The shoes they wore to school just a few months ago probably don’t fit. Have their feet measured. Buy quality shoes with good arch support. Don’t give in to the temptation to buy shoes a size bigger to “grow into.” If your child wears orthotics, remember to bring them to the shoe store. Click here for more tips on finding shoes that fit properly.
- Pain from summer footwear can linger. Many weeks spent wearing flip-flops or other sandals with little protection or support may have caused foot problems. It’s not unusual for kids to go back to school with pain and inflammation from tendinitis, heel pain, or plantar warts. New shoes may help, but they may not be enough to resolve the pain. Make an appointment for a full evaluation of foot symptoms with skilled podiatrists Megan L. Oltmann, DPM and Craig B. Frey, DPM.
- Back-to-sports can cause foot problems. If kids are playing a sport, they’re going to need new athletic shoes. Buy shoes that are designed specifically for that sport. Be aware that if you haven’t been exercising and suddenly play through hours of practice every day after school, you’re at risk for overuse injuries. Watch out for physical signs such as swelling, redness, or pain anywhere in the feet or ankles.
Get expert relief from foot pain of any kind at any time of year at our modern podiatry office in Solon, Ohio. Call (440) 903-1041 for an appointment or contact us online.