Hours of training, high load on joints, bones and soft tissues – muscles, skin and its creations. Today we will focus on the foot, in the next texts we will address the issue of other bodies. Regarding the title of the article you are reading, the foot as a link to the ground on which we move, walk, run, jump and … first and foremost we dance requires a lot of attention to preserve her health for decades. The foot consists of 26 bones surrounded by muscles with a length of approx. 5.7 m, 107 muscles, veins, arteries, nerves with a total length of 1.6 km and hundreds of thousands of sweat glands. A large finger consists of two phalanges, the other four of three. 52 bones, which are together in both feet, make up 1/4 of the bone in the entire body. The Achilles heel is the strongest ligament in the entire body. Something else? As you know, in dance the foot is exposed to all injuries, micro-injuries, not only as I mentioned internal, but also external. Mechanical compression, friction, the risk of corns, swelling, wounds – all dancers using point but not only, know about it. The other dancer staying a certain time in a particular shoe will be exposed to foot discomfort. At the beginning, as part of the prevention of all post-workout pains, to relax and relieve tired feet, you can treat yourself to daily grooming rituals. One of them is a herbal bath. A brew of mint or elderberry will bring relief to the scorched feet, and the wounded bath with sage, oak bark or field horsetail. You should also add chamomile to each bath. It will be soothing and anti-inflammatory. Put a glass of cooled herbal infusion (each type) into a bowl in warm water. Keep feet in it for as long as you need, but a minimum of 20 minutes. In the prevention of increased sweating (which also hampers eg wound healing or increases the risk of bacterial interventions), lavender, rosemary and thyme baths are also recommended. I suggest using herbal baths 3 times a week, let the other days be “salt”. Traditional salt works refreshingly, even therapeutically for painful phalanges and above all relaxing. When we take care of the relaxation of the feet and notice improvement, it is worth adding to the weekly rituals nutritional baths: 1 teaspoon of honey, 1 teaspoon of liquid soap, 2 teaspoons of sweet almond oil – all ingredients are added to the water and mixed. Thanks to such baths, the condition of the foot skin will improve, which will also reduce the risk of infections.
“The human foot is a machine with a masterful structure and a work of art” – Leonardo da Vinci
