7 Home Remedies to Relieve Foot Pain After a Long Day

So, you had a long day on your feet and the foot pain is killing you. I am on the heavier side and this is my story after any long day. This is happening a lot in India with our lifestyle getting more and more sedentary and our diets being “masaledar“. Here are some home remedies for foot pain that I have tried on myself numerous times. These 7-foot pain home remedies are sure to help you.

Home remedies for foot pain in India

While these home remedies for foot pain have some usefulness. It’s always better to address the core of the problem in the long run. You should try to figure out the reason why you get these foot pains and address that reason. Most often than not, the reason is excess weight. Now, I am not going to preach about excess weight. But later in the article, we get into solving for foot pains specifically if you are on the heavier side.

Home remedies to relieve foot pain

Also, I must say that all the remedies suggested here are suited for most Indians. They have been made with “India” in mind, hence I am not suggesting a chiropractor session for slight foot pain. Without much ado, here are the 7 home remedies for foot pain.

#1 Soak your feet in Hot Water

If the pain is from the fatigue you experience from a long day of standing or walking, this might be the best way to get some relief. Also, you don’t need much more than a couple of buckets. So, here you go.

  • Get changed into easy comfortable clothes, probably shorts. Make sure that you are rested before you start this. For that, you could lie down on your back for 10 minutes and relax.
  • Wash your feet with cold water. Try to get the water as cold as you can get and give it a long wash, maybe 3-4 minutes. (Note: Most Indian cities are warm, so your water will not be very cold. Consider adding some ice cubes to get it colder).
  • Now, get some hot water in a bucket. Make it as warm as you can comfortably endure.
  • Sit on a comfortable chair where your feet reach the ground and soak your feet in this hot water for about 10 to 15 mins till the water cools down.
  • You could repeat this another time starting from the cold wash.

#2 Elevate your Feet for 15 mins

This foot pain home remedy is also very useful and convenient. It literally needs zero preparation and can be done even if you are in a hotel room. Keep a pillow at the edge of the bed or a cushioned chair. Lie down on the floor adjacent to it with your legs on the bed and your body on the ground. Ideally, the back of your knees should be touching the edge of the bed and your calves should be rested on the pillow. If you feel uncomfortable on your back, you could use a yoga mat or a duvet. Do this for about 15 minutes and your feet should feel better.

So now you might be thinking how does elevation help in foot pain relief, am I right? Well, the answer to this question is elevation promotes better blood circulation. Your heart pumps out blood to your extremities and pulls the blood back. In the case of your feet, gravity is not helping the process. But, if you elevate your feet like this, it’s easier for the blood to flow out of the feet causing better circulation.

#3 Use an Electric Foot Massager

If you have a job that needs you to be on your feet a lot and you have foot aches often, an electric foot massager might be a good investment to make. These machines have a little enclosure where you can put your legs. And the kneaders inside give a good massage to your calves and legs, thus providing you relief. These things are pretty heavenly after a long day. One of the best foot massagers to relieve foot pain lies in the JSB HF05 Leg and Foot Massager.

Below lies an image showing you what all the JSB HF05 leg and foot massager can help relieve. It offers vibration therapy, kneading massage, and reflexology massage for your feet and legs. Moreover, it has 3 intensity levels and an auto shut-off function. The auto shut-off function option ensures this massager goes off within 15 minutes automatically. Since the ideal usage time is only 15 minutes.

Related: Best Foot Massager in India

#4 Use an Acupressure Roller or Mat

Another good home remedy for foot pain is the use of acupressure rollers or mats. That are basically poky things with somewhat poky edges coming out. You put some pressure on them when your body weight. There is something to be said about how much pressure. In my experience, you should push your comfort threshold a bit. You should press as much that you are not comfortable with, but not as much that you have shooting pain. The pain should be sweet.

These things are not expensive, but incredibly useful in foot pain relief. The spikes in these rollers stimulate the thousands of nerve endings in our feet resulting in increased blood flow. The best acupressure roller is the Dr Trust Long Acupressure Foam Roller

This 3D massage roller mimics the finger, palm, and thumb of a therapist’s hands. Thus providing you immense relief. Say bye to those expensive physiotherapy treatments. Due to its ergonomic design, it’s suitable to roll away body aches and pains too. In addition to this, it’s lightweight thus making it travel-friendly. Unlike smooth rollers, it penetrates deep into the muscle tissue for maximum benefit. Give yourself a self-foot massage or body massage for destressing and relaxing after a long day.

#5 Acupressure Penciling

This home remedy is best done with these acupressure pencils, but if you don’t have them around, you could also use the blunt end of a pencil from your desk. You could also use a ballpoint pen, but I usually don’t recommend that since the plastic could break and injure you. See the picture below to get a clear idea of an acupressure pencil. How it looks and how you need to use it.

So, all you need to do is press certain parts of your feet with the blunt side of the pencil. Exactly the same way as depicted above. How much to press? Again, go beyond your comfort and stay within your pain threshold. It should be a sweet pain. Check the below image, the image depicts the use of an acupressure pencil on the hand.

Which points to press? Well, first, you could try and see which parts of your foot are hurting the most. Then, some common points to press are.

  • The exact centre of your feet.
  • The part where your toes meet the rest of the foot.
  • Press hard on the centermost part of your heel. The flesh is dense here, so you have to press harder for effect.
  • All along the inside ridge of your foot.
  • All along the outside ridge of your foot.

#6 Stretching for Heels & Calf

There are some stretches that can also help you relieve foot pain from fatigue.

  • Achilles Stretch Face a wall with your palms on the wall. Put one foot on the wall such that the ball of your foot is on the wall, your heel on the ground, and your knee straight. Push against the foot and feel the stretch from your heel to the calf. Stretch for 30 seconds and repeat three times on each side.
  • Tennis Ball Roll Sit on a comfortable chair where your feet reach the ground. Place a tennis ball on one foot and roll it from the front of the foot to the heel and repeat. Apply some pressure. Do this for 2 minutes on each leg and repeat 3 times.

#7 Compression Socks

If foot pains are a regular occurrence, you might want to buy a pair of compression socks. They also work using the principle of improving blood circulation in the feet. Since your feet are at the bottom of the body. Gravity makes it difficult for the blood veins to get the bad blood back to your heart from the feet. Compression helps in aiding the process of blood circulation and with more fresh blood in your feet, you feel relaxed. Here is one of the best compression socks in India.

The Lumino Cielo compression socks increase leg and foot muscle recovery after rigorous sports. Besides this, they reduce calf and heel pain. Furthermore, they reduce pain from shin splints and varicose veins. You can combine the compression socks with elevating your feet for added benefit.

You can wear compression socks for a few hours, but I don’t recommend that you sleep with them on. The reason is that:
a) they will lose the compression with time.
b) your body will get used to the compression and the benefits with disappear.

Keep Your Feet Happy

I hope this foot pain home remedies article was useful in keeping your feet happy on one of those long days. As I said earlier, these are just relief home remedies, they are not the cure. You should look at the real cause of the recurring foot pain and do something about that.

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