8 Tips to Soothe Foot Pain

Using rosemary, cucumber, and other household items can naturally alleviate foot pain.

Golf Ball Massager

You don’t need to do a single thing to turn an ordinary golf ball into a massager for your feet or hands. Just roll it from the ball of your foot to your heel on the floor, or move in a circular motion between your two hands. It will even stimulate reflexology points that heal your whole body.

Rosemary Footbath

Thank God it’s Friday! At the end of a long week, there’s no better (or less expensive) way to rejuvenate your achy feet than with some rosemary. Fill a bucket or footbath with warm water, and add several rosemary sprigs. They’ll relax and cool your feet in minutes!

Cucumber Foot Soak

Try this cooling and moisturizing mask for sore feet. You’ll need two peeled and chopped cucumbers, two tablespoons of freshly squeezed lemon juice, and two tablespoons of sweet almond oil. Purée the ingredients in the blender, then divide the purée into two large Ziploc bags. Place a foot in each bag and massage the mixture into your feet. Sit back and relax for 10-15 minutes, then rinse off.

Use Your Marbles

Make a foot soak even better than a foot massage with some marbles. Before dipping your feet in your favorite soaking solution (one suggestion is a half a cup of Epsom salts and two drops of essential oil), add a couple of handfuls of marbles to the bottom of the basin. Roll your feet over the marbles for an invigorating massage that increases circulation.

(Vapor) Rub Your Pains Away

A surprising item in your medicine cabinet can help relieve achy feet: vapor rub. Camphor and menthol, the two active ingredients in vapor rub, will help reduce pain. In fact, they’re key ingredients in some creams for muscle aches! For an extra treat, combine the application of vapor rub with a foot massage, and you’ll be in heaven!

Hot and Cold Buckets

To boost circulation and relieve pain, set up two buckets of water, one with hot and one with cold. Sit with your feet in the bucket of cold water for three to five minutes, then switch to the hot bucket for the same amount of time. The alternating temperatures will dilate and constrict blood vessels, so that your pains quickly subside.

Rubber Band to the Rescue

Your pointy-toed stilettos may look fabulous, but by the time you take them off at night, your smooshed toes are absolutely begging for mercy. Get a thick rubber band and wrap it around your toes to create resistance. Then spread your toes and hold them open for a few seconds. Repeat this stretch around five to ten times on each foot, and your boxed-in toes will start to feel normal again.

Get Your Feet Moving

Alternatively, you can pick up pens or pencils (or, if you have kids, even pick-up sticks!) with your toes. It will increase the movement in the feet and relieve pain. If you have a lot of extra pencils, lay them on the floor and rub your sore feet along them. As they roll back and forth, they’ll gently massage the sore spots.

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