Tired feet after work: 5 home remedies that actually work

Eight hours on your feet in a shop, a kitchen, a hospital ward or a building site, and your feet come home heavy, hot and sometimes swollen. Not serious, but cumulative: every day starts a little worse than the last. These five remedies are done at home and take no more than 15 minutes.

1. Legs up, 10 minutes

Lie down and rest your legs against the wall or on several cushions, above the heart. The blood and fluid that pool in the feet during the day drain on their own. It is the first thing to do when you get in.

2. Hot and cold water

Two basins: one hot (not scalding), one cold. Three minutes in hot, one in cold, three times. The temperature change gets circulation going. Always finish cold.

3. Stretch the sole and calf

• Roll a tennis ball under the foot, 1 minute per foot.
• Hands on the wall, one leg back with the heel down, 30 seconds per side.

4. Check your shoes

Flat soles with no cushioning or shoes that are too narrow are the most common cause. An insole with arch support and alternating two pairs changes more than you would think.

5. Fifteen minutes of EMS massage

An EMS foot massager sends small pulses that contract and relax the muscles of the sole like a massage, with nobody having to do it. You sit, rest your feet, pick an intensity and after 15 minutes it switches off by itself. It is the remedy most people keep up because it takes no effort.

What does not help

• Sleeping with your feet hanging off the bed.
• Slippers with no sole.
• Putting up with the pain for weeks hoping it passes.

When to seek advice

Swelling in one foot only, strong pain, redness, heat or discomfort that does not improve with a few days' rest: see your doctor.