15 April 2011

A Podiatrist's Guide to Runners' Feet

The foot is a marvel of engineering, and nowhere is it more apparent that look at propel the human body. The human foot consists of 26 bones, 33 joints, 112 ligaments and a network of tendons, nerves and blood vessels that all work together to allow human beings to run human. The foot is the key to balance, support and propulsion of the body of a jogger. However, before you start any type of physical activity, including jogging, it is essential to ensure that your body with the ground connection is in good operating condition.If you are thinking from a schema of jogging, it would be a wise investment of your time to visit a doctor DPMS for a thorough evaluation. Many beginners are excluded with injuries, foot or ankle, more that could have been avoided with such an assessment. Podiatrists are able to provide advice of packaging, identifying any potential problems and to prescribe Orthotics if necessary and provide advice on the running shoes.If you are a seasoned jogger, periodic visits to your Podiatrist can help to capture any potential problems that arise in the feet before becoming painful. It strikes of 15 000 feet - a force of body weight of 3 4 times to cover 10 miles. Therefore, good feet care are essential to the maintenance of the longevity and the ability to reach your objectives running.It is recommended to consult a doctor if you are over 40 years and plan to start an exercise routine. A thorough review will include an electrocardiogram, check all the breathing problems, blood work and pressure blood tests before giving the go-ahead for a vigorous exercise program.Regardless of age, if you have high blood pressure, diabetes, weight or other severe medical problems you need to be examined by your doctor before starting an exercise routine.The Importance of the StretchingIt is important to start a good stretching program before starting an exercise regime. Stretching helps reduce the risk of injury by increasing flexibility and reducing the strain on the muscles, tendons and joints.It is always a good idea to warm up with a 10 minute walk or jogging slow before extending to blood flow in the soft tissues. Stretch should take 5-10 minutes and should be carried out in a model of stretching/hold/relaxation without any bouncing or traction. It is important to stretch the muscles of the back of the leg and thigh (posterior) propulsion and don't forget the anterior muscles.Good choice of FootwearShoe should be made by the structure of the foot (morphology), foot function (above or below the feet pronation or neutral), body type (weight), environment running and running schema. After reviewing your feet, a Podiatrist may make specific recommendations for you in what to look for in a shoe. Don't forget that all shoes have a different shape and sizes and widths are not standardized measures - are different for each different shoe manufacturer.Other considerations should be if Orthotics will be placed in your shoes, and if your running style is myself or on the balls of the feet. Footwear should provide adequate absorption of shock and should be flexible around the ball of the foot. It should be no motion in the midfoot during the race, and this can be maintained with a rigid midfoot zone in the shoe. It is always best to buy shoes in the afternoon with socks that will be used at your event to ensure the best fit.The best socks are those made of moisture wicking material such as Coolmax ®, rather than be made of cotton. For more information, see part 2 of this series.