“You know you are a runner when your running shoes are the most
expensive shoes you have”
Above
line is absolutely true for runner. But expensive shoes doesn't assure that it
will be right shoes for your feet. Achieving your desired goal for marathon
needs consistent efforts & dedication. Injuries are not new for
runners. These injuries are barrier for
your training. Many times you assume that injury&/pain is happening due to
excessive running for which your body is not habituated yet. But few injuries
become long term like IT band syndrome, Achilies tendintis, Plantarfascitis(Heel Pain) etc. Right medical advice can help you on time to time recovery.
Sometimes person has to give up their passion of running which
is very disturbing for runners.
This article is an attempt to give you new insight for your
running injuries. Marathon running is a quest in which so many people help you
to understand your body Physiotherapist, dietician, trainers and last but not
the least Podiatrist are those expertise to whom you approach after getting any injury.
Mentioned above all expertise you are aware but may not be aware of Podiatrist.
Podiatrist we can say are foot doctors. Dear runners your feet are most
important in living your "pace passion".
"Podiatry is the field of medicine which deals with most
important aspect of running i.e. shoes & orthotics."
Yes you are right I am talking about Podiatry science.
Dear
runners your feet are so much important to live your pace and passion
.
Podiatry is a branch
of medicine devoted to the study of diagnosis and treatment of
disorders of the foot, ankle and lower extremities.
Most of the runners experience pain in calf, shin,
heel even knees apart from that blackening of toe nails are few common problems
which can be treated with Podiatry.
This image is self
explanatory about how to identify whether person is pronatory/supinator.
COMMON FOOT
RELATED CONDITIONS WHERE PODIATRY CAN HELP:
- Pain in calf muscles: Typically described as tired aching legs. Because of faulty foot posture (Flat feet or high arch) can reduce efficiency of calf muscle.
- Toe nail blackening: Many runners use one size bigger shoes with misconceptions that foot swells after running. Due to this foot slide inside the shoes & can lead to blackening of toe nails. This way using tight or loose fitting shoes both can lead to blackening of toe nails.
- Achilles Tendinitis: Further calf muscles can get strained at its insertion which is back side of heel which is called as achilies tendinitis. To know more click here...
- Plantarfascitis: Pain below heel which aggravates after rest initially. Later it also aggravates after running certain distance. Pain is due to inflammation of plantar fascia which is ligament below the feet. To know more click here...
- Ankle pain: While running you may land up in ligament injuries. High arch person (Supinator) is prone for straining of ligament/muscles on outer side of ankle. Overpronators can injure inner side of ankle. Sometimes patterns are variable depend on many factors like tibial varus/uneven terrain. To know more click here...
- Shin Pain: Pain in inner/outer side of shin area known as shin splints. Including alignment issue, calf tightness and running surface also causing factor for the pain
- IT Band syndrome: Runners are very prone to ITB (Ilio Tibial Band) injury deu to following factors.
- Narrowed stance in running and loss of double limb support
- Fatigue of the hip abductor group producing a “droopy pelvis”
- Female runners are more susceptible to ITB problems due to slightly wider pelvis
Apart from above knee pain, back pain is also very common in
runners and closely related to altered lower limb biomechanics.
ORTHOTICS Vs INSOLES:
Many people pick up off the shelf available insoles & feel that they are sorted with their
flat feet/any foot correction. But it is absolutely wrong. Orthotics need to
customize as per your particular foot alignment which is expertise task.
Podiatrist need to do
through evaluation of lower limb biomechanics & then design orthotics
accordingly. As mentioned earlier it’s
not only pronation/supination issue but alignment all proximal joints is
important.
Before making orthotics it is important to be sure that your
running shoes are appropriate. Following is basic guideline for shoes.
- Basic shoes test: There are few basic shoe tests are necessary, before going in arch pattern.
- Flex Test—by pushing down on the
shoe, the breakpoint, should be firm but not provide significant resistance.
- Torsion Test—by twisting the shoe in opposite directions, this will check the stability of the soling. If the shoe twists over on itself, inadequate support.
- Counter Test—by grasping the heel of the shoe, apply pressure to the heel counter with your finger. If the counter collapses with little/no resistance, the shoe is not supporting the heel.
After
wearing shoes there should be thumb nail gap between shoe front & your
longest toe.
With proper traning, right shoes and orthotics can drastically boost your performance. V-Care Clinic is working in the field of Podiatry since many years. We follow guideline provided by UK Podiatrist. To know more about your feet & posture visit us.
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