Keep Your Feet Feeling Young

People with diabetes are typically at a disadvantage in many ways. For one, they typically have a decrease in circulation which ends up in a diminished capacity to heal. Second, they often have a decrease in sensation that makes it difficult to know when there is a particular problem with the feet.

In my office, I usually give my diabetic patient a “fire and brimstone” speech about how they can lose their feet if they don’t take care of them. This is easy for me to say, but the truth is many of these people find it difficult to bring their feet up close enough to inspect them. There are several new innovations to allow the person with diabetes to keep an eye on their feet.

Pictured above is the Insight Foot Care Scale that has become recently available. It has a mirrored surface that allows the bottom of the feet to be visible. It will sell for approximately $99 and is a great tool to help people monitor their feet on a daily basis.

Another option, which is a bit less expensive, is an illuminated mirror that can be used in the same manner. The mirror is adjustable and is another good tool to keep the feet healthy.

Both mirrors will allow the people to check their feet for any new breaks in the skin, infection, calluses, or anything that may put the feet at risk. If any of these things are seen, your podiatrist should be called immediately. Remind the office that you’re diabetic and think you have a problem.
The mirrored scale is not yet available, but will be soon. You can purchase the Illuminated Mirror by clicking HERE.

A friend of mine emailed me a story about a man from New Zealand who ran coast to coast (of New Zealand that is, barefoot. He figured that if the Kenyans can do it, so can he! Little did I know that there is a whole Barefoot Running subculture. And boy are they serious about it.

In visiting some of their sites, they find ways to explain away everything. Pain on the top of your foot? It’s due to “imprisoning your feet” in shoes. Orthotics? Make you feel better because it just makes the “prison” nicer. We’ll see how open to suggestion they are…I made a few polite comments and will see if the moderator lets them up.

Don’t get me wrong…some people have great mechanics and love going barefoot…maybe even run barefoot. Even if you take out the obvious issues: glass, twigs, gravel, etc. An unshod foot doesn’t have the shock absorption that it needs to run long distances.

If barefoot running has you intrigued, the best option is to give it a try on a very controlled surface, like a high school track. Nicely level with good cushioning. I think that most would put their running shoes back on after one lap around…if they last that long.

Let me know in the comments if you’ve tried barefoot running and your experiences with it.

For more information, visit my website at http://www.tanglewoodfootspecialists.com

Ok…it’s really hard to comment on these. When I first saw the boot only pictures, I thought it was on a hansome cab horse in central part. I do know that Sarah Jessica Parker likes to push the fashion envelope, but in this case it was a misstep (no pun intended).

So are they the boot version of flip flops? No…they’re much better than that. In fact, I can’t say from a function standpoint why I don’t like them. You have socks with each toe separated, running shoes that look like gloves…why not boots that look like mittens? Or horse hooves? Guess that’s why I’m not in fashion!

There was an article a month or two ago about the future of the printed Yellow Pages. It’s a well-established fact that fewer people consult the Yellow Pages for information and are increasingly turning to the internet. Truthfully, my books at home go directly into recycling.

I came across an interesting blog entry about Matthew Upson, a British soccer player, about a novel use for the Yellow Pages:

…Upson simply had to get fit, find a way of curing a mysterious calf injury that wrecked the beginning of his Upton Park career.

Running out of options, he finally phoned up a specialist in South Africa he’d heard about on the grapevine, a kinesiologist who, as it turns out, deploys an unusual method to construct the orthotic inserts that realign the body when placed inside someone’s shoe. “He uses the Yellow Pages to build them up and then wraps them in masking tape,” Upson explains, removing a wedge from his training shoe to let me have a look. “Taking out just one page would knock you off balance. That’s how delicate it is. He’ll gradually reduce the number of sheets as my body realigns itself. Now I fly him over whenever I need to see him. Before, I was constantly overusing my calf because my body was so far out of line. One side of my jaw was cracking, my neck was hurting, one groin was constantly tight. It all adds up to a pretty cloudy picture of how I was moving. I think it started after my cruciate operation at Arsenal. When you start running again, you’re bound to protect that side a bit. It’s only natural.”

I’d have to wonder how durable such an orthotic device would be!!!

Visit our website to learn more about non-Yellow Page orthotics…

Although the title specifies running shoes, I’m writing this with all types of athletic shoes in mind: tennis shoes, walking shoes, sneakers, aerobics shoes, basketball shoes, etc. The principle is generally the same. For brevity, lets just refer to them for the most part as running shoes.

We all know that running shoes do not last forever. Most people, however, continue to wear them well after their useful life has ended. Most commonly in my office I’ll have people tell me that their shoes are three years old BUT (insert excuse here…). Some of my favorites, it fits my feet perfectly (meaning it’s broken down), the heel is worn out just how I like it (meaning it has a hole inside the shoe), new shoes just bother me (meaning that I’ve worn these for so long, the support is too different at this point), and my favorite: They still look new.

Yes, they still look new. When all you do is run on the treadmill, use the elliptical, and some stationary bike, and your shoes never see the light of day, of course they look new. What’s problematic is the part you don’t see.

The support and function of a running shoe has little or nothing to do with the overall appearance of the upper part of the shoe or even the sole. It’s the midsole, the portion of the sole that is largely invisible from the outside, that has the most function and limits the useful lifetime of a shoe. With every stride, the midsole compresses and, with time, loses the majority of its support. For runners, I estimate the useful lifetime of a running shoe at approximately 350 miles. This amount may be slightly shorter for heavier runners and slightly longer for lighter ones. For those who really don’t run regularly, or partcipate in other sports and activities that can’t me measured by mileage, your shoes should be replaced every 4-6 months, depending on the frequency and level of the activity.

So start keeping track of the life of your shoes. Dedicate a pair of shoes (or more) exclusively for exercise to get the most out of its useful life. Keep a tally of the mileage in your running journal, or even on the side of the shoe in pen. Write the date of the shoe on the tongue or the outsole of the shoe so you really know how old it is.

Whenever you are involved in serious exercise, minor injuries are inevitable. You must do everything in your power to minimize them. Wearing the proper shoes is one simple way to help you along.