After having a child many women want to lose their baby weight so they look for activities that they can do to shed some pounds but still spend time with their little bundles of joy. Jogging strollers are a great option that allows just this.
Whether you are new to stroller jogging or if you have been doing this for years there are a few things that you need to keep in mind in order to keep your body out of harm’s way. First, it is important to remember that even if you are an experienced runner, starting to exercise with a jogging stroller is an entirely different experience. You are no longer pumping your arms to help propel you forward. This means more power must be derived from your legs and feet, thus putting more pressure on them as well.
Secondly, your posture is going to change because when you are pushing the stroller your back hunches slightly. If you are not used to this position, then expect to be sore the first couple of times you start stroller jogging.
Third, expect different muscles and areas of your body to ache more than they normally would in your pre-baby running days. When running with a stroller you are positioning your body differently and adding an extra pushing motion which will cause different muscles to be worked. Also, if you have put on some extra weight then you must keep in mind that you are putting more weight onto your feet which may cause them to hurt more then usual. I would recommend buying a new pair of running shoes when you first start out. Using old running shoes from before baby, when you were running ten to twenty pounds lighter than now, causes the pressure points to shift causing your feet to blister.
Getting back into shape is an important step for any mother to take after she has a child. The better shape you are in, the easier you will find being able to keep up with your children. Just remember to start out slow when you first begin to exercise again. Take in to consideration all the things your body has been through recently and don’t get frustrated if you get tired quickly, this is to be expected for the first couple of weeks when beginning a workout routine.
This is a direct quote from one of my patients this morning. She is a woman in her seventies, suffers from bunions, hammertoes, and unrelenting peripheral neuropathy. She is always looking for the newest and greatest remedies that can offer her to eliminate her pain. She is, however, unwilling to relinquish her high heels.
I’ve experienced this commitment to shoes before. Years ago, I treated a retired principal who was in her nineties. Each visit she would walk into the office in her high-heeled Ferragamos while holding on to her walker. Over time, her feet progressively swelled over the course of the day. It reached a point that the shoes were actually causing the skin on the toes to break down and form ulcers. When I got the nerve to tell her that the shoes are hurting her and it was necessary for her to switch, she replied “I have always been a 6.5 AAA shoe size and always will be…and Ferragamo is a fine shoe.” I never saw her again.
People are passionate about how they appear, but it is important that passion does not cause them any harm. If your favorite shoes are causing pain or problems to occur, it’s time to find a new favorite.
You wake up one morning and it hits you like a ton of bricks. A sharp, stabbing pain in the bottom of your heel. As you start trying to walk it may progressively ease up…but if you sit for a period of time, there it goes again! Welcome to the not-so-exclusive club of Plantar Fasciitis. You are in good company – approximately 25% of adults will experience heel pain at some time.
The plantar fascia is a ligament that attaches to the heel and extends through the arch. Due to an injury, or just longstanding biomechanical imbalance, the attachment of the fascia to the heel becomes inflamed. In order to appropriately manage this, both the inflammation and the mechanics must be addressed.
Treatment of inflammation is a modification of the ‘RICE’ principle: Rest, Ice, Compression, and Elevation. In the case of plantar fasciitis, ice is most helpful. Anti-inflammatory medication is also useful. In extreme cases, an injection of cortisone can be used to quickly manage the inflammatory process.
Without mechanical control, all the anti-inflammatory measures will be for naught. Initially this can come in the form of a taping or strapping to splint the plantar fascia ligament. An off-the-shelf supportive insole can be used as well. In many cases a custom orthotic device will best serve to neutralize the pathological mechanics adn best prevent a reoccurrence of plantar fasciitis.
One thing that needs to be mentioned is that plantar fasciitis is not a sign of aging. On the contrary, it is a syndrome of activity. In my Houston practice, I have treated patients with plantar fasciitis who are as young as in their 20′s. Don’t assume it will go away on its own, however. Be sure to visit your podiatrist to get you out of pain as quickly as possible!
It’s tough to go to Walgreens, Target, CVS, or Walmart without passing by a display for the Ped-Egg. Reviews are usually glowing that their feet feel incredibly soft after treatment. When I look at it, I see one thing…a cheese grater.
I have an iron-clad rule in my practice, if you look at a product, and you think….”man, that would be great to zest a lemon or grate cheese, you should NOT use it on your body”…especially your foot!
The Ped Egg is actually a series of sharp blades that grate away hard skin. The problem is, you need to go by feel, not sight. How do you know you’re getting too close? You feel the pain, see the bleeding, etc. OUCH!! What if you can’t feel the pain? Some people with peripheral neuropathy do not have enough sensation to feel when you have gone too far. Again, these are BLADES! You don’t want a pedicurist coming at you with a sharp blade, why would you want to yield one blindly?
Calluses can be well treated with a variety of creams, callus pumice stones and files, and pads. You can find a variety of these products on our online foot care store. Remember, you wouldn’t want to use something like the slide the kid is about to go down, right? You’d never do that…don’t do it with your feet either!!
When a new product comes to market, look at it with a critical eye and think “is it really something good to use on my feet?” Let your gut guide you!
Year after year, Americans are putting themselves at increased risk for diseases. For a few years, Houston, TX had the dubious title of most obese city in the country. That’s not what anyone wants to be know as! It is well known that 30 minutes of sustained activity at least three times a week dramatically reduces the risk for these diseases.
Here’s some eye-opening statistics:
- More than $127 million is spent annually nationwide on medical expenses related to juvenile obesity
- Healthcare expenses and losses in productivity related to problems from obesity costs Americans in excess of $100 billion a year
- 300,000 deaths per year are related to problems associated with obesity.
- Inactivity and poor diet is on the verge of overtaking smoking as the number one cause of preventable death
- Children ages 10-15 who are overweight have an 80% chance of being an obese adult at age 25
- Only 25% of children get 30 minutes of physical activity each day
- Juvenile and teen obesity rates have doubled in the past 20 years
Running is the easiest and most accesible exercise out there. We all know how to do it. No training necessary. All you need are running shoes (although there are those that debate if shoes are necessary). Just step outside and go! Once you start the routine, it’ll just get easier.
Just as I finished writing about Houston Rockets star center Yao Ming being sidelined with a broken left foot, Vegas screeches to a halt with the news that Lance Burton has canceled weeks of shows because he broke his right foot on stage. That must have been some magic trick!! This is the first time, however in 15,000 shows that he has broken a bone. Maybe Yao should have Lance over for drinks to learn his secret.
Oh, yeah…it’s magic, not basketball…that might be it too. For those looking to visit the Monte Carlo Hotel, Lance Burton’s Vegas home for 13 years, he plans to be back after June 3.
I am on a plane returning home to Houston, TX from visiting Denver with my buddy Wayne to see The Dead perform. This is the latest incarnation of the Grateful Dead (Editorializing: It is ridiculous that all major tours don’t come through Houston, the fourth largest city in the USA!). The show was amazing – worth the trip! But as has always been typical with the scene – The Dead, Phish, String Cheese Incident, etc – shoes are optional.
For the uninitiated, the pre-show parking lot scene is a big part of the experience. Thousands of people going through a traveling bazaar selling t-shirts, posters, jewelry, and more. Looking around, I’d say about 10% of those walking around were barefoot. As a podiatrist, I notice these things! I also notice the considerable amount of broken glass on the ground, as well as other hazards. Stepping on this would likely need immediate treatment, antibiotics, and a tetanus shot. Not to mention risking missing the show!
Once inside, the percentage of barefoot attendees increased. Dancing on the floor and in the seats of the arena on the hard concrete. Although the dangers from outside are less (but not entirely absent) you now have people in close quarters dancing to the music. Trust me, you don’t want a 200 pound guy accidentally stepping down on your bare foot!
The concrete floors also provide a significant amount of shock when dancing. The force of your body weight on your feet is one thing, but the force coming up into your foot from the concrete is another. A rubber sole of any sort will help to moderate that shock.
I intend to be at many more concerts. I’m sure I’ll notice the same things at the next one. Just be careful, take care so you can enjoy the show comfortably and safely.
Another foot injury plagues the Houston Rockets. In Friday night’s playoff game against the Lakers, center Yao Ming suffered what was believed to be an ankle sprain. The next day, it was announced that the injury was, in fact, a hairline fracture. Although not displaced and requiring no surgery, the injury will require a full 8 to 12 weeks of rehabilitation before Yao can play on the foot again. This is the end of Yao’s season. Hopefully the Rockets can continue to move forward with their playoff ambitions.
Yao’s left foot has been plagued with various injuries. A stress fracture in his foot almost forced him to miss the Beijing Olympics. When repeated fractures such as this occur in the foot, often a custom orthotic is necessary. An orthotic will stabilize the mechanics and redistribute the pressures so no one specific area has an undue load on it. This most commonly will stop future fractures from occurring.
For basketball players, an additional level of support is sometimes needed. An ankle-foot orthotic not only redistributes pressures in the foot, but also helps to provide support to the ankle. I hope that during Yao’s downtime, his trainers and physicians will reassess his biomechanical control so he can stop having these injury-plagued seasons.
As the Houston summer quickly approaches, so do those long summer days with the scorching hot sun and humid conditions. If you are a runner this means that you are going to have to prepare yourself to bear the heat if you want to keep up the pace during the summer months. One of the most important aspects of running, no matter what time of year it is, is staying hydrated. I can still remember my high school cross country coach telling the team that training doesn’t end when you leave practice but continues with everything you put in your body because this will affect your run tomorrow and the next day. He would say that you can tell if you are drinking enough water if you are urinating clear. Back in those years I thought this was a silly analogy to be teaching high school students but thinking back on it now it was actually a very clever way to tell if I was truly drinking enough fluids to keep up with the toll I was taking on my body with each run.
There are many other ways to make sure you stay fully hydrated during hot and humid runs. Many runners choose to wear camelbacks, because they are relatively lightweight and don’t require you to stop if you want a sip of water. There are also many fuel belts on the market that allow runner to wear a belt that holds containers for water or juices.
It is important to consider that sometimes water is not the best choice in hot circumstances because you are not merely losing water when you run but also essential electrolytes. Alternatives such as Gatorade, Vitamin Water, and PowerAid are great products that help to keep you hydrated and replenish your electrolytes.
When you run in the heat you also sweat more. Make sure you wear socks that are made out of a material that can wick the increased perspiration away from your feet. If you wear cheap cotton socks you will have a greater risk of developing blisters.
However you choose to help quench your thirst and dodge the heat while running in the summer months always keep in mind that you must be especially in tuned with your body during this time. Don’t push yourself to hard. If you start feeling heat cramps, dizziness, or lightheadedness coming on stop immediately and seek shade and water.
Running is one of the most popular means of exercise around. The reason is, it’s easy and accessible! We have our feet, there’s road outside our door…all you need to do is step outside. National Running Day is a national initiative whereby many of the major organizations within the running industry are joining forces in an unprecedented unified effort to nationally and locally promote running.
There will be cities around the country hosting organized runs for all ages and levels. Houston, TX is definitely a participant and the Chevron Houston Marathon is a sponsor. If you do not live in or near a participating city, that’s no problem! Just go outside and run!
Don’t run alone either!! Run with your husband or wife, boyfriend or girlfriend, fraternity or sorority. Run with your kids or run with your parents. Run with your dog (dog’s love to run with you.) Run around your block, go to a park and run, or run on a high school track. It doesn’t matter where…it doesn’t matter with who…just get out and go!
For more information, visit http://www.runningday.org
Seriously…that was a real question that one of my patient’s was asked on her Facebook page. No, it wasn’t a joke. She mentioned that she was going to see the Podiatrist and her friend responded “What’s that? An iPod doctor?” I’m stunned too!
He’s not alone though. I remember traveling by bus from New York to Philadelphia for my interview. The guy who sat next to me asked what I was going for and I told him and interview for Podiatry. He then spent the next hour telling me how much he loved kids. Podiatrist, pediatrician, close enough, right?
So…just in case you want to bring me your iPod or that I’ll help your kids with their ear infection (I do treat kids’ foot problems, though). Here’s my explanation:
A podiatrist is a doctor that specializes in treating all disorders of the foot and ankle. After college a podiatrist attends four years of school and then a hospital-based residency program. Podiatrists treat children, my youngest patient is under one year old, and also treat adults into their geriatric years. In my practice, I’ll see the marathon runner who has developed pain due to overtraining and poor mechanics. I’ll see the person with diabetes who has an open wound due to pressure. I take care of warts, ingrown toenails, athlete’s foot, and infections. If someone steps on a tack, I’ll be here to take it out. If you suffer with bunions, hammertoes, or a neuroma, I can do the surgery to get you feeling better. If you have flat feet, I can fit you for a custom orthotic so you won’t even think about it. Break a bone? No problem, come on in and I’ll x-ray it and get you fixed up.
Get it now? Simply put, a podiatrist is the premier physician to handle any foot or ankle problem. To learn more, order my FREE book “One Step Ahead: The Foot Owner’s Manual” by clicking here.
By the way…I am pretty good with an iPod too!
