Runners are the first to tell you that their feet take a beating and foot injuries are common. After all, it is your feet that carry you through those long runs. From blisters to blackened toenails and the list goes on, if you want your feet to take care of you, you have to take care of your feet.

Foot Injuries Are No Joke

Here are a few of the most common foot injuries:

1. Plantar fasciitis

The plantar fascia tendon runs down the length of the foot. Plantar fasciitis is an inflammation of the tendon that causes a sharp stabbing pain along the bottom of the foot. It’s an overuse injury that can sideline a runner for months. To prevent plantar fasciitis, find a good pair of shoes with an orthotic insert and replace your shoes every 500 miles.

2. Extensor tendonitis

The tendon that runs along the top of the foot can become inflamed causing a foot injury called extensor tendonitis. These tendons move along the top of the foot and are used to straighten and pull each toe up. When you wear improper shoes, have a tight Achilles, or excessively weak calf muscles–it can cause this form of tendonitis.

3. Blisters

Blisters are a painful injury caused by excessive friction when socks or shoes rub against the skin. While blisters are normally not dangerous, popping a blister with a dirty needle can cause a serious infection. Plus, blisters can cause runners intense pain.

4. Black toenails

Black toenails are usually caused by excessive trauma from the front of the shoe striking the same toe(s) over and over again. It’s most common for runners training for marathons and it usually ceases once runners cut back on training. Getting shoes that fit correctly can also help.

Steps to Keep Your Feet Healthy

Foot maintenance is the key to keeping your feet looking and feeling good. These steps can help:

1. Choose the right shoe.

Make sure you choose running shoes that fit properly and provide proper support. The best way to find perfectly fitting shoes is to go to a running store and get fitted. Take notes so you know for the future, because as noted above, running shoes need to be replaced every 500 miles. Most runners replace their shoes too late, which can cause injury.

2. Choose the right socks.

Socks that are too loose often cause blisters. That’s why it’s important to spend as much time ensuring your socks fit as you do your shoes. Experiment with what fit works best for you on shorter runs rather than the big marathon you’ve been training for all summer. Lightweight, breathable socks can also help wick away sweat, which can cause foot fungus.

3. Soak your tootsies.

Soak your feet regularly. Epsom salts are a good choice because they contain magnesium, which is good for reducing foot pain. To make a foot soak, add 1/2 cup of Epsom salts to a large bowl of warm water along with a few drops of lavender essential oil. Soak your feet for at least 15 minutes each day.

4. Lather up.

Treat your feet to a nice daily massage. Foot massage is doubly effective because it prevents dry skin on the feet from cracking and it relaxes the tendons that can become inflamed from overuse.

• With about a dime size portion of lotion in one hand, start by working the inner soles of each foot. Keep the fingers behind and the thumbs on the inner soles of the foot.
• Individually massage each toe, starting at the base of the toe and working out toward the toenail.
• Finally, work the top of the foot, massaging toward your toes along the veins of the foot.

5. Get professional help.

Getting a pedicure isn’t just a luxury reserved for those that want gorgeous tootsies, it’s also helpful for foot maintenance. A trained pedicurist can trim your toenails, remove painful callouses, moisturize your feet, and give you a fabulous foot massage. They’re also a great way to treat yourself after a long run. Make sure you get a pedicurist that’s trained in dealing with runner’s feet. Ask fellow runners or even your podiatrist for a good recommendation.

What are your secrets for keeping your tootsies in tip top shape? We want to know! Drop us a line via Twitter @EcoSalon.

Related on EcoSalon
Feel Your Feet
5 DIY Tips to Healthy Feet All Summer Long
The Natural Secret for Baby Soft Feet

Image of sneakers via Shutterstock

The post Happy Feet! A Runner’s Guide for How to Avoid Foot Injuries appeared first on EcoSalon.

It has taken some 4 million years to perfect the human foot, but we’re ruining our foot health with the shoes we wear.

As time goes on and the shoe industry along with our increasingly complex fashion tastes develop, we continue to destroy our feet, both with the shoes we wear and the way they make us walk.

The very nature of shoe design is to compensate for the perceived deficiencies of the foot. Walking on a hard surface barefoot hurts, and shoes help us by providing a structure of comfort. Many people have flat or narrow feet, so shoes are able to create an arch or provide cushion where it’s needed for stability’s sake. Any then shoe design is also guided by vanity and the desire to look fashionable.

But what about sports shoes, which are supposedly designed for ultimate foot health, comfort, safety and practicality? The truth is, they aren’t any better than their fashionable counterparts. In a paper published in a 1991 issue of Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise entitled “Athletic Footwear: Unsafe Due to Perceptual Illusions”, its authors wrote, “Wearers of expensive running shoes that are promoted as having additional features that protect (e.g., more cushioning, ‘pronation correction’) are injured significantly more frequently than runners wearing inexpensive shoes (costing less than $40).”

Another study showed that people who wore expensive shoes with extra cushioning were twice as likely to suffer an injury. According to another study, people in expensive, cushioned running shoes were twice as likely to suffer an injury—31.9 percent — when compared with those who ran in hard-soled shoes — 14.3 percent. A Harvard study determined that running in trainers increases the impact on the knee by up to 36 percent and that barefoot running and training strengthen the foot and ankle all the way up to the knee, hip, core and torso. This makes sense when you consider that the sole and toes of our feet contain 200,000 nerve endings, which connect to the rest of our body and brain. Shoes block these sensors. Runners land with a heel strike that is comparable to the heel being hit with a hammer 1.5 to 3 times their body weight.

From high heels, which alter our postures, to boots to flip flops, our foot fashion choices are not guided by comfort in as much as they are guided by fads. So, for comfort’s sake and the addition of frills and fancies, we are walking in shoes that change our gait and inflict pain.

According to Dr. William A. Rossi in a 1999 article in Podiatry Management, “It took 4 million years to develop our unique human foot and our consequent distinctive form of gait, a remarkable feat of bio-engineering. Yet, in only a few thousand years, and with one carelessly designed instrument, our shoes, we have warped the pure anatomical form of human gait, obstructing its engineering efficiency, afflicting it with strains and stresses and denying it its natural grace of form and ease of movement head to foot.”

What are our options? Sure, it’s not like we can walk around barefoot through the city or on the job, but we can nix cushioned shoes and stick to hard-surfaced shoes with as little heel as possible. Reserve your high heels for special occasions. Take advantage of alone time and walk around the house barefoot. We can also switch to barefoot running shoes, which have already been gaining popularity among runner’s circles. According to Harvard researchers, habitual barefoot runners have shorter strides and increased frequency, avoid impact peaks on hard surfaces, keep joint moments low, and have strong feet.

Photo Credit: Tobyotter

The post We’re Ruining Our Foot Health (And The Rest Of Our Bodies) With The Shoes We Wear appeared first on EcoSalon.