If your running shoes fit, your toenails aren’t falling off, and your socks aren’t bloody, it’s easy to ignore your feet. But your lowest extremities really are worth awing over. “The foot is an amazingly complex structure from both a mechanical and architectural viewpoint,” says Mens OOriginal Sport Sandal, quot;The average person circumnavigates the Earth more than five times.
Structurally speaking, feet are fundamental to bodily motion. “We have more than 200 bones in the body and 25 percent of them are in the feet,” says sport podiatrist Brian Fullem, D.P.M., author of The Runner's Guide to Healthy Feet and Ankles.
Throughout the process of taking a single step, the feet—which are the major shock-absorbing system of the human body—interact with more than 100 other muscles, tendons, ligaments, and bones, all the while providing stability with their arches.
Why Is It Hard to Wake Up in the Morning Rock Positano, D.P.M., director of the Non-Surgical Foot and Ankle Service at The Hospital for Special Surgery and New York-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell.
With each step, your feet are subject to heavy loads—one-and-a-half times your body-weight when you walk, between five to seven times your weight when you run.
“Over a lifetime, the average person circumnavigates the Earth’s circumference more than five times,” says Perler. “There are very few complex mechanical things we can engineer that would be able to withstand so many cycles without complete failure or breakdown.”
All of that is incredible, and reason enough to show your feet some more respect. But there's also a tactical reason to pay attention to your puppies. They are your body’s foundation, and you know what happens if the foundation is faulty. Plus, experts say foot ailments are often initial signs of serious medical conditions like arthritis, diabetes, nerve and circulatory disorders, and more.
Routine maintenance goes a long way. Here are six ways to treat your feet right.
Make sure your shoes are comfortable (and newish)
Comfortable shoes go a long way toward helping keep your feet healthy, says Fullem. Even more: Cushioning materials break down with mileage and time, whether they’re used or not, explains Perler. And running in an older, broken-down shoe increases your risk of injury. “Getting new shoes periodically is not cheap, but running in old shoes will likely cost you more in the long run,” says Perler.
Positano recommends having your feet measured every five years. Foot size can change throughout life, meaning many people are walking around in the wrong size shoes. “Ill-fitting shoes can cause overuse injuries as they affect the shock-absorbing capability of the foot and abnormally compress the muscles, tendons, and ligaments, leading to inflammation and swelling,” he says.
Another worthwhile footwear investment: a quality pair of recovery shoes. Perler says a good, Advertisement - Continue Reading Below, for example, can help give your feet some much-needed rest after a workout or just a day of walking around.
The lightweight, super cushioned recovery shoes and sandals by OOFOS are designed for maximum impact absorption to take pressure off your feet and joints and help them recharge. Athletes suffering from a variety of foot ailments, including the notorious plantar fasciitis, have reported pain relief after incorporating OOFOS footwear into their recovery regimens.
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Give your feet a workout
Improving the strength of your feet is crucial to keeping them chugging along, says Fullem. To challenge and engage the muscles, try these four movements known as “short foot” exercises.
- Scrunch the foot to bring the toes to the heel (without curling the toes).
- Walk backward in a straight line with one foot directly behind the other, putting weight evenly on the ball of the foot.
- Stand with one or two legs on a stability disc.
- Flex and rotate the ankle using a band loop.
Stretch your calves
“Tight calf muscles are the most common link to most foot pathologies seen in runners,” says Perler. With running’s repetitive nature, tight calf muscles can overload the foot with so much abnormal pressure that its natural shock absorption system weakens, he explains. Proper stretching Mens OOmg Fibre Low Shoe.
Mix up your workouts and runs
Spend time in the weight room, on a yoga mat, or in a Pilates studio as well as on the roads. “A diversity in running terrain, exercise intensity, weight training, core-strengthening, and recovery can help you run even longer, faster, and most importantly injury-free,” says Perler. You’ll prime the muscles, tendons, and ligaments that govern your feet to battle the stresses of running, he says.
Perler adds that mixing up your running routine with interval training, trail running, and sprinting conditions your feet better than routine, steady-state cardio.
Listen to pain
Ignoring it can lead to more time off the road, says Perler. If your paws are barking about something for more than a week, seek help from a podiatrist. “The internet has no clinical experience to make a judgment. Your health care professional does,” notes Positano.
Whether you’re dealing with a stress fracture, a plantar fascial strain, or nagging tendonitis, Perler says addressing problems at the onset helps ensure they’ll just be minor bumps in the road and not dead ends.
Finally, Positano also recommends taking cold water baths after runs and elevating your legs above your heart every now and then. Both habits preventatively work to reduce swelling and inflammation in your ankles, lower legs, and feet.
Cassie Shortsleeve is a skilled freelance journalist with more than a decade of experience reporting for some of the nation's largest print and digital publications, including Women's Health, Parents, What to Expect, The Washington Post, Flex and rotate the ankle using a band loop Dear Sunday Motherhood and a co-founder of the newsletter Two Truths Motherhood How Body Image Can Affect Your Run Chamber of Mothers. A Part of Hearst Digital Media.
