FixingYourFeet

Healthy Feet Running 100's

I just posted a new blog piece about having healthy feet while running 100 mile races. Since I not longer use this site for my newsletter, you have to go to http://www.fixingyourfeet.com/blog to read the article.

If you are getting this email/blog post, you are still subscribed through TypePad. Make sure you are subscribed at my new site in order to receive new updates as I post them. There is a subscription box in the upper right corner. This whole site will disappear in early November since everything is on my new site. Everything here has been transfered over to http://www.fixingyourfeet.com/blog.

Come see me there.

John Vonhof http://www.FixingYourFeet.com and http://www.FixingYourFeet.com/blog

New Posts at FixingYourFeet.com/blog

I have been posting new article every five or six days at my FixingYourFeet.com/blog. This new blog has replaced my old Happy Feet blog and my FixingYourFeet Ezine. There is a FeedBurner subscription box in the upper right side of the page. I encourage you to click on the links below and subscribe to this new page.

Click here to go to my FixingYourFeet.com/blog

Recent posts include Debunking Common Foot Myths, Help for Chronic Heel Pain, Stretch EZ Perfect for Many Foot Problems, Bad Feet in Namibia, Clean Feet with Wysi Wipes, and more.

This is a reminder that I am NO LONGER posting to this Fixing Your Feet E-zine. It has been moved to my FixingYourFeet.com website where there is a subscription box in the upper right side of the page.

I encourage you to click on the links below and subscribe to this new page. The combining of my weekly Happy Feet blog and this monthly Fixing Your Feet Ezine will result in one webpage to get great information.

Click here to go to my FixingYourFeet.com website

Click here to go to my FixingYourFeet.com/blog

Nexcare 3M Duct Tape Bandages and Blog Update

Many athletes have used Duct tape on their feet. Newer and better tapes have become my favorite, but I know many still patch their feet with or pretape with Duct tape. Now 3M has come out with a Nexcare 3M Duct Tape Bandages made of real duct tape with a medical grade adhesive. The heavy duty durability of duct tape is a plus. These are a bit longer length for large fingers (or toes). The bandages are latex free, sized at 1 in. x 3.60 in. – 20 to a pack. Retail price is $4.99.

I could see these as a temporary patch over a hot spot or blister. My only concern, common to all Band-aids, is that the area of the gauze is the weak point with such a small bit of tape on the outside edges. I will get a box and try them. In the meantime, I see these as a good choice to put in a baggie to carry in a fanny pack on the trail, or pin one or two your bib number in a race – just in case you need a quick blister patch.

Blog Update Some of you may have noticed that I have been making the same post on Happy Feet and my Fixing Your Feet Ezine hosted at TypePad – and on my new FixingYour Feet Blog at my FixingYourFeet.com website. I am trying to move away from the two TypePad hosted sites into one. There have been some problems uploading everyone’s emails. Please bear with me and I will keep you posted on the process.

Ever Been to a Cobbler?

In the faced of recession, the tiny shoe-repair industry, which has been shrinking for decades is making a comeback. As incomes shrink, and jobs are lost, people are choosing to repair their shoes rather then spend hard earned – or non-existent money on new ones. These shoe repair experts are called cobblers – a term many younger people today have likely never heard. Have you ever been in a cobbler, a shoe repair shop?

Nationwide, cobblers and their suppliers report markedly higher revenues than a year ago, as newly frugal Americans opt to repair their shoes rather than replace them. According to a New Your Times article, there are just 7,000 shoe-repair shops left in the U.S., down from more than 120,000 during the Great Depression, according to the Shoe Service Institute of America, a trade group. Mr. McFarland, a third-generation cobbler in Lakeland, Florida, is riding a shoe-repair boom. Since mid-November, he has been juggling roughly 275 repair jobs a week -- about 50% more than usual. "I'm so busy right now it's unbelievable," he says. At the Chagrin Shoe Leather & Luggage Repair in Woodmere, Ohio, sales have increased about 25% from a year ago. Ron Johnson says his Tampa Florida cobbler shop has seen sales increase nearly 50% since June.

Cobblers hope the recession will prompt first-timers and infrequent customers to become regulars, so that the profession will stay alive. Many people today, especially those under 40, don’t know about cobblers.

Some shoes today cannot be have their soles replaced because of their midsole construction. However a shoe repair shop might be able to replace the outersole. They can sew up torn uppers and stretch shoes that are too tight.

So, maybe if you have never been in a shoe repair shop, now might be a good time to find one.

Walking Shoes That Work

If you are a walker, meaning a race walker or someone who walks for fun and health, you have probably tried a lot of shoes. Some are comfortable and some are not. Some seem to roll through the foot strike in a fluid and smooth motion, while others are jerkier in motion – the foot just doesn’t seem to move heel to toe in a fluid motion.

When I was doing 24-hour track runs, I learned that walking puts more friction on the forefoot than does running. I have seen this play out in many multiday events when athletes spend more time walking and blisters develop on the ball of the foot and on the toes.

An article by Wendy Bumgardner at Examiner.com, Reshod Shoes for Faster Walking, caught my eye. She is a walker and write about Reshod Walking Shoes, an Oregon company that resoles shoes for walkers. She had a pair of her shoes resoled and wrote: “I had a pair of my favorite walking shoes, the New Balance 825, turned into Reshod Walking Shoes. I was very pleased that the rocker sole was as lightweight and thin as the original sole. The shoes still had the great fit I need to combat bunion pain. But I could tell the difference as soon as I started walking. The rocker sole action forced me to stop being a lazy, flat-footed walker and use the muscles of my calves, thighs and buttocks to walk. Proper walking form will lead to faster speed and better body mechanics for walking.”

Wendy added, “Rocker soles have many advantages for walkers. A common walking mistake is to wear stiff shoes and be unable to roll through a step from heel to toe. Flexible athletic shoes solve that problem, but they do so by flexing in the forefoot, which can put pressure on the bunion area and cause pain.”

At Reshod Walking Shoes, each midsole is hand cobbled to the length and width of the shoe. After removing the old midsole, the new midsole is attached and a new outsole is added. They spend 4-5 hours on each pair.

To quote their website, “The new sole assists walkers in forward motion by creating a fulcrum and a dynamic midsole technology lever (“teeter totter effect”), which changes the angle at pushoff and allows the walker to use the entire surface area of the foot with each step, creating a more powerful stride. The firm, low heel creates a stable foot plant, while the gradient forward foams cushion underfoot while transitioning the walker forward. And because the midsole pivots the foot, there is less friction, which keeps feet cooler and reduces blisters.”

You may ask, “Is this just for racewalkers?” Carmen Jackinsky, the owner and patent hold of the soles, says, “This is a shoe for anyone who wants to walk fast. Pick your style of walking and enjoy!” Check out the video on the Reshod website. It explains the thought behind the shoes.

Small Irritants Under Your Feet

Last week we were in Palm Desert and spent a day as spectators at the PGA Bob Hope Golf Classic. How does this relate to foot care? Read on.

Between one of the holes was a patch of sand where we had to walk to get to another green. As we walked across the sand, I must have picked up a few grains of sand. I didn’t notice it at first. We stood around, watching several rounds of golfers come through. Occasionally we moved back and forth between the 16th green to the tee box on the 17th hole – maybe 50 yards.

Then I noticed this irritant in my right shoe. It was a small sharp pain under my heel. Not a big thing, but an irritant nonetheless. I ignored it but it made its presence know every time I walked. Finally I removed the shoe and found one small grain of sand. One grain!

Time after time, we find junk in our shoes and too often we ignore it. Over time, this junk, sand, dirt, a small stone, leaf, or piece of a branch, can cause trouble – for which you’ll pay. A hot spot, a blister, a tear in the sock, or a tear in the insole covering. Or, even worse, we alter our gait – and one thing leads to another – and our knee, hip, or back starts to hurt.

Maybe this seems like a no-brainer, but I have seen athletes suffer because of ignoring this advice. If you feel something in your shoe – stop and remove it. Your feet will be happier.

Important Change to this Ezine - Please Read

An important change to this Fixing Your Feet Ezine will take place in the next week. For 3 1/2 years, I have managed this monthly Fixing Your Feet Ezine AND the weekly Happy Feet blog. This has been difficult because of the amount of time required.

I recently released a totally redesigned Fixing Your Feet website. With the site came the ability to incorporate a blog into the website. I am combining this Fixing Your Feet Ezine and the Happy Feet blog into one blog, the NEW Fixing Your Feet Blog. All the content from both have been brought into the new web page, archived by month - 3 1/2 years of searchable foot care content! All Fixing Your Feet content will be in one place.

The new Fixing Your Feet Blog will combine the best of the former weekly blog and monthly ezine. There will be short tips and techniques, new products and product reviews, photos, interviews, editorials - the same great content you are used to receiving.

Your email address will be imported into the new blog and you should not see any change in service. I will do my best to remove any duplicate email addresses. To make this transition easier, here are three tips:

1. Add feedblitz@mail.feedblitz.com to your address book or email white list.
2. Only unsubscribe using the links we provide in each email.
3. Look for the message from FeedBlitz advising you the change has happened.

I look forward to serving you better with great new content on the new Fixing Your Feet Blog.

John Vonhof

Fixing Your Feet E-zine - Foot Care, Preventing Injury, Tips and more..

FIXING YOUR FEET E-zine

Volume 8, Issue 12, December 2008 ~ John Vonhof, Footwork Publications ~
Copyright, December 2008, All rights reserved

THIS ISSUE IN SUMMARY

This issue has an editorial on An Analogy - Weight Training and Foot Care, an article on Stretching after Exercise Prevents Injury, three foot care tips, and a new bad feet photo.

PURPOSE

The Fixing Your Feet E-zine is published monthly to inform and educate athletes and non-athletes about proper foot care skills and techniques, provide tips on foot care, review foot care products, and highlight problems people have with their feet.

EDITORIAL: AN ANALOGY - WEIGHT TRAINING AND FOOT CARE

[first shared in my August 2002 newsletter – and still true today.]

There comes a point in time where we all reflect. It's a natural part of learning. For instance, after working out at the gym, I have come to realize that no matter how hard some people workout with weights; they will never have the muscles they are trying to achieve. Their biceps will never look like the arms of steel they want. Others will work out with the same weights and have arms to die for. It is somewhat the same way with feet.

Before you call me crazy for making the analogy, hear me out. In weight training, in order to gain muscle, one must follow a routine with the weights (to add muscle), of diet (to feed the muscles and the body with the right types of food), and throw in some cardio (to work the heart and burn fat). Do all of these together and you have a reasonable chance of showing gains in definition and size. Omit one, or skimp on one, and the benefits of all the others will be lessened. Yet, you and I could be working out next to each other, doing the same weight routines, eating the same foods, and doing the same cardio, and we could be much different in appearance. Our body types could be as different as night and day - and subsequently affect our final outcome.

In foot care, you can take two athletes, and have them manage their feet the same way, and have two different outcomes. Give the two the same shoes, socks, lube, and ask them to do the same 50-mile run (for example), and you will have two completely different sets of outcomes. Why? What makes the difference? I have thought about this a lot recently as I have mended feet at Western States and the Primal Quest Adventure Race. Why are there so many racers who struggle to end an event with healthy feet? Why are the feet of some racers so much worse than others? What are the unknown factors? Then one day at the gym I began to see the analogy. It was, however, what I didn't see that that struck me most.

What I didn't see was what the people at the gym did when they were outside of the gym. I suspect many cheated on their diet, what I didn't know was by how much. That was the unknown. When we do our weight routines correctly, with the right amounts of weight, and add in the necessary amount of cardio, we should see results--if our diet is right. That's a big IF. But it's the IF that makes the difference.

In foot care, the big IF is what you have neglected. When I read stories of your foot care problems or see you and patch your feet, I only see you at that moment, with those shoes and socks, and with whatever form of lube or powder or pre-taping you may have done beforehand.

What I don't see is what you may have neglected:

• The history of hot spots that you usually have-and haven't bothered to pre-tape,
• The shoes that don't fit well-even through fit is the number one key to healthy feet,
• The too tight fit of your toes inside your too small toe box on your shoes that has given you black toenails,
• Or the standard issue insoles that came with your shoes that have flattened out and are now worthless.

Or even still, I may see what you neglected:

• The toenails that you didn't trim and have caught on your socks and given you toe blisters,
• The dirt and trail grit that is inside your shoes - that might have been prevented with gaiters,
• The bunions or Morton's foot that you have - that might have been prevented with a bigger toe box,
• The macerated skin on the bottom of your feet caused by your not changing socks when your feet got wet and stayed wet for long periods,
• Or the calluses on your feet that you didn't get rid of and have now blistered under, and which are hard to drain or patch over.

As I said earlier, if you omit one, or skimp on one, and the benefits of all the others will be lessened. In the list that follows, pick one and take it out of the equation and you open yourself up to problems. The list that we each have to consider is: Are we:

1. Wearing the right wicking socks?
2. Wearing shoes that fit?
3. Pre-taping for hot spots?
4. Pre-taping known blister problem areas?
5. Using a good lube to prevent friction?
6. Using a good powder to control moisture?
7. Wearing gaiters?
8. Tying our laces correctly to avoid instep pressure?
9. Using a good insole?
10. Wearing the right shoes for the conditions?
11. Have put the necessary miles on your feet in training?
12. Have gotten rid of calluses, or in some cases - have toughened the skin of our feet?
13. Wearing shoes with room in the toe box?
14. Wearing shoes that grip our heels?
15. Have trimmed our toenails correctly? Aad the list goes on.

Omit one. Any one. It may be the one that makes the difference between healthy and unhealthy feet on that particular day. Both in weight training and in foot care there are ways we hurt our chances of success. Cheating takes many forms and it is easy to cheat our feet by not doing what has been proven. You can argue that each day is different and you never had blisters before - but you have them now. You can argue that you have done everything under your power to keep your feet healthy and yet still had problems. And to a certain degree, you may be right. But the odds are, you omitted one thing, or maybe more than one, or changed one thing - and that made all the difference in the world.

To be fair, there are some athletes who never have foot problems. They are out there, and they usually pass us by as we are stopped fixing our feet.

If you want to comment on this piece, please send me an email.

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FOOT CARE TIPS

Airing Your Feet - Remember when stopping to rest, eat, or change gear, take off your shoes and socks and let your feet air out. Elevating them above the level of your heart will help swollen feet. So will letting them soak a bit in a cold stream or lake.

Cold or Heat - For injuries, of your feet and ankles, or anywhere on your body, the question many ask is, “Do I use heat or cold on the injury?” After a soft tissue injury or suspected bone injury, swelling occurs when blood accumulates in the injured area. Ice the area for 20 minutes every half hour for the first four to six hours. Continue every two to four hours after that as long as there is swelling. Use heat once the swelling has subsided and healing has begun—usually four to six days after the injury has occurred. Sprained ankles are one of the most common lower extremity injuries and this cold and heat treatment will help speed your recovery.

Measuring Your Feet - Every time you buy new shoes, make sure both feet are measured. Not just one foot, but both feet. A large number of people wear shoes that are too short. Also, do your shoe shopping in the late afternoon or evening. And yes, you feet do change over time.

FIXING YOUR FEET, 4th EDITION

If you still don't have your personal copy of the 4th edition of Fixing Your Feet, it can be ordered through my website FixingYourFeet.com web site, ZombieRunner.com, or Amazon.com. The retail price is $18.95 but these days no one pays full price! So, whichever of the sites below you choose, the price is comparable.

FEATURE ARTICLE: STRETCHING AFTER EXERCISE PREVENTS INJURY By Dr. Pamela Adams

Each of us is unique and requires an unique program. It takes quite a bit of detective work to uncover what's missing or what should be changed. I find that the more lower body stretches I do, the better my feet feel in all respects. Instep, achilles, gastroc, tibialis, quad, hamstring, TFL and hip flexor stretches should be done after every run, after every hike, after every long walk, after every work-out.

Recent studies have shown that stretching before exercising does nothing to improve performance and may actually be injurious. I agree. As a chiropractor and yoga instructor, I have found that stretching muscles that have not warmed up sufficiently can cause micro-tears, inflammation, and ultimately pain and dysfunction.

However, stretching immediately after exercising is, in my experience, the single best way to prevent injury and prolong your level of activity well past middle age.

Musculo-skeletal health is based in large part on good joint alignment and good muscle balance. Degenerative conditions and repetitive injuries over the years happen not because of what we do, but how badly we do what we do.

When a muscle is being used, it contracts or shortens. Take your biceps for example. At one end, the biceps inserts on the bone of your forearm; the other end attaches to the top of your shoulder bone. The biceps' job is to raise your forearm at the elbow bending your arm. When it contracts or shortens, it actually pulls on the bone of the forearm and lifts it up. At the same time the triceps on the back of your arm is lengthening. To straighten your elbow, the biceps relaxes and the triceps shortens.

What happens when you continuously call upon a muscle to contract as in pumping iron, or running long distances, it fails to lengthen completely. Then each time you use it, you start from an ever-shortened position. A hard, bulging muscle is not a flexible, healthy muscle. Eventually, this shortened muscle will change the healthy range of movement of the joint, which, over time, means trouble.

A chronically shortened Achilles displaces the heel bone back and up causing, or at least contributing to, painful heel spurs and plantar fasciitis. Chronically shortened calves, hamstrings and/or quads misalign the knee joint and have led to the rash of surgeries so common to runners.

Immediately after every run, every hike, every climb, every activity, stretch the muscles you've used. There are many books out there showing specific stretches for specific muscles. Start with the Achilles and move up. Stretch slowly, holding the stretch for 10 to 15 seconds. Learn to tell the difference between good pain and bad pain. A very tight muscle may hurt when you stretch it. Stretch calves, hamstrings, quads, inner thighs, outer thighs, hip flexors, and glutes.

Stretching promotes flexibility and flexibility is just as important as strength and endurance for runners. Correct running posture is also vitally important. Picture Michael Johnson, the Olympic gold medal winner. His body is aligned perfectly over his feet. His footfall is perfect--heel, midfoot, toe-off. His feet carry him across the finish line with the least amount of stress possible.

The athletes I've worked with who take stretching seriously are aging gracefully and don't plan to cut down on their activity level any time soon. When they do, it will be because they want to, not because they have to.

Dr. Pamela Adams D.C., is a Holistic Health Mentor who practices in San Francisco, CA.

If you want to comment on this piece, please send me an email.

BAD FEET PHOTO

This month I am showing you what happens when shoes are pushed beyond their limits. The photo is from Primal Quest – Utah 2006, a 10-day expedition length adventure race. Paramedic Greg Friese took the photo while he worked on the medical team. You can see how the shoes have come apart. The soles have separated from the uppers. Ever popular duct tape has been used to try and hold the shoe together. There are several possible answers to what happened. The shoes could be old. They could have been exposed to extremes of heat or cold, or to long periods of water. While not that common, it can and does happen. I have seen it in several ultramarathons. The lesson is to make sure when you start a race or event you have trained form and invested a lot of time and money, that your footwear is up to the task.

WRITE AN AMAZON REVIEW FOR A FREE COPY OF HAPPY FEET

Those of you with the 4th edition of Fixing Your Feet can get a free copy of my booklet, Happy Feet: Foot Care Advice for Walkers and Travelers. Click on Amazon or Barnes & Noble to go to the book’s page—and write a review of the 4th edition. Then send me an email telling me which site the review is on and your snail mail address. I will mail you a free copy of this 36-page booklet. Use it yourself, or give it to someone else. The booklet is described below and has a $5.00 value. Sorry, but because of postage, this offer is good only in the U.S and Canada.

MY HAPPY FEET BLOG

If you like to stay informed about foot care issues and information - on a more regular basis than this monthly newsletter, check out my blog, Happy Feet: Expert Foot Care Advice for People Who Love Their Feet. This is different from this ezine. The Happy Feet blog will have a new short topic every week. Click here for the Happy Feet blog.

GOT A STORY TO SHARE?

I am always on the look out for stories to share about their adventures with some type of connection to feet. If you have something to share, please send me an email.

PRIVACY INFORMATION

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CONTACT INFORMATION

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Fixing Your Feet Ezine - Three Tips and Christmas Gifts

FIXING YOUR FEET E-zine

Volume 8, Issue 11, November 2008 ~ John Vonhof, Footwork Publications ~ Copyright, November 2008, All rights reserved

THIS ISSUE IN SUMMARY

This issue has an editorial on Three Important Tips, an article on the Best Christmas Gifts, a new bad feet photo, and reader feedback.

PURPOSE

The Fixing Your Feet E-zine is published monthly to inform and educate athletes and non-athletes about proper foot care skills and techniques, provide tips on foot care, review foot care products, and highlight problems people have with their feet.

EDITORIAL: THREE IMPORTANT TIPS

I met Melissa Griffiths, an adventure racer from California, as she was preparing for Raid the North Extreme in BC Canada in June 2007. We emailed back and forth as she told me of her woes with her feet.

Melissa told me here story, “I've been adventure racing for about six years with a particular weakness for expeditions. As an adventure racer, foot care is high on the list of priorities as failure to look after one’s feet can often lead to failure to finish the race. Before I met John my foot care was extremely basic. I'd trim my toenails once every few weeks and possibly change socks on a long trek. This came to bite me during Raid the North Extreme in British Columbia. The combination of wet feet for 2 days and poor foot care made the race extremely miserable for me. It was during this race that I met John. He gave me 3 tips, which have proven invaluable and since then I've had little to no issues with my feet. The advice is very basic but extremely effective:

1. Keep your toenails short. Really short. I file my nails every night and pay particular attention to rounding off the edges. They should feel smooth all the way round.
2. Hard skin does not protect your feet! I used to think that having a callous was good as it protected the area but it just creates an area for blisters to form. I now file my feet every night with a pumice stone and moisturize thoroughly.
3. Wear good socks. Get rid of the old favorites and invest in something decent. Try the new CoolMax, they do a good job of keeping feet dry and happy.

Since practicing these tips over the last year I've noticed a dramatic difference. Although my feet will always still get sore due to the demands of a race, I have significantly improved the wear and tear and have eliminated the need to visit John in the middle of a race! (much to my dismay).”

Three tips. Three important tips that can save your race. Do you have a routine? Melissa found what she needed to do, and since taking these three tips to heart, has had better luck with her feet.

You can do the same. If you have struggled with the same foot care issues month after month, or race after race, give it a try.

If you want to comment on this piece, please send me an email.

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Please take a moment and forward this issue to a friend or two and encourage them to subscribe.

FEATURE ARTICLE: CHRISTMAS GIFTS

Christmas will be here soon and with it comes gift-giving. Here is my list of the best of the best. You’ll see most of these are available at ZombieRunner.com. They have easily become the place to shop for all your foot care supplies, along with a huge assortment of other supplies – top to bottom – shoes to caps. Put a few of these on your list and then order some for your friends.

Drymax Socks – These socks are the best I have ever seen. Their Dual Layer Sweat Removal System has two different fibers interwoven together – a moisture hating Drymax fibers on the inside and moisture attracting fibers on the outside. The socks are made in a large variety of styles and heights. From trail, to road, from running to hiking and every other sport, these are the socks that work to protect your feet from moisture. Drymax socks are available through Zombierunner.com.

Hydropel Sports Ointment – This lubricant is one of the best because it protects the skin from moisture. In a test by BackpackingLight.com, Hydropel was the best at repelling moisture away from the skin. Provided protection from chaffing too. Hydropel is available through Zombierunner.com.

Kinesio Tex Tape – This is my favorite tape. Kinesio Tex tape is a very thin, porous cotton fabric with a medical grade acrylic adhesive. A special method of adhesive application and the porous nature of the fabric allows the skin to breathe. It's designed for a 30 to 40% longitudinal only stretch and when applied lifts the skin to provide support for surrounding soft tissue. It is designed to be worn for 3 to 4 days and with proper application will withstand water and moisture on the skin. Great for toes, ball of the feet, and heels. Comes in one-, two-, and three-inch widths. Kinesio Tex tape is available through Zombierunner.com.

Spenco 2nd Skin Blister Pads and Quikstick Adhesive Dressings – The Blister Pads are a hydrocolloid pad bordered by a thin film helps keep blisters from drying out, absorbs perspiration and helps promote a scab-free, naturally healed blister. QuikStik Adhesive Dressings combine a soft, moist hydrogel pad with an ultrathin adhesive film. These pads are ideal for blister repair during or after a run and help blisters heal fast. Both pads are available through Zombierunner.com.

Engo Blister Prevention Patches – Engo has made these patches to be applied to your footwear, not your feet. The blue patch can be applied to your insoles or shoes to provide exceptional friction protection. Put on a dry surface, they stick like crazy. Comes in a large rectangle and two oval sizes. The patches can be trimmed to fit anywhere. Engo Blister Prevention patches are available through Zombierunner.com.

Injinji Toe Socks – These tetratsoks are becoming the choice of many amateur and professionals athletes. These toe socks are constructed with an inner lining made of CoolMax® and a resistant outer shell of Lycra. Their Anatomical Interface System is engineered to separate your toes with a thin, anti-friction membrane that is both lightweight and breathable. Seamless in construction, the tetratsok forms to every contour of your foot. This allows for true restriction free movement from your heel to five toes, encourages healthy circulation, and eliminates skin on skin contact between your toes to prevent blisters from developing. Injinji socks are available through Zombierunner.com.

Moeben Sleeves – These UV protected arm sleeves are made for athletes. They are a fairly snug band of fabric that you wear like sleeves, without the shirt – wrist to arm pit. They keep the arms warm, protect them from branches and bugs, and offer sunburn protection. Shannon Farar-Griefer, an ultrarunner with Badwater experience, makes Moben sleeves. After a scare with a skin lesion on her arm, she created the sleeves. They are available in a myriad of colors and patterns, and three fabrics: nylon/spandex or poly/spandex, light fleece, and an organic fabric. Shannon sells the sleeves through Zombierunner.com.

Fixing Your Feet: Prevention and Treatments for Athletes – The 4th edition can be ordered through my FixingYourFeet.com web site, ZombieRunner.com, or Amazon.com. If you have any of the older editions, it’s time to get this one. It has three new chapters, lots of new sections, and is completely updated. At 350+ pages, it’s chocked full of resources.

Road ID – Having your personal information on your person when out and about is important. We never know when an accident might happen. RoadID has been around for years. They now offer the popular Fix ID, and other models: Wrist ID, Ankle ID, and Shoe Pouch ID. Available at Road Id.

If you want to comment on this piece, please send me an email.

BAD FEET PHOTO

This month’s photo is from my files of favorite shots. It is a toe blister. If you look closely, you’ll see the skin is torn in several places. Does it look painful? It should because it’s on the bottom tip of the big toe; it receives pressure every time the foot rolls through its toe-off motion. There are several options. Injinji toe socks could have prevented this blister. The toe could have been pre-taped. Maybe the athlete did not use any lubricant on the toe. So, how to patch the toe? I would apply a piece of Spenco 2nd Skin over the torn blister, and then run a strip of tape top to bottom and a second strip side to side.

READER FEEDBACK AND COMMENTS

Ed wrote: “I read your article about your presentation at a local REI and the problems people encounter with their feet. I've learned after years of running distances from 10KM to 100 milers that most if not all feet problems can be overcome by learning proper (correct) technique. When your foot lands, it should be directly under your hips. This helps prevent your foot from sliding in your shoe, which in turn stops black toe, blisters and other foot issues as well as leg and hip injuries since your legs and upper body are in perfect alignment. Another benefit of landing with your foot under your hips is that you maintain good balance, especially critical when on uneven surfaces and it lessens the total impact on your knees and the rest of your body.

Running and Walking are things we take for granted since we learned to do them on our own. WE KNOW HOW TO RUN AND WALK. Yes we do, but at the rudimentary level.

So why not take the time and effort to learn correct running and walking techniques and skills? It pays, as I have experienced, in ease and longevity. When it is fun and easy, you do it more.

By the way, I do teach running, pedaling and swimming technique. I'm not an exceptionally fast runner. My PR for the marathon was when I was 43 (3 hours 4 minutes). I came close to that PR when I was 50 (3 hours 6 minutes). When I was 55 I attended a running clinic that taught technique. That was four years ago and since learning good running technique my fitness world has gone up a few notches. So it's never to late to learn.

Good technique is the foundation to great performance and longevity in any sport is the key. The only thing you'll lose by learning good technique is the pain from the result of poor technique and maybe some of your competition.

Keep up the good work with your "Fixing Your FeetEzine". I enjoy reading your articles. Fortunately I no longer need to employ your fixes on my feet.”

Reader feedback to this E-zine and its articles is welcome and encouraged. Please email any foot care ideas or tips that you have tried and would like to share with others, or ideas for an article for the ezine.

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MY HAPPY FEET BLOG

If you like to stay informed about foot care issues and information - on a more regular basis than this monthly newsletter, check out my blog, Happy Feet: Expert Foot Care Advice for People Who Love Their Feet. This is different from this ezine. The Happy Feet blog will have a new short topic every week. Click here for the Happy Feet blog.

GOT A STORY TO SHARE?

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