Mid Week MOT: Feet and Footwear Part 1.
Focus this week is on correct footwear. Our feet should be our most precious asset but most of the time they are abused and taken for granted. When you walk, 1.5 times your body weight is transmitted through the feet, this increases to 7 times your body weight when running.
That is a lot of stress going through a relatively small area. According to the Society for Chiropody and Podiatry (SOCP) - correct footwear should leave your toes able to wiggle with a half inch gap at the end. Buy shoes in the afternoon as your feet are bigger. As you age, your feet do get slightly bigger so don't be surprised if you hit your 40's and are taking a half size up! Wear synthetic socks as cotton holds moisture. Running shoes should be flexible to allow for good foot strike, cross trainers give lateral support and are stiffer so give more support for activities such as trail running or sports that require rapid changes of direction. Fitness shoes give support and flexibility with cushioning for impact activity.
The SOCP recommend replacing running shoes every 350-500 miles and not to judge the state of the shoe by wear pattern as the internal cushioning wears out first. Look after your feet, circle your ankles, scrunch your toes, stretch your calves and see a podiatrist if you are worried about corns, calluses, nail problems, you have flat feet or high arches and want a biomechanics/gait assessment. See an osteopath if you have foot pain, knee pain, shin splints or any other lower leg niggle!
Next week will focus on foot and lower leg conditions.
See Lucy from OsteoFusion for an appointment.
Call 07833 321604 or visit www.osteofusion.co.uk
