Although rest and relaxation are the goals for most vacations, they usually involve a lot of walking and a lot of walking usually involves sore feet.
Walking is great exercise and one of the most reliable forms of transportation. But if your feet aren’t in the best shape or you don’t have the right shoes, too much walking can cause foot problems.
Good foot care is essential if you plan to subject your feet to long periods of walking. Some simple foot care tips include:
• Wear thick, absorbent socks (acrylic instead of cotton).
• Dry feet thoroughly after bathing, making sure to dry between toes. Use powder before putting on shoes.
• Nails should be cut regularly, straight across the toe.
• Bunions, hammertoes or any other serious foot problems should be evaluated by a foot and ankle specialist.
The right shoe is also important to healthy walking. The ideal walking shoe should be stable from side to side, and well-cushioned, and it should enable you to walk smoothly. Many running shoes will fit the bill.
There are also shoes made specially for walking. Walking shoes tend to be slightly less cushioned, yet not as bulky, and lighter than running shoes. Whether a walking or running shoe, the shoes need to feel stable and comfortable.
Warming up exercises to help alleviate any muscle stiffness or pulled muscles are also advised before walking. Loosening up the heel cords (Achilles and calf) and thigh muscles before a walk is especially effective.
If you’re not accustomed to long walks, start slowly and rest if your feet start hurting. And above all, have fun!
Showing posts with label shoes. Show all posts
Showing posts with label shoes. Show all posts
Friday, August 20, 2010
Wednesday, June 16, 2010
Are Your Feet Vacation Ready?
Although rest and relaxation are the goals for most vacations, they usually involve a lot of walking and a lot of walking usually involves sore feet.
Walking is great exercise and one of the most reliable forms of transportation. But if your feet aren't in the best shape or you don't have the right shoes, too much walking can cause foot problems.
Good foot care is essential if you plan to subject your feet to long periods of walking. Some simple foot care tips include:
1. Wear thick, moisture control socks (wool or synthetic fabrics instead of cotton) and change them often!
2. Dry feet thoroughly after bathing, making sure to dry between toes. Use powder before putting on shoes and even antiperspirant on your feet if you sweat profusely.
3. Nails should be cut regularly and straight across the toe. Check for ingrown toenails and avoid cutting them too short.
4. Moisturize your feet regularly, but never between your toes. Also watch out for athlete's foot fungus infections.
5. Massage any aching muscles after exercise and apply ice to any sore joints for at least 15 minutes.
6. Bunions, hammertoes or any other serious foot problems should be evaluated by a podiatrist prior to your planned vacation. Custom orthotics can help balance your feet so your vacation can be more enjoyable and pain free!
The right shoe is also important to healthy walking. The ideal walking shoe should be stable from side to side, and well-cushioned, and it should enable you to walk smoothly. Many running shoes will fit the bill. There are also shoes made especially for walking. Walking shoes tend to be slightly less cushioned, bulkier, and heavier than running shoes. Whether a walking or running shoe, the shoes need to feel stable and comfortable.
Never wear new shoes for the first time on vacation. Always "break them in" for at least a week to make sure the fit is proper and there are no seams rubbing! Blisters can put a damper on a vacation!
Also, two pairs of shoes can be very helpful in making your vacation more comfortable. After a vigorous day walking, your shoes need almost 24 hours to dry out so they do not smell and harbor fungus, the cause of athlete’s foot.
Warm up exercises to help alleviate any muscle stiffness or pulled muscles are advised before walking. Loosening up the heel cords (Achilles tendon and calf) and thigh muscles before a walk is especially effective.
If you're not accustomed to long walks, start slowly and rest if your feet start hurting.
Walking is great exercise and one of the most reliable forms of transportation. But if your feet aren't in the best shape or you don't have the right shoes, too much walking can cause foot problems.
Good foot care is essential if you plan to subject your feet to long periods of walking. Some simple foot care tips include:
1. Wear thick, moisture control socks (wool or synthetic fabrics instead of cotton) and change them often!
2. Dry feet thoroughly after bathing, making sure to dry between toes. Use powder before putting on shoes and even antiperspirant on your feet if you sweat profusely.
3. Nails should be cut regularly and straight across the toe. Check for ingrown toenails and avoid cutting them too short.
4. Moisturize your feet regularly, but never between your toes. Also watch out for athlete's foot fungus infections.
5. Massage any aching muscles after exercise and apply ice to any sore joints for at least 15 minutes.
6. Bunions, hammertoes or any other serious foot problems should be evaluated by a podiatrist prior to your planned vacation. Custom orthotics can help balance your feet so your vacation can be more enjoyable and pain free!
The right shoe is also important to healthy walking. The ideal walking shoe should be stable from side to side, and well-cushioned, and it should enable you to walk smoothly. Many running shoes will fit the bill. There are also shoes made especially for walking. Walking shoes tend to be slightly less cushioned, bulkier, and heavier than running shoes. Whether a walking or running shoe, the shoes need to feel stable and comfortable.
Never wear new shoes for the first time on vacation. Always "break them in" for at least a week to make sure the fit is proper and there are no seams rubbing! Blisters can put a damper on a vacation!
Also, two pairs of shoes can be very helpful in making your vacation more comfortable. After a vigorous day walking, your shoes need almost 24 hours to dry out so they do not smell and harbor fungus, the cause of athlete’s foot.
Warm up exercises to help alleviate any muscle stiffness or pulled muscles are advised before walking. Loosening up the heel cords (Achilles tendon and calf) and thigh muscles before a walk is especially effective.
If you're not accustomed to long walks, start slowly and rest if your feet start hurting.
Oldest leather shoe steps out after 5,500 years
WASHINGTON (AP) — About 5,500 years ago someone in the mountains of Armenia put his best foot forward in what is now the oldest leather shoe ever found.
It'll never be confused with a penny loafer or a track shoe, but the well-preserved footwear was made of a single piece of leather, laced up the front and back, researchers reported Wednesday in PLoS One, a journal of the Public Library of Science.
Worn and shaped by the wearer's right foot, the shoe was found in a cave along with other evidence of human occupation. The shoe had been stuffed with grass, which dated to the same time as the leather of the shoe — between 5,637 and 5,387 years ago.
"This is great luck," enthused archaeologist Ron Pinhasi of University College Cork in Cork, Ireland, who led the research team.
"We normally only find broken pots, but we have very little information about the day-to-day activity" of these ancient people. "What did they eat? What did they do? What did they wear? This is a chance to see this ... it gives us a real glimpse into society," he said in a telephone interview.
Previously the oldest leather shoe discovered in Europe or Asia was on the famous Otzi, the "Iceman" found frozen in the Alps a few years ago and now preserved in Italy. Otzi has been dated to 5,375 and 5,128 years ago, a few hundred years more recent than the Armenian shoe.
Otzi's shoes were made of deer and bear leather held together by a leather strap. The Armenian shoe appears to be made of cowhide, Pinhasi said.
Older sandals have been found in a cave in Missouri, but those were made of fiber rather than leather.
The shoe found in what is now Armenia was found in a pit, along with a broken pot and some wild goat horns.
But Pinhasi doesn't think it was thrown away. There was discarded material that had been tossed outside the cave, while this pit was inside in the living area. And while the shoe had been worn, it wasn't worn out.
It's not clear if the grass that filled the shoe was intended as a lining or insulation, or to maintain the shape of the shoe when it was stored, according to the researchers.
The Armenian shoe was small by current standards — European size 37 or U.S. women's size 7 — but might have fit a man of that era, according to Pinhasi.
He described the shoe as a single piece of leather cut to fit the foot. The back of the shoe was closed by a lace passing through four sets of eyelets. In the front, 15 pairs of eyelets were used to lace from toe to top.
There was no reinforcement in the sole, just the one layer of soft leather. "I don't know how long it would last in rocky terrain," Pinhasi said.
He noted that the shoe is similar to a type of footwear common in the Aran Islands, west of Ireland, up until the 1950s. The Irish version, known as "pampooties" reportedly didn't last long, he said.
"In fact, enormous similarities exist between the manufacturing technique and style of this (Armenian) shoe and those found across Europe at later periods, suggesting that this type of shoe was worn for thousands of years across a large and environmentally diverse region," Pinhasi said.
While the Armenian shoe was soft when unearthed, the leather has begun to harden now that it is exposed to air, Pinhasi said.
Oh, and unlike a lot of very old shoes, it didn't smell.
Pinhasi said the shoe is currently at the Institute of Archaeology in Yerevan, but he hopes it will be sent to laboratories in either Switzerland or Germany where it can be treated for preservation and then returned to Armenia for display in a museum.
Pinhasi, meanwhile, is heading back to Armenia this week, hoping the other shoe will drop.
The research was funded by the National Geographic Society, the Chitjian Foundation, the Gfoeller Foundation, the Steinmetz Family Foundation, the Boochever Foundation and the Cotsen Institute of Archaeology at UCLA.
It'll never be confused with a penny loafer or a track shoe, but the well-preserved footwear was made of a single piece of leather, laced up the front and back, researchers reported Wednesday in PLoS One, a journal of the Public Library of Science.
Worn and shaped by the wearer's right foot, the shoe was found in a cave along with other evidence of human occupation. The shoe had been stuffed with grass, which dated to the same time as the leather of the shoe — between 5,637 and 5,387 years ago.
"This is great luck," enthused archaeologist Ron Pinhasi of University College Cork in Cork, Ireland, who led the research team.
"We normally only find broken pots, but we have very little information about the day-to-day activity" of these ancient people. "What did they eat? What did they do? What did they wear? This is a chance to see this ... it gives us a real glimpse into society," he said in a telephone interview.
Previously the oldest leather shoe discovered in Europe or Asia was on the famous Otzi, the "Iceman" found frozen in the Alps a few years ago and now preserved in Italy. Otzi has been dated to 5,375 and 5,128 years ago, a few hundred years more recent than the Armenian shoe.
Otzi's shoes were made of deer and bear leather held together by a leather strap. The Armenian shoe appears to be made of cowhide, Pinhasi said.
Older sandals have been found in a cave in Missouri, but those were made of fiber rather than leather.
The shoe found in what is now Armenia was found in a pit, along with a broken pot and some wild goat horns.
But Pinhasi doesn't think it was thrown away. There was discarded material that had been tossed outside the cave, while this pit was inside in the living area. And while the shoe had been worn, it wasn't worn out.
It's not clear if the grass that filled the shoe was intended as a lining or insulation, or to maintain the shape of the shoe when it was stored, according to the researchers.
The Armenian shoe was small by current standards — European size 37 or U.S. women's size 7 — but might have fit a man of that era, according to Pinhasi.
He described the shoe as a single piece of leather cut to fit the foot. The back of the shoe was closed by a lace passing through four sets of eyelets. In the front, 15 pairs of eyelets were used to lace from toe to top.
There was no reinforcement in the sole, just the one layer of soft leather. "I don't know how long it would last in rocky terrain," Pinhasi said.
He noted that the shoe is similar to a type of footwear common in the Aran Islands, west of Ireland, up until the 1950s. The Irish version, known as "pampooties" reportedly didn't last long, he said.
"In fact, enormous similarities exist between the manufacturing technique and style of this (Armenian) shoe and those found across Europe at later periods, suggesting that this type of shoe was worn for thousands of years across a large and environmentally diverse region," Pinhasi said.
While the Armenian shoe was soft when unearthed, the leather has begun to harden now that it is exposed to air, Pinhasi said.
Oh, and unlike a lot of very old shoes, it didn't smell.
Pinhasi said the shoe is currently at the Institute of Archaeology in Yerevan, but he hopes it will be sent to laboratories in either Switzerland or Germany where it can be treated for preservation and then returned to Armenia for display in a museum.
Pinhasi, meanwhile, is heading back to Armenia this week, hoping the other shoe will drop.
The research was funded by the National Geographic Society, the Chitjian Foundation, the Gfoeller Foundation, the Steinmetz Family Foundation, the Boochever Foundation and the Cotsen Institute of Archaeology at UCLA.
Wednesday, May 5, 2010
Medicare Diabetic Shoe Program
Diabetes is reaching epidemic proportions in the United States. Over the past decade, there has been an increase of 33% with the diabetic population currently topping 16 million people. There are many complications associated with diabetes including kidney, heart, vision, circulatory and foot problems. The good news is that many of these potential problems can be minimized as a result of life style changes, medications and other preventive care.
Amputations, and/or partial amputations, of the feet and legs are growing at an alarming rate. In fact, it is one of the leading causes of non-traumatic amputation in the US alone. Just recently American Podiatric Medical Association, Medicare officials and the American Diabetes Association established a team to explore ways to reduce the number of amputations in the diabetic population. The number of these lower extremity amputations grew by 28% in the past several years. However, it has been determined that a majority of these amputations could have been prevented by routine foot care.
As Medicare providers our doctors not only treat everything from routine foot care to surgery we also prescribe and dispense Medicare approved diabetic shoes and inserts. This valuable prevention program allows diabetic patients to receive one pair of diabetic shoes and 3 pairs of diabetic inserts every calendar year. As an approved program participant Medicare will cover 80% of the allowable amount and many supplemental insurance plans take care of the remaining 20%, leaving you with little or no additional cost. Many diabetic patients qualify for this benefit.
Amputations, and/or partial amputations, of the feet and legs are growing at an alarming rate. In fact, it is one of the leading causes of non-traumatic amputation in the US alone. Just recently American Podiatric Medical Association, Medicare officials and the American Diabetes Association established a team to explore ways to reduce the number of amputations in the diabetic population. The number of these lower extremity amputations grew by 28% in the past several years. However, it has been determined that a majority of these amputations could have been prevented by routine foot care.
As Medicare providers our doctors not only treat everything from routine foot care to surgery we also prescribe and dispense Medicare approved diabetic shoes and inserts. This valuable prevention program allows diabetic patients to receive one pair of diabetic shoes and 3 pairs of diabetic inserts every calendar year. As an approved program participant Medicare will cover 80% of the allowable amount and many supplemental insurance plans take care of the remaining 20%, leaving you with little or no additional cost. Many diabetic patients qualify for this benefit.
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