Splits in the skin around the heel are frequent, are painful, and don’t look very good. This occurs when the fat pad under the heel expands out sideways under the heel and the dried-out skin cracks or splits to develop a heel fissure. A great way to fully understand these is to use the analogy of a tomato being compressed. As you apply force to the tomato to compress it, the skin around the tomato splits as the content forces outwards. So it is with the heel. As bodyweight compresses the fat underneath the heel it stretches out sideways from beneath the heel, it tries to tear the skin around the perimeter of the heel. If this succeeds or not will probably depend on how soft and strong that the skin is. If the skin is dry, thicker or callused, it is going to crack very easily. If the skin is thicker with a covering of callus, that skin will crack easily and put a strain on the good skin below that may become rather painful, perhaps bleeding. Each step which is taken with even further open the crack which will help prevent it from healing. Heel fissures are more prevalent in those that wear open heel type shoes, as a closed in shoe should help keep the fat pad beneath the heel in position and help avoid or decrease the effects of this.

The most efficient short term management of cracked heels is to have the callused skin debrided by a podiatrist and then use strapping to hold the edges of the crack together so that it can mend. The long term protection against cracked skin around the heel ought to be clear from the mechanism that was explained above. Firstly, weight loss will help decrease the issue, but this is a long term issue. To help prevent the fat pad under the heel from expanding out laterally and trying to crack the skin, a closed in shoe needs to be used and frequently the use of deep heel cup insoles will help. A podiatric doctor really should be consulted routinely to cut back any dry callused skin. Creams should be used regularly to keep the skin resilient so that it does not fissure. The use of filing tools to help keep the callus in check may also be used.

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There is a old process from rural China which involved the binding of the feet of female young people to stop them from developing. It was a brutal practice and was very painful and disabling to the feet. It was done as a smaller sized foot was considered a desirable feature in the female and a greater price is usually requested by the family for the bride if the feet had been bound. There was a substantial industry in these rural communities for the ornamental and finely crafted footwear that these girls would need to wear because of the smaller and misshaped feet. Over 100 or so years ago social pressures began to mount to ban the foot binding and this mostly was successful and it is not done nowadays. The practice had to finish as it was so crippling and painful for the girls. When they became a grownup, the harm had been done and there was not much that might be done to manage the suffering and disability. Having said that, you can still find some older woman alive that had their feet bound when they were little girls.

You will find allegedly commonalities to this practice of chinese foot binding that may be seen today. A number of commentators attempt to associate the practice these days of women which push their feet into the high heel footwear as being exactly like the practice. In rural China the foot binding was all about the female carrying out something which pleases the male, whatever the consequences in terms of pain and disability. The practice today of using tight fitting high heel footwear by females has outcomes in the terms of foot deformity and foot pain. It is also theoretically done in the perspective of the female doing something which is agreeable to the eye of the male. There is some argument if the connection between the two practices really do justify the type of evaluation that they have been subjected to.

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Running without shoes was all the rage not too long ago but interest in it and the number doing it have decreased considerably. It was a fad that continued for a couple of years and was largely influenced by social media commentary. This was a temporary trend towards barefoot running which started about 2009 with increased interest in running without running shoes. It was promoted in lots of books, blogs and magazine content that barefoot running was more natural, that it was a more economical way to run and that you got less injuries running this way. Many runners tried using barefoot running as an alternative to using running shoes and interest in it peaked around 2013. The sales of minimal or barefoot running shoes also peaked about that time, reaching nearly 10% of the running shoe market.

After that original attention and peak interest in barefoot running and minimalist running shoes have been gradually dropping. Runners lost interest in running barefoot. The sales of the minimalist running shoes have been dropping steadily since about mid- to late 2013. The alleged advantages for it did not eventuate to most runners who tried running barefoot but, of course, those who promoted barefoot running just are convinced that those runners were doing it wrong. As the scientific data built up, the results were not just there. All of the injury rate studies were showing that the injury risk was similar should you be running in footwear versus running without footwear and most of the running economy studies were also demonstrating that often there weren’t any systematic benefits.

While some runners, who’re very vocal, still do their running without footwear the big market shift has now been towards the maximalist running shoes with the Hoka One One running shoe being the leader in that category of running shoes. It has now reached the stage where the Hoka’s now outsells the entire group of minimalist running shoes giving an obvious clue of the popularity of cushioned running shoes compared to running barefoot.

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Bunions, or even more precisely, hallux valgus or hallux abducto valgus occurs in numerous shapes or forms. The disorder is one of an enlargement of the big toe joint of the foot (bunion) and an pointing over of the big toe or hallux laterally in the direction of the other toes (abduction and valgus). They become painful because of arthritis like signs from the deviation of the big toe and from strain on the lump of the bunion from the footwear. They’re among the most prevalent reasons for pain in the foot and are caused by a mixture of inherited attributes, poor biomechanics and also shoe fitting problems. While there are non-surgical treatments including pads, splints, better footwear fitting, exercises and pain relief drugs that can be used, they cannot make the bunion disappear nor align the hallux over the longer term. Frequently surgery is the only permanent treatment for bunions or hallux valgus. Even then, unless the specific reason behind the bunion was dealt with at the same time there is a risk that it may occur again.

There are various joints and bones involved in the development of bunions and each bunion is different as differing amounts of each bone and joint are involved. Which means that the operative treatment must be directed at the bone or joint that is involved. If the great toe joint is just involved, then a straightforward chopping off the enlarged bone is all that is needed. If the angle of differing bones are a issue, then a V needs to be removed from the bone and the bone reset. There are numerous different ways of performing that and it is often believed that this problem has more surgical options for it in comparison to all other problems!

The Austin bunionectomy is just one kind of procedure. This procedure involves taking off the lump of bone and taking a wedge out of the head of the 1st metatarsal to reposition it and keep it in place using a screw so that it can heal. A special shoe or boot will have to be used throughout the first couple of weeks after the procedure and return to your typical footwear after around 4 weeks. It generally takes around 8 weeks to return to full activity levels following this surgery.

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The ASICs Corporation is among the most well-known and widely used running shoes on the market. Like every running shoe model they carry on and innovate to keep that market leading standing. Asics already have a number of athletic shoes with diverse versions in order to meet the needs of a wide range of athletes. Each of those designs is regularly modified. Asics recently launched a unique model to the range, the Metarun. Not much was initially known about the footwear, just a teaser online video on the Asics website and a countdown clock ticking down to a unveiling on November 12 2015. Once the clock arrived at zero a tweet was sent by the company to a video that revealed more information and the web page was updated with more on the Metarun. Asics definitely declaring that this is their greatest ever athletic shoe.

The running shoe goes against the recent trends of less gadgets and features in athletic shoes, adding several features that have patents associated with them. The midsole, labeled FlyteFoam, is their lightest and most sturdy midsole material. Asics talk about “organic fibers” for the best level of cushioning. The shoe gets its stability from the patented AdaptTruss which is a carbon strengthened adaptive stability product. The “Sloped DUOMAX” is a dual density midsole which is expected to adjust efficiently to dynamic motion of the athlete. The upper features a glove-like, one-layer Jacquard Mesh and MetaClutch exoskeleton external heel counter with a built-in memory foam. There is also a X-GEL hybrid high-tech gel in the midsole to aid shock absorption.

Is the Metarun their finest athletic shoe ever? Time will tell. Athletes will vote with their feet once they try out the running shoe. There was a bit of hype in social media ahead of the release. The shoes won’t be obtainable until late November plus they are going to be expensive and only obtainable in restricted generate.

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Ankylosing spondylitis is a long-term inflammatory joint disease which normally affects the spine, but could impact any joints in the body as well as various other organ systems. The name ‘ankylosing’ means a fusing of the joints and ‘spondylitis’ refers to the spine. The disease impacts on about 0.1-0.2% of the population and tends to affect males more frequently. It typically just begins as an pain in the lower back that is actually the same in signs and symptoms to almost every other common back problem so is generally treated as such. Frequently, this approach will fail and other approaches get used. Inevitably, when additional signs and symptoms occur in various other joints there may be further investigation leading to the diagnosis of ankylosing spondylitis. This process may take many years before the diagnosis gets made. The standard approach to treatment for this is to use drugs to address the inflammatory process in the joint along with physical therapy to help keep the spine mobile and flexible.

Ankylosing spondylitis has an effect on the foot often. The first way is that the joint inflammation process can affect the joints in the feet and cause pain there. Heel spurs or plantar fasciitis is very common in those with Ankylosing spondylitis. This type of heel pain is not the common one that you get since it is part of the disease process, therefore tends to not respond adequately to the conventional methods of dealing with heel pain. Like the arthritis which affects the joints in the feet, the therapy is mainly directed at the medications that suppress the inflammatory response. Another way that ankylosing spondylitis has an effect on the foot is indirect. Since the significant signs and symptoms of the disease are in the spine, the lower as well as upper back become very restricted in motion, so those with ankylosing spondylitis tend to have trouble bending down to reach their feet. Because of this they are unable to even do basic things like trim their own nails or self-care for their feet. They’re also going to have issues managing different conditions that affect the foot. They will often need to visit a podiatrist regularly for foot care and maintenance of foot health and for the regular management of any foot issues that might occur.

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The Adidas Springblade running shoe are a really different and strange running shoe. It has just been in the market for just over a year to mixed opinions. The primary design of the Springblade are, as the brand shows, individual blades that make a spring action for both shock absorption and energy return to drive the runner ahead when running. The running shoe was developed over the six years and had been subjected to substantial testing for the longevity, comfort, as well as energy so that the various variations would suit runners of all types. They don’t match all runners and are not actually intended for running long distance that is what some of the critics of the shoes have tried to use the shoe for. They’re most likely more suited to runs on the track or trails, with not as long runs on the road.

There are several types of the Springblade out there. You have the Adidas Springblade Drive that is intended to be there all-rounder running shoe form this range. It has the ESM-mesh technology which is supposed to help improve the breathability as well as comfort while at the same time being very conforming to the shape of the foot. The Drive is suggested as being the most appropriate for runners wanting a more general cross-training shoe and just want one shoe that meets all their requirements. The next shoe in the line-up is the Adidas Springblade Razor that is more firm as opposed to the Drive in order that it locks the foot better in place. It is devised for runners who use the track more for speedier workouts as opposed to the road. The final shoe in the range is just referred to as Springblade. It is viewed as the workhorse of the collection. The shoe features a tech-fit upper design that does trade-off some amounts of breathability to get more flexibility and also comfort. An additional unique feature of this range is that if you order the running shoe through the online site, you are able to customize it by incorporating personal reaches.

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The accessory navicular is a supplementary bit of bone on the inside of the foot pretty much on top of the mid-foot ( arch ) near its highest part. The bone is integrated inside the tibialis posterior tendon that attaches to the navicular bone at the top of the mid-foot. The extra bone can also be known as the os navicularum or os tibiale externum. This is congenital, so is present from birth. There are various kinds of accessory navicular and the Geist typology is most typically used. This categorization separates the accessory navicular into three variations:

Type 1 accessory navicular bone:
This is the classical ‘os tibiale externum’ and make up to 30% of the cases; it is a 2-3mm sesamoid bone inserted within the distal portion of the tendon without having any connection to the navicular tuberosity and may even be separated from it by up to 5mm

Type 2 accessory navicular bone:
This variety makes up about 55% of the extra navicular bones; it’s triangular or heart-shaped and attached to the navicular bone via cartilage. It might at some point fuse to the navicular to form one bone.

Type 3 accessory navicular bone:
Visible navicular tuberosity. It might have been a Type 2 that has fused to the navicular

The typical clinical feature associated with the accessory navicular is the enlargement on the medial area of the mid-foot ( arch ). Because of the additional bone there, this has an effect on how well the mid-foot ( arch ) muscles do the job and might cause a painful foot. Inflexible type shoes, like ski boots, can also be very uncomfortable to use as a result of enlarged pronounced bone.

The treatment will be aimed towards the signs and symptoms. If the flatfoot is an issue, then ice, immobilisation and also pain relief medicine may be required initially. Following that, physiotherapy and foot orthotic inserts to support the feet are used. If the pain is due to pressure from the type of footwear which needs to be used, then donut type padding is required to get load off the painful region or the footwear might need to be modified.

If these non-surgical treatment options fail to eliminate the symptoms of the accessory navicular or the issue is a continuing one, then surgical treatment could be a suitable alternative. This requires taking out the accessory bone and restoring the insertion of the tibialis posterior tendon so its function is improved.

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Abebe Bikila was a marathon runner coming from Ethiopia, winning double Olympic gold medals: Rome in 1960 and in Tokyo in 1964. He passed away in 1973 at the age of 41 because of complications following a motor vehicle accident. There is a athletic field in Addis Ababa named after him. Google honored Abebe using one of their doodles on which would have been his 81st birthday celebration on 7 August 2013.

1960 Olympic Marathon in Rome:
Abebe was a last minute replacement in the Ethiopian team for that Olympics. He had no shoes to compete in and Adidas, the official supporter only had a couple of pairs remaining that did not fit him, so he ran the marathon without running shoes (he had been running barefoot). Abebe won the race in a time of 2hr 15min. Right after the race, addressing a query as to the reasons he competed without running shoes, Abebe responded: “I wanted the whole world to know that my country, Ethiopia, has always won with determination and heroism.

1964 Olympic Marathon in Tokyo:
Forty days prior to the marathon he was operated on for an serious appendicitis and at one stage it was considered that he might struggle to run. He went on to win this marathon in a world record time of 2hr 12min, becoming the 1st runner to win two Olympic marathons. Bikila was competing in Puma athletic shoes in the marathon (which Abebe also ran in to finish 5th in the 1963 Boston Marathon).

Abebe is an easy to mild heel striker with a few midfoot strikes also. Despite that, he isn’t overstriding and could break a world record. Bikila is commonly held up by the barefoot running online community as a hero for competing in the marathon without shoes (together with other high level athletes). Critics of this love to mention that he could compete faster and break a world record when using footwear.

As part of Abebe’s legacy, the minimalist athletic shoes producer, Vibram FiveFingers provide the Bikila model of their range branded after abebe. Early in 2015, the family of Abebe Bikila announced they were beginning a law suit against Vibram for registering the ‘Bikila’ brand without approval.

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The new entrant into the running footwear marketplace is a distinctive shoe from Enko. These different athletic shoes from France had been initially publicized at the end of 2014 and created by using a crowd financing venture at Indiegogo early in 2015.

This athletic shoe features mechanical spring loaded components which are incorporated into the sole. This particular structure provides the athletic shoe with an increase of shock absorption as well as energy release. This is believed to improve comfort as well as running economy. The springs are exchangeable and are calculated depending on the weight of the runner. Data supplied by Enko claim that the gains provided by the shock absorbers concerning mechanical energy is somewhere between 6% and 14% based on the velocity of the athlete.

It is not obvious if the shoe will likely be broadly adopted at this point, however, some issues have been mentioned concerning the design and the way it may possibly impact the running biomechanics.

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