FitSugar

Surgery to Get Your Feet Stiletto-Slim?

FitSugar — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 03:00:48 -0800

According to Christian Louboutin, Barbie has cankles - but she's not the only one who needs a makeover to fit her stilettos. Apparently, donning perfectly crafted sky-high heels means women need perfectly re-crafted feet to match. In fact, even while most cosmetic procedures are on the decline - thanks to the recession - podiatrists report that the demand for cosmetic foot surgery is on the rise.

The fashion industry is already credited with making women feel inadequate when it comes to their figures, but I was surprised to learn that even a pair of strappy, heeled sandals can wreak havoc on female body image, causing some women to develop body dysmorphic disorder about their feet. Michelle Tzonov, a massage therapist from San Diego, always enjoyed an active lifestyle - an avid runner, hiker, dancer, and snowshoer - who decided her fully functionally, but bunion-covered, feet were in need of a makeover. Multiple surgeries to beautify her feet with intensive cosmetic surgery and a bunionectomy have since left her feet mutilated and saddled her with excruciating pain, likely to be lasting results of her botched surgeries.

To see how three inch heels affect your body, read more.

On their own heels are bad enough - even at three-inches high, they can increase the weight on the forefront of the foot by 110 percent, displacing bones and tissue, according to a recent study by the Journal of the American Podiatric Medical Association. But, surgery to get the foot stiletto-ready can cause severe complications that will eventually radiate throughout the whole body. While I'm certainly not an advocate of any kind of cosmetic surgery, just think of it this way - face work will never jeopardize your ability to walk, but feet support the whole body - mess with them and you're likely to jeopardize any kind of movement, especially the ability to strut your stuff in a pretty pair of Louboutins.

Have You Ever Had a Plantar Wart?

FitSugar — Sun, 20 Sep 2009 03:30:05 -0700

All Summer long I have been at battle with an unsightly, and sometimes painful, plantar wart on my daughter's foot. I took a photo of it and decided to spare you all from having to view the gore. She has been quite a trooper. We have had it frozen at the pediatrician's office. We tried some wart removal product I found at the drugstore. Next stop is a dermatologist. I am wondering . . .

If so, please tell me how you won the good fight against yours.

Gear Review: Instant Arches

FitSugar — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 10:00:00 -0700

Running shoes feel great on my feet, but a woman cannot live in sneakers alone, so I have been looking for new ways to give my tired feet a little extra support. I found Instant Arches ($8), a comfy one-size-fits-all arch support. I literally stuck a pair into my flats - they have adhesive backing to keep the support in place. I wore the shoes all day, and like most days I logged a fair bit of walking miles. See how my feet felt at the end of the day when you read more.

My feet felt much happier having worn the Instant Arches in my shoes for the 10 hours I was in my flats. I suffer from very low arches and find most fashionable shoes don't provide enough support for the arch, but orthotics are too bulky for anything but an athletic shoe (plus they can be pricey). I found these arch supports easy to install; by peeling the protective layer back only halfway, you can fiddle with placement before completely sticking the support in the shoe. This means you cannot change the support from shoe to shoe, so buy a pair of Instant Arches for each pair of shoes that require some extra support. The adhesives mean you can add arch support to sandals and flip-flops - the least supportive shoes on the planet. You can buy Instant Arches online, at a discount when you buy five or more pairs.

How Often Do You Wear Heels?

FitSugar — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 04:30:00 -0800

The more you move around during your workday, the better for your health, your waistline, and your brain. One element of your outfit that can often disrupt your ability and desire to get up and move is your footwear. High heels maybe lovely to look at, but they don't exactly inspire a 10-block walk. Unfortunately, high heels don't just affect your feet, they alter the alignment of your entire body and can become a literal pain in the neck.

As you can probably tell, I mostly wear flats and comfy shoes. About once a week I don some heels and get a little fancy, which makes my little girls cheer with delight. But I am wondering about you . . .

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A Pain in the Toe: Ingrown Toenails

FitSugar — Tue, 28 Oct 2008 13:00:00 -0700

In my experience, not being able to run because of an ingrown toenail is so uncool. There is absolutely zero glamour to it, not that any injury is glamorous, and ingrown toenails can be easily avoided. If you have never experienced this annoying problem let me explain - an ingrown toenail occurs when the corners of one of your toenails grows into the soft skin of your toe. This unorthodox nail growth pattern, usually on the big toe, causes the skin to become red, swollen, and can cause an infection. Aside from just plain hurting, if left untreated, an ingrown toenail can infect the underlying bone and lead to a serious bone infection. Yikes!

To find out how to prevent an ingrown toenail read more.

Avoid wearing shoes that are too tight.
When trimming your toenails, cut them straight across - no rounded edges. Also avoid trimming the nails too short.
Keep your feet clean and dry.

To treat an ingrown toenail, soak your foot in warm salt water for 15 to 20 minutes. This will reduce swelling and sensitivity. Then use a nail file to lift the nail away from your skin and place a small piece of cotton under the nail. Do this twice a day until your toenail begins to grow out. Use a topical antibiotic in case there's an infection. If the pain doesn't go away or your symptoms get worse, make an appointment with a podiatrist. The doctor may need to cut away part of your skin or nail to encourage healing. If you have an infection, the podiatrist will prescribe antibiotics. Once your toe is back to normal, remember to take care of your feet to ensure this never happens again.

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A Pain in Your Foot? Try Some Orthotics

FitSugar — Fri, 26 Sep 2008 10:00:00 -0700

If your feet aren't happy, the rest of your body is going to have a hard time being happy. Often neglected, our feet sometimes need a little support. I am talking about orthotics. These customized shoe inserts not only support your arch but control the motion of your heel as well, where damaging and incorrect foot patterns originate.

Folks prone to pronation often flatten out their arches by walking too heavily on the insides of their feet, and they can benefit from the support and control that orthotics provide. Stabilizing the joint just in front of the heel, known as the subtalar joint, affects how you walk through the ball of your foot and your toes. Orthotics can also help people with bunions, by preventing excess pressure on the joint of the big toe. Other common foot ailments that customized inserts can help with are plantar fasciitis, heel spurs, and even some knee pain caused from misalignment in the ankle.

Too see how much a pair of these foot savers cost, just read more.

I happen to have a pair and think that running without them would cause my feet all sorts of undue stress. You can have these inserts made at some high-end running stores for around $200 or by a podiatrist for $350 or more. First a mold of your foot is created. Then the mold is sent to a manufacturer, and about two weeks later you have an insert for your running shoes. You can generally insert the orthotic into any shoe with a removable insole. So they won't work with slingback heels, but can work with many "everyday" shoes. Ones made by podiatrists tend to be a bit more substantial, and a bit more corrective. The mold should be taken sitting down, with your foot in a corrected neutral position, something podiatrists I feel are better trained to do. Some inserts are made by making a plaster cast of the foot.

Do you have orthotics? Do you love them or hate them?

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Are You Guilty of the Flip-Flop Shuffle

FitSugar — Mon, 23 Jun 2008 03:00:00 -0700

When temperatures rise, folks start sporting their favorite flip-flops. Once relegated to the role of beachwear or a shower shoe, flip-flops have become a fashion mainstay – a fact that might give Anna Wintour hives. In fact, the simple shoe gives physiologists and podiatrists more than just hives. The thong sandal has become fodder for research.

Two biomechanists from Auburn University studied the effects wearing thongs has on how people walk. They noticed two important changes: the first being a shortened stride length. Taking shorter steps translates into more wear and tear on the legs joints over time, since it takes more steps to reach any destination. Secondly, the researchers also noticed that flip-flop wearers chronically scrunch their toes to keep the thongs on their feet. This constant toe contraction turns off the ability of the toes to lift, which they should do with each step. The end effect is the "flip-flop shuffle," which is not a very efficient way to get around.

Thongs, like everything else in life, are fine in moderation and are great for walking across hot sand at the beach or showering at the gym. They just shouldn't be your main summer shoes. How often do you wear flip-flops? Tell me in the comments section below.

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Cracked Heels and Running: A Painful Combination

FitSugar — Thu, 15 Nov 2007 10:15:00 -0800

Warm Summer weather is far behind many of us, and brutally chilly air has moved in. This cold weather makes us turn up our heat, and that takes the humidity out of the air. When there's no moisture in the air, it leaves our skin super dry. This is the perfect equation for creating dry skin.

If you enjoy running, you probably have some pretty tough feet, and the skin is probably rather hard. If that skin gets dry, it will create calluses, and the pressure of pounding your feet on the ground when you run can cause heel fissures, or cracks in the skin. If you continue to run, the fissures can split open further and become deeper. Ow! When that happens, the fissures can bleed and expose the underlying tissue to infection. Plus they're really painful, which makes running downright impossible.

Want to know how you can prevent fissures? Then read more

Drink lots of water throughout your day to help moisturize your body from the inside out.
Get a humidifier going in your home to return moisture to the air.
Before you go to sleep, lather your feet up with intense moisturizing lotion, salve, or body butter, and place socks over them.
Avoid moisturizing your tootsies before exercising, as this can make your footing slippery and lead to injury.
To get rid of dry skin on your heels, try using a pumice stone in the shower. It gently sloughs off dead skin cells, eventually revealing softer, smoother skin. If you already have small cracks, just be careful not to irritate those areas.
I know it's tempting to continue running, but if you have a deep fissure, the pressure of your pounding feet will only make it worse. Switch to walking until your fissure is under control.
If you already have a big crack, make an appointment with a podiatrist. They can help get rid of the hard, dry skin, so that your fissure can heal.

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Flip Flops: Cute, But Zero Support

FitSugar — Mon, 02 Jul 2007 03:30:00 -0700

When temperatures rise, folks start sporting their favorite flip-flops. Once relegated to being just beachwear or a shower shoe, flip-flops have become a fashion mainstay - a fact that might give Anna Wintour hives. Well, it is certainly a fact many podiatrists are distressed about as well.

From the podiatrist perspective, flip-flops were designed to provide protection to the bottom of your foot when strolling poolside or dashing across hot sand in the summertime. Plus they are great for preventing athlete’s foot, which likes to camp out in communal showers.

What flip-flops don't do is provide support for your feet. They offer no arch support and generally allow the wearer's feet to become as flat as they want. This can lead to a lot of foot pain. Plus, they also provide no heel cushioning or shock absorption. Since they provide zero arch support and foot stability, sprained ankles are actually a common injury that accompanies wearing flip-flops.

Now, I am not saying you need to toss your flip-flops. I am just saying you should wear them strategically. They are not suited for long walks, but they are fine for running a quick errand. And of course I think you should wear them when showering at the gym, strolling poolside or dashing across hot sand at the beach.

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Health Tips: Ballerina Flats and Your Feet

FitSugar — Thu, 22 Mar 2007 02:00:00 -0700

Oh the shoes...my husband wonders why women are so into shoes and I wish I could explain why we love them so much. Why they somehow seem to be the answer for all that ills us. Some ladies think that flats are the healthy answer to heels, but that is not necessarily the case.

While ballerina flats don't compromise your posture the way high heels do, they don't really help your feet out too much. They provide little if no support for the complex system that is your foot. There are 26 bones in the foot, as well as 2 distinct arches that not only help you balance, but that work as shock absorbers as well.

Most flats are very flat and provide little or no cushion for the bottom of your foot, which can be almost as rough as going barefoot. I have rarely tried on a pair of flats that have arch support, which is really important to keep you feet happy.

Fit's Tip: I wear Spenco arch supports in all my shoes. I wear the 1/2 in flats. I take the arch supports with me when I go shoe shopping. Sometimes the shoes just don't work with them and I have to pass those shoes up (which can take a lot of will power, but shoes that hurt my feet will not get worn). Sometimes I just have to buy shoes a 1/2 size bigger than usual. Check 'em out ladies...I think there is a happy medium between cute shoes and supported feet.