Your feet are your foundation, and deserve good maintenance. Although you'll take acute and overuse injuries to a sports doctor, there are a many things you can do yourself to avoid, or treat, a variety of problems.

Avoiding Problems
Shoes have become fashion statements, but you must choose your workout shoes for comfort and function. When you buy shoes, visit the store late in the day when your feet are biggest. "Our studies have shown that feet expand about one size (one third of an inch) in length and width after only about 30 minutes of continuous activity," says American Running Editorial Board Member Harry Hlavac, D.P.M., M.Ed.

Check the quality of stitching and gluing of shoes. Put your hands inside and make sure there aren't any lumps or bumps. Wear your normal workout socks in the shoe store. Your feet are not perfectly symmetrical, so try on both shoes of each pair you consider. Walk around in them, jog around the store, climb stairs if possible. Shoes should fit well and, above all, be comfortable. Don't be tempted to buy shoes that feel marginal because you think they'll be okay when they're broken in. This may not happen.

Look after your shoes. Spray them with Scotchguard water repellant and they'll keep cleaner. Inspect them once a week, and when they begin to show wear, replace the worn area with glue from a tube, or hot melt glue gun.

Socks are important, too. Avoid cotton which absorbs sweat strongly and stays damp. This makes you more likely to develop a blister, or pick up athlete's foot fungus. Wear acrylic or polypropylene socks that wick sweat away from your feet, so that it can evaporate. Runners tend to wear thin socks, but the evidence suggests thicker is better for protection from blisters.

As well as choosing good shoe and socks, you can also exercise your feet and ankles to help them deal with your vigorous lifestyle. Here's a workout due to American Running Editorial Board Member Paul Taylor, D.P.M., in Conquering Athletic Injuries.

Sit down with a towel in front of you. Curl your toes round an edge of the towel and lift it a little for five seconds, then let go. Alternate with both feet until they begin to feel tired.

Sit with your legs hanging free, and flex your foot up and down. Now keep your heel still and turn the front of your foot from side to side. Repeat each exercise 30 to 40 times with each foot.

Stand with your feet 12 to 18 inches apart. Turn your ankles and stand on the outside edges of your feet. Now turn your ankles the other way and stand on the inside edge of your feet. You may be more comfortable if you bend your knees a little. Try 20 to 30 repeats.

Sit down with your legs hanging free. Loop a band of stretch cord over your toes so that it joins your feet, passing over and under them. Keep your heels together and turn your ankles so the front of your feet move apart. Then keep your toes together while you turn your ankles so your heels separate. Repeat each move 20 to 30 times.

Walk around on your toes for five minutes, and then walk around on your heels for five minutes.

These exercises, two or three times a week will help keep your feet and ankles in good shape.

Self Care For Feet
Corns and calluses are thick areas in the top layer of dead tissue. A callus spreads outward, but a corn tends to grow inward, too. Soak your foot in warm water, and when the skin is soft, pare away carefully with a sharp blade, or use a pumice stone, callus file, or sandpaper. Then apply skin moisturizer to keep the sin softer.

Corns and calluses develop because of pressure and friction, so check your shoes. If you find tight spots, stretch your shoes, or have them stretched in the shoe repair store. If you can't find tight spots, try wider shoes, or a half-size larger.

Warts look like corns, but they're due to a virus, spread by contact. They tend to grow inward and contain folds of healthy tissue. Don't try cutting or filing them.

Small warts that aren't painful can be left, and may go away in time. But a wart on the ball of your foot can be painful when you walk or run. Buy a salicylic acid preparation in your drugstore, and use it according to instructions to try to kill the infected tissue. If this doesn't work, or the wart grows bigger, visit your podiatrist for more aggressive treatment, such as burning, or freezing. The last resort is surgery.

Too much friction can cause an inflammation, leading to separation of the outer living layer with a fluid filled sac; a blister. The fluid is usually watery, but sometimes contains blood. If the blister is intact and sore, pierce it at the border with healthy tissue, using a flame sterilized needle. Squeeze out the fluid and apply your favorite antiseptic and a dressing.

If you have a blister that has burst, you can end up with a raw area if you do nothing, or use a regular dressing that doesn't absorb pressure. Instead, use a doughnut shaped pad, cut from one or more layers of Moleskin or Molefoam, with the hole located over your blister. Another approach is to cover your blister with a gel product that has the same mechanical properties as skin. There are three products of this type, Second Skin, Compeed, and Curad. They all work well, but are applied differently. Try them to see which you prefer, and don't forget the antiseptic, first.

Blisters are due to friction, so find the source. Check shoes for tight spots, and follow the advice for calluses and corns. Check your socks for wrinkles.

If the seam is a problem, wear your socks inside out. If your blister problem persists, you can reduce friction by applying a lubricant. The best anti-blister lubricant is petroleum jelly rubbed on your feet. You can wash your socks clean, but after a while the goo works its way into your shoes. This is the price you pay for no blisters.

Cut your toe nails straight across to avoid spikes that can grow into your skin. It's worth the extra time to use a nail file to smooth off cut nails. If you do develop an ingrown nail, you can cut a piece of nail away from the nail edge; then apply antiseptic. Unless you are confident you know what you're doing, go to your podiatrist. Some individuals suffer repeated ingrown nails, in spite of numerous treatments, and when all else fails have the nail surgically removed.

If you do a lot of running and jumping, and your shoes' toe boxes are cramped, you may end up with a black nail. This is a pool of blood under the nail. If the toe is not painful and you don't mind the appearance, you can ignore your black nail. A new one will grow and eventually push out the old nail. If you prefer to get rid of a black nail, straighten a paper clip, hold it in a pair of pliers and heat it in a flame until the clip is red. Then touch the hot metal to your black nail. The nail will melt without pain and release the blood.

Athlete's foot is the most common of the fungus infections that can bother your feet. This fungus loves warm, moist surroundings. Usually, you'll first notice redness and itching between your toes. If you don't handle it quickly, you may end up with scaling, cracks, blisters, and open sores. When you first notice symptoms, apply an over-the-counter anti-fungal ointment. The trouble is the fungus is in your skin, not just on the surface, so it can be hard to get rid of if you don't treat the infection early. You need to spread the ointment all over your skin, reapply during the day, if necessary, and keep up the treatment until you have no symptoms. "Discontinuing treatment too early is the most common reason for re-occurrence," says Taylor. It can be hard to avoid reinfection, because the fungus lurks around damp bathrooms. It is worthwhile disinfecting your bathroom by washing all surfaces with household bleach, diluted to 50% with water. If self-treatment of fungus doesn't work, you need to visit a doctor for a prescription medication.

The way to keep your feet in good shape is to choose well fitting comfortable shoes, wicking socks, exercise your feet, and take care of the minor problems before they can grow to major difficulties. If you run into a problem that you can't solve with the suggestions offered above, then see your foot doctor.

Lacing patterns
Different lacing patterns can help different kinds of feet. You don't have to use all the eyelets. If you have a bunion, or a swollen arthritic toe joint, don't use the bottom eyelets. Pattern 1 uses the widely separated eyelets, which brings the upper more tightly across narrow feet. Pattern 2 uses the closer eyelets which give a better fit for wide feet. If you have a sore spot on the top of your foot, don't put the lace over it. Skip some eyelets as in pattern 3. If you want to reduce pressure over the whole of the top of your foot, try pattern 4. Number 5 is said to lift the upper away from the toe area. For the snuggest fit that won't slip, use pattern 6.

Volume 15, Number 6, Running & FitNews
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