FIXING YOUR FEET E-zine
Volume 8, Issue 4, April 2008
John Vonhof, Footwork Publications
Copyright, April 2008, All rights reserved
THIS ISSUE IN SUMMARY
This issue has an editorial on You Walk Wrong, an article on Understanding Your Feet. It also has information on foot care resources, a Question of the Month, For a Cause, reader feedback, and a Bad Feet photo of an interesting toe blister.
PURPOSE
The Fixing Your Feet E-zine is published monthly to inform and educate athletes and non-athletes about proper foot care skills and techniques, provide tips on foot care, review foot care products, and highlight problems people have with their feet.
Editorial: You Walk Wrong
The article caught my eye. The April 28 issue of New York magazine had an article “You Walk Wrong” My daughter in New York had seen a short article, which was a summary of the longer piece – and sent me the link. The title was “Feet Hurt? Stop Wearing Shoes” on NPR Radio. Here is the link for the short article and there’s also a link to listen to a nine-minute audio interview with the author Adam Sternbergh.
Here is the focus of his article:
“It took 4 million years of evolution to perfect the foot, and humans have been wrecking that perfection with every step since they first donned shoes,” New York magazine’s Adam Sternbergh says. “Everyone who wears shoes walks wrong. Shoes are bad."
Okay. I guess he is entitled to his opinion. That means I walk wrong and all of you do too. That’s too bad because I like my shoes. Really. My walking shoes, running shoes, golf shoes, and work shoes are all comfortable. Do I feel like I am walking wrong? No.
I know there are many barefoot runners and hikers, and club for those who choose to go barefoot. Athletes have run marathons barefoot. Many people, given a choice, will go barefoot. Around the house, at the beach or park, this is normal. At work, walking around town or a mall, in businesses, though, it’s a different story. In many places the owner of the establishment makes the rules – and they typically want you to wear shoes. But does wearing shoes mean I am walking wrong. Let’s take a look at more of Sternbergh’s theory.
Sternbergh calls, “…the ubiquity of footwear a ‘conspiracy of idiocy.” He points out, “… the probability that at no point did any shoemaker say, ‘Let’s design something that works with your foot.’ The human foot works pretty well on its own, and it doesn’t need a lifetime of help from shoes.”
I find it hard to believe Sternbergh’s statement that shoemakers design shoes without regard to how they work with and for our feet. Our feet may not need a lifetime of shoe help, but they do need support and covering for safety. For many people, their feet also need help. I do not know the percentage of how many people wear orthotics, but I’d guess it is pretty large. Orthotics are used to correct flaws in the structure of our feet. Without a shoe, the orthotic would be useless. Shoe designers and manufactures, would go broke pretty quick if they made bad shoes. And some do. However, I have met people who work for shoe companys and they are solid, hard working, conscientious folks who try hard to make and sell shoes that work.
Sternbergh also, “… concedes that in most settings, some form of foot covering makes sense. I’m not going to convince anyone to walk barefoot," he says. He acknowledges that, “… he continues to wear shoes as a bulwark against glass, grime and gross things.”
If Sternbergh chooses to wear shoes as a guard against the world’s junk and grit, I think he has made a good choice. I appreciate his making this statement. In my daily life, wearing shoes makes sense. If I could, I’d go barefoot more. I bet many of us would.
But for Sternbergh to say we walk wrong just because we wear shoes – that bothers me. I think he should have taken a different slant. Next month I will delve more in-depth into the concept of You Walk Wrong.
Until then, I will remain in my shoes, when the occasion, the job, or the sport, makes it a common sense decision. How about you?
Here’s the link to Sternbergh’s full article in New York Magazine. It was published on the web on April 21st and since the site allows comments, it has received 133 reader comments. Some of them are quite interesting.
If you want to comment on this piece, please send me an email.
FIXING YOUR FEET, 4th EDITION
The 4th edition of Fixing Your Feet can be ordered through my FixingYourFeet.com web site, ZombieRunner.com, or Amazon.com. Completely updated, it has three new chapters and lots of new sections. The retail price is $18.95 but most sites, including mine, has it at a reduced rate.
SHARE THIS NEWSLETTER
Please take a moment and forward this issue to a friend or two and encourage them to subscribe.
MY TWO FOOT CARE ARTICLES
Subscribers of Ultrarunning can find my article Foot Care for Optimal Performance in the March issue on page 24. Those of you with the May issue of Trail Runner can find my article Blister Battle on page 30.
FOOT CARE RESOURCES
The HealthyFeetStore.com
The Healthy Feet Store on the Web is a great site to explore for products approved, and used, by a podiatrist. There are all types of footwear, including shoes for special medical conditions, Foot and ankle products include toenail and toe care, corns and calluses, heel pain and Achilles problems, socks, arch supports, and much more. Check out the Healthy Feet Store here.
In addition to the store, there is also a Healthy Feet Store Blog. I checked it out and found many articles that could interest us. Here are a few blog entries:
THE 25 BEST PEDICURE TIPS EVER
WALKING SHOES VS. RUNNING SHOES – A WALKER’S DILEMMA – WHY IT MAKES A DIFFERENCE
27 SECRETS TO GIVING THE ULTIMATE VALENTINE’S DAY FOOT MASSAGE – This is good any time of the year!
Article: UnderstandingYour Feet
The March issue of Ultrarunning magazine had an article by David Hannaford, DPM, a sport’s podiatrist from just north of San Francisco.
Dave is a friend who wrote the foreword to the 2nd edition of Fixing Your Feet in 2000. The title of his Ultrarunning article was Understanding Your Feet.
Dave wrote: "Every foot is different and it is rare to find a foot that doesn’t have some inherent flaw in one of these tissues [ligaments, muscles and tendons] that can leave a person susceptible to injury. These structural risk factors can exist within a foot for many years and then all of a sudden appear as an injury when enough forces occur at one time that exceed the strength of that particular tissue. Increased mileage, fatigue, shoe faults, weight gain, muscle atrophy, poor daily wear shoes such as flat sandals, unfamiliar activity such as climbing ladders, age-related arch loss, and many others, may combine. Scientists have also noted chemical changes in the actual connective tissue with aging. If it sounds complicated it’s because it is."
Dave’s article focused on injury prevention. He did a great job of explaining the “notorious Plantar Fascia” as the most common foot injury he sees. If you are an Ultrarunning subscriber and have not read his article, I urge you to find the magazine and read it. It’s on page 22. He talks about the structure of the foot, choosing shoes, heel contact, full foot contact, propulsion, and the foot’s swing phase. I consider it a "must read" article.
Many athletes become injured because they do not understand their feet. They do not understand the importance of foot exercises to strengthening the tissues Dave describes, the motion the ankles and feet go through as you walk or run, the importance of the right footwear, knowing what their feet need to prevent blisters and other skin issues, the relationship of calluses to blisters, toenail care, and the list goes on. How important is all this? If you find yourself fighting off injury after injury, blister after blister, repeated sprained ankles, and losing toenails – it should be important – very important.
If you have a copy of Fixing Your Feet, take a few minutes and read some of the chapters that you may have overlooked. For instance, read The Magic of Fit and Making Prevention Work. Then pick the ones that give in-depth information on injuries you typically have. It’s important to understand your feet.
FOR A CAUSE
I believe in doing things for a cause. In the 80s and 90s I did a number of runs for the American Cancer Society. I found the work of soliciting pledges was rewarding and gave me motivation to run longer (these were 24-hur track runs). If you have not given it thought, consider doing a run or hike or adventure race, for a cause. Pick one of your favorite nonprofit organizations. Here is short email from Paige and her walk for a cause. Paige emailed me asking about her toenail problems. We emailed back and forth and I just got this today.
"I emailed you a while back about how NOT to lose a toenail when I walk. This past weekend I just completed my 6th 50-mile walk for Multiple Sclerosis.
I am happy to say that for the first time – I got no blisters and as of today – the toenails seem to be fine! I bought Injinji Socks (off the zombierunner.com site), moleskin on the sensitive parts and I was good to go! I love the socks. My toes were happy!
I was worry about the balls of my feet on the hot asphalt over the weekend. They were a bit tender at the end of the day, even with moleskin on them.
Doing this walk is something that I am passionate about as I have a friend with MS. I’d rather NOT have to walk, but until a cure is found for this disease, I will continue to do so!"
READER FEEDBACK AND COMMENTS
There was no newsletter in February and many of you wrote in response to my “My Feet Needed a Break” in the March newsletter. Thank you for your support. Here are a few of the comments.
Twyla wrote: "The newsletter is always fabulous to wander through, even the photos can make you cringe. Love that. Kind of like flipping through an illustrated medical dictionary…"
Rod added: "Your book, Fixing Your Feet, is a great resource. Your newsletter is a reminder that it is there. As for me, I am preparing to use Epsom salts (Magnesium Sulphate) to reduce some toenail fungus; I just have a hard time identifying a suitable container to fit my foot into, and then force the habit of doing it daily."
From Bill in Albertas Canada, "As a matter of fact, I was wondering where the February e-zine was, but since it’s a free service I didn’t want to whine. I do appreciate the information, and my copy of Fixing Your Feet (4th edition) continues to be my footcare Bible."
Brian wrote: "I purchased your book about three years ago. I have enjoyed it and your monthly newsletters. I’m not a runner but a hiker. Paying more attention to my feet has definitely helped. Thanks for pointing out new products and more tips."
Micheal wrote: "Love all your very valuable information! Please keep it up."
Reader feedback to this E-zine and its articles is welcome and encouraged. Please email any foot care ideas or tips that you have tried and would like to share with others, or ideas for an article for the ezine.
BAD FEET PHOTOS
This month I choose a photo of a little toe, sometimes called the baby toe. The photo shows a blister 
at the tip of the toe, which has split open. The nail is slightly visible at the tip of the toe. Raw, somewhat bloodied skin is visible at the bottom of the open blister. How do you patch this kind of blister? Leave all the skin on – do not cut any off. It serves as a layer of protection. Based on the photo, I would layer two strips of tape, one side to side and a second bottom to top, closing the tape as if wrapping a Christmas present. Then wrap another strip around the toe. My tape of choice is Kinesio-Tex because of its smoothness, stretchiness, and stickiness. This tape can be purchased at Zombierunner.com, along with lots of iother goodies for runners and athletes.
Just think; your feet could be featured in this e-zine for everyone to see! Submit your photo or short story by email or snail mail. Stories should be no longer than 250 words. Send them to me by email.
QUESTION OF THE MONTH
Question: I have a dime size blister, a hole now, in the middle of the bottom of my right heel. It is open and I have been working on it for two weeks now without much luck. Should I be taping it? Have started using Badger Foot Balm My drywall business keeps me on my feet with a lot of ladder work.
Answer: If the blister is open and has not healed, and has a “hole” as you describe, it has to heal from the inside. I would soak your foot in the morning and evening in a cup of Epson salts in warm to hot water – for 15 minutes or so. This helps dry out the skin, including the blister. If the center is soft, and possibly oozing, be sure and apply a dab of antibiotic ointment and cover it with a Band-Aid when wearing any footwear. Otherwise, if the skin is hardening as it heals, the covering should not be necessary.
WRITE AN AMAZON REVIEW FOR A FREE COPY OF HAPPY FEET
Those of you with the 4th edition can get a free copy of my booklet, Happy Feet: Foot Care Advice for Walkers and Travelers. Click on Amazon or Barnes & Noble to go to the book’s page—and write a review of the 4th edition. Then send me an email telling me which site the review is on and your snail mail address. I will mail you a free copy of this 36-page booklet. Use it yourself, or give it to someone else. The booklet has a $5.00 value. Sorry, but because of postage, this offer is good only in the U.S and Canada.
MY HAPPY FEET BLOG
If you like to stay informed about foot care issues and information – on a more regular basis than this monthly newsletter, check out my blog, Happy Feet: Expert Foot Care Advice for People Who Love Their Feet. This is different from this ezine. The Happy Feet blog will have a new short topic once a week.
GOT A STORY TO SHARE?
I am always on the look out for stories to share about their adventures with some type of connection to feet. If you have something to share, please send me an email.
PRIVACY INFORMATION
You are subscribed to the Fixing Your Feet E-zine because you subscribed to it. If you wish to be removed from this mailing list, you can find instructions at the end of this email. I respect the privacy of all subscribers and will not disclose your email address or any information about you to any third party.
SHARE THIS ISSUE
If you like this E-zine, please pass it along to others whom you think will benefit from its contents and encourage them to subscribe. They can subscribe the box at the top of this blog or with an email to Yahoo.
TO UNSUBSCRIBE
If you need to unsubscribe to this E-zine and subscribed through Yahoo, please send an email to Yahoo.
CONTACT INFORMATION
You are welcome to contact me by email about this E-zine or the book Fixing Your Feet.
