How will I know if I have plantar fasciitis?

Your heels or the soles of your feet will feel tender either first thing in the morning when you first put your feet on the floor, or after standing on your feet for a while. You may experience sharp pain under the heel or a dull ache underneath the foot. If you sprain your plantar fascia, the bottom of your foot or your heel will be tender whenever you stand or walk.

What causes it?

Plantar fasciitis can be caused by anything that places a strain on the arch of the foot. Common causes are:

• High arches of the foot
• Flat feet
• Over-pronation (your foot rolls inwards too much)
• Standing, walking or running on hard surfaces
• Excessive body weight
• Tight Achilles tendon or tight calf muscles
• Poor-fitting footwear
• Frequent, high intensity exercise such as running.

This ligament often becomes inflamed when heel spurs occur and may be called plantar heel spurs. It is important to try and discover the cause of the fasciitis to prevent it happening again – in particular check the following:

• Check you have ample flexibility in your calf muscles and Achilles tendon – you should be able to take a reasonably large stride backwards to stretch these muscles and not feel tightness when you stretch.
• Check your footprint for over-pronation, flat feet or high arches or check out your running gait (footfall) in a specialist running shop or with a podiatrist. Buy supportive running shoes, and consider orthotics if necessary for your every day shoes to prevent inward rolling and provide extra support.
• Lose weight if you are overweight.
• Avoid standing or running on hard surfaces.

Can I continue to run?

No – the inflammation and injury will just become worse. How can I treat it?

Follow these guidelines initially, and if the pain continues see a physiotherapist or sports therapist for advice and a definite diagnosis.

• Stop running!
• Rest your feet as much as you can – avoid walking or standing for long periods of time.
• Keep off hard surfaces such as concrete pavements.
• Ice your heel or the bottom of your foot to reduce inflammation.
• Wear shoes with good arch support and cushioning.
• Avoid walking around bare foot.
• Consider inserting orthotics in your shoes to provide extra cushioning, support the arch of your foot and remove tension from the Achilles tendon.
• Gently massage the sole of the foot several times daily to release tension in the ligament and increase circulation.
• Perform gentle calf stretches several times a day. You can also stretch the calves by standing on a step, placing the toes of one foot on the edge of the step, and allowing the heel to drop downwards.

To adequately stretch the calf muscles and the Achilles tendon bear these guidelines in mind:

• You should not feel any pain when you stretch
• Ease into each position slowly and stop when you feel a stretch in the muscle or tendon
• Relax into this stretch and hold for 30 seconds
• Now see if you can stretch a little further and hold again.

Exercises for the plantar fascia

Try these exercises to ease plantar fasciitis, particularly first thing in the morning or after being on your feet for a long time. Doing these every day will also help to prevent this condition recurring as they strengthen the foot muscles which support the arch of the foot and increase the flexibility of the plantar fascia.

• Before you get out of bed, flex your foot up and down ten times slowly. Each time you bring the toes up towards you, you will feel a stretch underneath your foot – hold this position for ten seconds.
• Place a rolled towel beneath your foot holding the ends and keeping your leg straight. Pull both ends of the towel towards you, stretching the bottom of the foot and calf muscles. Hold this for 20-30 seconds.
• Whilst seated, roll a tennis ball underneath the arch of your foot. Progress to doing this whilst standing when you can.
• Try picking things up with your toes! This provides a workout for the foot muscles that they don’t often get.

How long will it take to mend?

As with all injuries, this will depend upon the severity of the fasciitis, how long you have had it, and how much remedial exercise you can do to enhance recovery. Plantar fasciitis normally develops over a long period of time, so it usually takes a few weeks or even months to fully heal.

Prevention is better than cure

• Do the exercises above to strengthen and stretch the foot muscles and ligaments.
• Wear shoes with good arch support and cushioning.
• Avoid running or walking long distances on very hard surfaces – run on dirt tracks or tarmac rather than concrete pavements, or at least vary your running terrain.

Although osteoporosis is often found in elite female runners, the cause is actually from low body weight and lack of menstruation, which in turn reduces oestrogen levels and affects the lay down of bone tissue. It is over-training and a poor diet that causes the disease, in conjunction with a very low body weight which affects hormone levels. Running may only be detrimental when osteoporosis has already been caused due to the continued impact or a fall causing a fracture.

Bone density is known to reduce after the menopause due to hormonal changes reducing the amount of bone tissue laid down – women can lose up to 20 per cent of their bone mass within just a few years of finishing the menopause, so regular running is a very positive thing to do for females.

If you can tick any number of the boxes below, you are increasing your risk of osteoporosis, and taking up or continuing running will help to offset any reduction in bone density due to these common lifestyle habits.

Factors that increase the risk of osteoporosis:

• Lack of regular weight-bearing exercise such as running or walking
• Poor calcium or vitamin D intake
• High protein diets
• Very low body weight
• Missed periods or menopause
• Smoking
• Regularly consuming coffee or other caffeinated drinks

Running considerations

• Running will boost your bone density, but you should choose even ground to reduce the risk of a fall.
• Regular running will improve joint stability and muscle strength, decreasing the risk of a fall in everyday life.
• The impact of running will increase bone density in the bones in your lower half of your body, but you should also do weight training to enhance the bone density of your upper body.

Make the most of running to build your bones

You can maximize your bone density by regularly running before and into your 30s, as this is when most bone tissue is laid down, with bone density peaking around age 30. However, running after age 30 will still promote optimal bone density – if you don’t use it, you lose it!

It seems that running will benefit most health conditions and even help to prevent the occurrence of some of them. Just remember these guidelines if you are unsure of your health:

1. Get a pre-run check-up with your doctor before you begin.
2. Get help and advice from a health and fitness coach or personal trainer.
3. Take it easy to begin with.
4. Listen to your body!

How will I know if I have heel spurs?

Heel spurs cause tenderness and pain underneath or at the back of the heel.

What causes it?

Inflammation may be caused by over-tight muscles or tendons, poor footwear or unbalanced footfall.

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Can I continue to run?

Running is not recommended – it is likely to be painful and the inflammation and injury will become worse.

How can I treat it?

You need to reduce the inflammation and prevent it happening again. Follow these steps to get back running:

1. Stop running if you feel pain or discomfort – this is a sign that you are doing more damage.

2. Ice the inflamed or painful area regularly.

3. For heel spurs underneath the heel, you may need to wear more cushioned everyday shoes or keep your weight off your feet as much as possible. Orthotic inserts can help to take the pressure off the heel and remove stress from a specific tendon or area of the foot to provide relief whilst the inflammation dies down and the tissues repair themselves.

4. For inflammation in the Achilles tendon it may be painful to wear flat shoes (which can stretch the tendon), so shoes with a slight heel which shorten the length of the tendon or inserts to lift your heel may help in the short term. However, if the tendon is short, this is a likely cause of the inflammation, and you need to gently stretch the calf muscles to increase the resting length of the Achilles tendon.

5. Cortisone injections into the inflamed area may be suggested by your doctor or sports injury specialist in acute cases. Although this will reduce the inflammation, avoid running through the injury just because the pain or inflammation has been temporarily reduced (unless you have a race or event you have to take part in). A sports therapist or physiotherapist will assess the cause of the injury and provide advice on how to prevent it re-occurring.

6. You may need a new pair of running shoes with additional support or cushioning.

How long will it take to mend?

Heel spurs may cause no symptoms at all, but if you are experiencing discomfort, try to remedy the cause and reduce the inflammation – the sooner you do this, the sooner you can get back out there! As with most injuries, recovery time will depend upon how bad the inflammation is. You may be able to continue with a lower intensity running program with orthotics reducing the stress whilst you remedy the cause.

Prevention is better than cure

1. Regularly stretch the calf muscles and Achilles tendon to avoid them becoming over-tight.

2. Buy your running shoes from a specialist running shop to ensure a good fit and support for your foot shape and footfall.

How will I know if I have sprained my ankle ligament?

You will probably be aware of twisting your ankle during a run, but you could incur a small strain without realizing it and just feel some tenderness later on. Your ankle may become swollen and reddened, could be tender to the touch, and the ankle joint will feel unsupportive or wobbly.

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A partial tear means that the ligament is still attached across the ankle joint and continues to provide some stability; a complete tear through a ligament will provide no stability for the ankle joint. Although the amount of pain may not directly relate to the ligament damage, a complete ligament tear will generally be more painful when the foot is moved than a partial tear. If you have a bad ankle sprain, you may need an X-ray to evaluate the damage as ligaments attached to bone sometimes pull a piece of bone away as they tear.

What causes it?

An ankle sprain is usually caused by sudden movements, changes in direction or uneven ground tipping the foot over. A previous sprain may weaken the ankle joint so that it is less supported than normal, and this may cause further ankle sprains.

Can I continue to run?

This will depend on the severity of the sprain – a small sprain may be fine during short runs, as long as the ankle joint isn’t tested by uneven road surfaces and you have plenty of ankle support. However, the last thing you want to do is turn a small sprain into a bigger injury by going over on your ankle whilst the ligaments are weak, so the best advice is to rest it until it is mended.

How can I treat it?

Ankle sprains should be iced and rested, and keeping the foot up can help to reduce inflammation and swelling. An elastic bandage can also help to reduce inflammation through compression around the injured area. Depending on the severity of the sprain, you may need to stay off your feet for a day or two. If your sprain is any worse than this, an X-ray, crutches, a plaster cast or surgery may be required.

Remember that ligaments support joints, and if your ankle ligament has been partially torn, it will be unable to provide full support for your ankle joint. For a few days after a sprain, consider wearing a support bandage around the ankle, avoid high impact activities such as running, and be careful of uneven terrain. Wearing a pair of hiking boots or trainers with ankle support may be helpful until the ligament mends.

How long will it take to mend?

This will depend upon whether you suffer a partial or complete tear of the ankle ligament. Partial tears may take from a few days to weeks to heal, but for complete tears requiring plaster casts, you’d better hang up your running shoes for a while…

Prevention is better than cure

Although wearing ankle supports such as a neoprene bandage can help to stabilize the ankle joint, the best thing to do is strengthen the muscles and ligaments around the ankle as follows:

• Although running off-road on uneven ground can cause a twisted ankle if you don’t watch where your feet are going, uneven terrain will help to strengthen the ankle joint. Every time the muscles and ligaments in the foot are ‘tested’ on uneven ground, this works and strengthens the parts of the foot that are responsible for preventing an ankle sprain.
• Invest in a wobble board! Balance training has increased in popularity over the last few years. It is a functional exercise where the muscles, tendons and ligaments are exercised in the same way that they function on a daily basis, making them better at ‘doing their job’. Balance training is also great for strengthening core muscles (abdominal and lower back muscles) and stabilizing muscles which are often weak and contribute to poor running form and injuries.

DIY podiatry with the wet footprint test

To find out what your footfall is, wet your feet and make a few wet footprints on the floor where you can clearly see the outline of your footprint.

• A full footprint means you are over-pronating (rolling in too much).

• A lack of footprint in the middle means you are supinating or under-pronating (not rolling in enough).

• A footprint with a narrow band on the outside of the footprint joining the forefoot to the heels indicates a neutral (normal) footfall.

Analyzing your foot strike

If the inside edge of your shoes wear out, this is an indication that you over-pronate when you walk or run. Excessive pronation causes the ankle and leg to twist and can lead to injuries such as shin splints. If the outside edge of your shoes wear out, this is an indication that you supinate or under-pronate when you walk or run. This reduces the amount of shock absorbed through your feet when you run.

How does this affect my running?

Your footfall affects two things:

• Your running gait.
• The type of running shoe that will suit you best.

If you don’t know what your footfall is, an assistant at a specialist running shop may be able to tell you by either looking at your existing shoes or watching your walking or running gait, and will be able to help you choose the best type of running shoes.

Our feet should naturally roll inwards as our foot hits the ground, allowing the middle of the foot to absorb some of the impact. If you don’t roll in far enough (under-pronate), or roll in too far (over-pronate), running shoes or orthotics can help to correct your footfall.

We all have our own way of running, although if you have not ran since being at school you may feel like you need to learn to run all over again! Your running form is important, as poor form can not only add minutes to your run time, but poor technique is the main cause of running injuries, particularly those caused through repetitive strain injuries. Incorrect footfall and poor body alignment are the most common things to affect good running form or technique, so spending time checking how you run is worthwhile.

Correcting footfall

Over the counter orthotics from specialist running shops can help – slip them into your running shoe and check for a more normal footprint to test them out. Alternatively, have your gait analyzed by a podiatrist and have individual, custom-made orthotics. These cost more but are made to fit your feet.

• Six weeks after giving birth you may resume your normal workout or take on with stricter dietary schedule. Don’t forget that your body requires recovering prior to your resuming normal life.

• Post-pregnancy weight is partially gained because of considerable fluid retention. The retained fluid is to be lost within a couple of weeks; this can be sped up if you perspire or urinate heavily.

• Take plenty of water, about 10 to 12 glasses daily. Avoid taking soda or other sugary drinks.

• Go for the healthy food both at home and work.

• Prefer whole grain to their white versions, be it in bread, pasta or cereal form.

• Always opt for the lean meat. Have boneless chicken, white meat or just the leanest chops of the pork or beef.

• Have fiber found in most of the fruits and veges.

• Learn about what you eat. Go through the dietary labels at the back of a given product. Don’t take edible products having rich fat content, high calorie numbers, and high fructose corn syrup or hydrogenated vegetable oils.

• Keep away from fast-food meals and restaurants. They are not the healthy forms of diet. If burgers incite your appetite, french fries and other fast-food meals, bake them at your own. This will not only maintain low calorie amount but also preserve hygiene.

• Avoid going after heavy workouts at this stage. Six weeks after recuperation, begin with light workouts like jogging or mounting a few sets of stairs.

• For women, breastfeeding is helpful to consume calories a great deal, liberating around 500 calories per day. Nevertheless, don’t forget that this approach may not result bearing for all women, for instance, some of them may need to couple this with physical activity attended buy a nutritious diet to quickly drop weight.

• Make up your mind that shedding weight may need minimum nine months to feel the difference.
• Engage yourself every now and then in some physical activity because as a parent you have all those obligations for the engagement!

To lose weight mere dieting won’t do. Because permanent weight loss is not just a matter of preventive diet and physical workout; it’s much more than that, it demands a complete life style change.

Many a times, it happens that you hold dieting quite for some time and by the time you happen to gain your objective you again switch to unhealthy eating and often ignore your physical regimens. Resultantly you have to go back dieting “off and on” throughout the course of your life.

What you miss to inculcate is that the real myth of being smart lies in just healthy and balanced eating attended by regular physical activity. Because the excessive fats are bound to be consumed due to increased metabolic rate during active physical regimens so this keeps the individual in shape on and on.

The key idea to quickly shed off weight is to create a LOW CALORIE condition in body, i.e. more consumption than production. Naturally, this can be accomplished by adhering to a low cal diet and regular physical activity.

What you’ve to determine is to fix the number of cals a given person of a certain height and weight should take in and what kind of physical workout would be best for him. In other words, calorie counting progs, now-a-days available on net, will help you reach at the calorie amount. This will guide you what you ought or ought not to have everyday.

Instead of 3 large meals, better have 5 / 6 small eating sessions across the day, gulp down plenty of water and do regular physical activity. You’ll be on the way to losing it fast. The best way to following any dietary or regimen routine is that you ought to collect all the relevant information / literature beforehand.

Resorting to an alternate method, i.e. following a tough dietary schedule is yet not the right approach either to quickly lose fats. Essential fats and proteins are yet required for everyday use, therefore don’t attempt to curtail constituents you think don’t just suit you.

The myth of quick weight loss resides in creating a huge calorie deficiency in your routine edible intake. Compare it with your workout regimen and soon you’ll undergo weight loss. It’s because of this reason nutrition like the Atkins diet function with nearly quick outcomes. For instance, the first two weeks of the Atkins help you to lose nearly all yet significant carbs and you just have to take proteins with humble quantities of fats, i.e. you begin to consume the fuel deposited in fatty tissues than decomposing the carbs you were taking daily.

The main idea behind swift weight reduction is to dissolve maximum possible quantity of fat but not at the compromise of muscular mass. Due to this reason an intake of high carb diet facilitates to stall this condition from holding. Enhancing your metabolism by occasioning 5 or 6 small meals per day certainly displaces those stiff fat depositions. So, avoiding meals in fact isn’t the remedy to shedding weight because this will simply retard metabolic reactions and consequently your blood sugar levels come to plummet. Having a regular dose of protein will impede this.

The next thing to quick weight loss is physical workout. Actually, because of the increasing sedentary life style in modern time, there is no way than to resort to physical activity. A regular workout regimen about 3 times a week spanning over 30-45 minutes will do. The activity can feature running, jogging or cycling. Cardio regimen indeed results in consuming calories esp when attended by a low calorie diet, you ought to begin to lose weight quickly.

• Check alcoholic consumption. Alcoholic consumption releases a great deal of calories than you’d have from normal eating, so it must be either checked or taken in moderate quantity. It has been practically seen that the pot belly, also known as beer belly, grows enormously because of excessive alcoholic consumption.
• Maintain an erect posture always whether sitting or moving; this will engage your abdominal muscles in persistent physical activity. This will contribute to consume / dissolve excessive fat deposits resulting in an inbuilt tendency toward straight / small posture.

• Workouts focusing on abdominal muscles alone won’t do any difference. Instead physical activity such as would engage your whole body, for instance, swimming, brisk walk, aerobics / jogging will be more effective to do away with a pot belly. You can substitute brisk-walk with any physical activity you don’t like. Speed walk can also be occasioned in domestic setting workout machines.
• Full body physical activities attended by abdominal ones can be even more helpful to get rid of pot belly. In this connection lower ab and eight pack workouts are considered quite effective.
• Follow a nutritious diet schedule. Remove junk food, fatty and sugary substances from your die or remain confined to very moderate levels. Always give importance to fruits / veges, fibrous stuff and lean meat only. If you can’t control your urge for sugar / fatty substances, do substitute them with low-fat alternatives available over the counter. This will replace junk with “real” food in your eating routine and you’ll be on the track to losing bear belly.
• Consume water in sufficient quantities. Excessive watery intake helps you mitigate your urge for sugary drinks; also it helps you flush out toxic materials out of your body at a rapid rate.

Careful Eating

Overeating may be a cause of growing double chins. Drop some pounds. The greater fat you happen to acquire the greater will be the chances of growing double chins. This can be achieved by adhering to a careful diet plan.

Try to avoid excessive carbs and cals. Avoid overtly processed, baked and sweet stuff. Rather, you should consume fresh vegetable and fruits, lean / white meat and fiber based nutrition. Provided you exercise due care on what you eat, your body is going to lose those extra fats and your chin area too.

Maintain Proper Posture

Sometimes the appearance of multiple chins is because you follow improper posture. Learn the kind of posture to be held in different situations. An instance of improper posture is slouching that is chiefly responsible for the appearance of multiple chins.

So whether standing or sitting, try to maintain an erect posture. Also try to maintain a straight position of your jaws. This will strengthen your jaw muscles giving a definite smart shape to your face / chin.

Workout Your Face

These workouts are considered to be useful in toning chin muscles and draining surplus fats. Below are some useful in toning chin muscles and draining surplus fats. Below are some useful core-techniques: -

• Grasp your head straight and sit in calm. Now open your eyes and mouth as much as you can afford, take out your tongue and thrust your head ahead. It will work at your face, chin and neck muscles. Sustain the workout for 10 second then pause for 5-10 seconds. Drill it out for 5-8 turns.
• Get down in a lying posture with your legs extended and palms to your side. Pull chin up to your chest and poise for 5 seconds. Unleash the arms and raise your chin as much as you can without lifting your head above the ground. Maintain the position for 5 seconds then remove and drill it out 20-30 times.
• Munch on a gum. This light workout, too, will tone your muscles of chin and neck and dissolve any extra fats.

Wrapping The Chin

You can try wrapping your chin using a market product in case you find a change of other routines difficult for you. The anti-aging stuff will help you contract your skin from that clumsy hanging outlook. It will be an immediate treatment that imparts a smart shape to the chin draining out undesirable skin fat. The treatment can make the difference within weeks.

Surgical Treatment

One of the most precise treatments is the surgery. An instance is neck lift (submental lumpectomy), an operation that features plastic surgery and proceeds to remove fat through incision. Provided you don’t contract post surgical infections, surgical solutions are the best. Therefore, consult a reliable / registered surgeon only.

No doubt double chins are a constant source of frustration; nevertheless you don’t have to be overly concerned if you happen to materialize the tips cited above.