Flip Flop your way to injury

Arizona has one of the most perfect climates.  A climate in which its residents often like to take their dress to the basics.  Anyone who lives in Arizona has owned or owns at least 1 pair of the best slip on footwear out there…the Flip Flop sandal.  It’s hot…why take the time to put on socks then surround your feet with those heavy hot closed toe shoes?  Ehhh…just walk on over barefooted to your trusty ‘ol flipper floppers and head out to the mall or to class at ASU.  Leather, foam, bedazzled, pink, canvas, foam, thin straps, thick straps, flat, wedged, or a hint of an arch…flip flops are your go to “shoe”.  No problem right…wrong!

It is officially summer…well not officially: June 20th marks the actual start of our great state’s hottest time of the year.   We’ll be hitting the 100 degree mark back to back before you know it and thus a perfect time to talk about this topic.  This is the time of the year I see a spike in foot related pain!

Now, don’t get me wrong…I love flip flops too, but it is more of a lust then a love.  I know that it is not bio-mechanically beneficial to wear them for extended periods of time and/or in high frequency.   Here’s the basics of why along with a excerpt from an article on AOL’s Health forum:

Firstly, walking in a flip flop or thong style footwear alters your gait.  While walking in this type of “shoe” you will typically shorten your stride length.  You do this almost without knowing as a means to keep the ”shoe” on your foot.  Your heel makes contact with the ground sooner and often has an extended dragging motion.  Aside from the namesake “flip flop” sound you will hear the heel drag more prominently in this footwear vs. a regular athletic shoe.  So, why is this a problem?  Well, shortening your stride during this gait change over extended periods can lead to a deficiency in your hamstring flexibility, hip flexor range or motion and lower leg strength loss.  All critical agents in the sport of running.

Secondly, walking in a flip flop does not provide the beneficial amount of structure or support that most people need for their feet.  As most of us are pronators; we generally benefit from the additional structure provided by medial posting or quite simply just arch support.  The lack of arch in a flip flop forces the plantar fascia (arch “tendon”) to elongate and flatten thus increasing the risk of injury.  Plantar fasciitis is a very common ailment or injury often associated directly to a lack of arch structure/support.

I am however an advocate of wearing flip flops on occasion to let the foot stretch and relax after intense exercise.

There are better flops out there too.  A few notable companies are Rainbow (double or triple arch) and Olukai.  Look for a medium density, not too “marshmellowey” or too stiff.  The higher the arch the better and be cautious of the “it molds to your feet” philosophy as this will only mold your imperfections and defeat the whole purpose.  Expect to cough up at least $60 for a solid pair.

Bottom line…moderation is key and flip flop your heart out this summer!   

AOL Source ~> http://news.aol.com/health/story/ar/_a/flip-flops-can-lead-to-foot-leg-pain/20080602103409990001?icid=100214839×1203318315x1200131157

Pronators are people too!

In today’s post I will do my best to educate you about the term “pronation” ; it’s cause and affect on the body and how best to determine if you are indeed a “pronator.”  Please note that I am not a cerified pedorthist or practicing doctor, but this information should prove to be very valuable and easy to follow.

The word “pronation” is described as

Main Entry: pro·na·tion 

Pronunciation: \prō-ˈnā-shən\

Function: noun

Etymology: pronate, from Late Latin pronatus, past participle of pronare to bend forward, from Latin pronus

Date: 1666

1 : rotation of the hand and forearm so that the palm faces backwards or downwards 2 : rotation of the medial bones in the midtarsal region of the foot inward and downward so that in walking the foot tends to come down on its inner margin — pro·nate \ˈprō-ˌnāt\ verb

http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/pronation

For our purposes #2 serves as the platform for our discussion, considering this is a running blog and not one about palms or forearms! Now the important thing to note here is that pronation also occurs in more than one plane.  Here are the planes broken down in basic/technical terms:

                                                                                                                                                Sagital Plane

This is the classic flat foot or low arch.  Often times you’ll see the “wet footprint test” issued in Runner’s World which instructs you to get the bottom of your feet wet and step on a sheet of paper or the ground to assist you in determining your arch height.  The more arch you see on the paper/ground the lower your arch thus making you a candidate for sagital plane pronation.

                                                                                                                                                   Frontal Plane

This type of pronation is generally again due to the anatomy of your foot.  This plane is caused by the placement of the heel in relationship to the rest of the foot.  One of the best ways to determine this pronation type is to stand on both feet about shoulder width apart and have a friend look at your heels from behind.  It is very important that you face straight ahead and take a few marching steps then stop to find your final balance resting place. If your heels have a tendency to angle outwards you are a frontal plane pronator.   Another way of describing this is “knocked knee ankles” as the ankle bones will have a tendency to lean inwards or towards one another.

                                                                                                                                                         Transverse Plane

This pronation type is often referred to as “duck footed” or lateral rotation.  This too is related to foot anatomy or the basic mechanics of someone’s stance or gait.  Generally the foot will have a tendency to break in the midline or arch and point outwards.  So, rather than the foot or toes being directed straight forward they will have a slight outwards angle.  It’s best to determine this type by following the “steps” for the Frontal Plane assessment.

* I couldn’t dig up a quality image of this type, but I hope my description gives you a clear idea.

                                                                                                                                                                    Now, why is all of this information important?  Well, determining if you are indeed a pronator is a critical piece of information best used when evaluating what types of running shoes are best for your mechanics.  I will stress that pronation while important to be considerate of is not our primary concern.  What you’re more concerned with is the degree at which the foot pronates and at what stage of your footstrike.  Pronation itself is actually a very complicated but integral component of our body’s natural movement.  We pronate as a mechanism to assist our bodies in absorbing the impact forces taken when walking/running.  Obviously running is a higher impact acitivity thus stressing the importance of determining if your degree/stage of pronation is to a severity which would benefit from slowing it down.  Long are the days of “scaring” runners with the goal of “correcting” pronation.  By saying you want to “correct” this you’re somewhat implying that something is broken or wrong…I believe that it is about improving someone’s mechanics by means of bettering the position of the foot by mean of either “slowing” down pronation or providing “stabilty” to the foot where it’s best needed.  I’ll go into more detail about “slowing” down pronation and what “stability” agents are most commonly used in another post.  All of the above assesments of pronation were also what I like to call Static or non moving.  The best possible way to determine if you are indeed a pronator and to what degree is have a professional Footstrike Analysis at a running specialty store or sports specific physical therapy facility.  They will take digital footage of your feet while running to enable them to playback your footstrikes at significantly slower speeds/frame by frame and break it down…this is too cool!  Performance Footwear in Tempe, AZ is  a great place that does this for free.

                                                                                                                                                                      The final piece I’d like to add here is that in the running industry there is a lot of talk about pronation and the need to address it.  Why?  Well, heightened degrees of pronation is one of the leading causes of most running related ailments/injuries.  So, by improving this one piece in the running puzzle it is possible to greatly decrease someone’s risk of injury.