Health-Fit ChiropracTIPSMay 2016

PLANTAR FASCIITISPlantar Fasciitis is one of the most common causes of heel pain. It involves pain and inflammation of a thick band of tissue, called the plantar fascia, which runs across the bottom of your foot — connecting your heel bone to your toes.Plantar fasciitis causes stabbing pain that usually occurs with your very first steps in the morning. Once your foot limbers up, the pain of plantar fasciitis normally decreases, but it may return after long periods of standing, getting up from a seated position, or running/waling. The main physical causes of this condition are:

• Tight calves will increase tension on the plantar fascia.• Altered foot function: Excessively flat or high arches.• Lack of big toe extension- Upward movement of the big toe.• Tight hip flexors will reduce ability to use gluteals in ‘push off’ phase of stride, hence increasing the work load on the plantar fascia and calves. • Reduced gluteal and hamstring strength will again increase the demand on the calves and plantar fascia, predisposing to overload of these structures.

Other non-biomechanical reasons for the condition can be improper walking/running technique, worn-out or improper shoes, and walking barefoot on hard surfaces at home. From a physical standpoint, the best way to prevent

Plantar Fasciitis is to obviously correct the causes by performing stretches and exercises to correct any of these above dysfunction. Stretching for the Gastrocnemius (upper calf), Soleus (lower calf), hip flexors, and the Plantar Fascia. Secondly, you need to be evaluated to determine if you have excessively flat or excessively high arches. If you have flat feet, an orthotic may be beneficial. With high

arches, manual therapy can help reduce the rigidity and tightness of the foot/arch. Lastly, strengthening of the glutes and hamstrings (along with hamstring flexibility) are vital to proper push-off mechanics during running and activities.If you are, or in the future, suffer from Plantar Fasciitis, conservative treatment usually does a great job of freeing you from your pain. In our practice we utilize Active Release Technique (www.activerelease.com), Graston Technique (www.grastontechnique.com) and Kinesio Taping along with other modalities to treat the pain and prevent it from coming back

Fun Facts (Memorial Day Edition)

1. It was originally called Decoration Day2. It used to be on May 30th every year 3. It’s legally required to observe a National Moment of Remembrance 4. Waterloo, NY is considered the birthplace of Memorial Day 5. More than 36 million people will travel at least 50 miles from home this Memorial Day

Health-Fit® Chiropractic& Sports Medicine

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Health-Fit Book of the Month

WHEAT BELLYOver 200 million Americans consume food products made of wheat every day. As a result, over 100 million experience some form of adverse health effect, ranging from minor rashes to high blood sugar to unattractive stomach bulges preventative cardiologist William Davis calls “wheat bellies.” According to Davis, that excess fat has nothing to do with gluttony, sloth, or too much butter: it’s due to the whole grain wraps we eat for lunch.

Quote of theMonth

People with goalssucceed because they

know where they are going.

- Earl Nightingale

RUN MARATHONS? HATE BLISTERS? USE PAPER TAPEUltramarathoners who apply common, inexpensive paper tape to their feet before a race get fewer blisters on those areas than on non-taped areas, according to a new study.

I’m sure that you’ve experienced a blister in your lifetime and you were surprised at how much it hindered your daily activities. You notice pain every time you use that body part in the slightest of way; and for runners, blisters can ruin your training or your race. In fact, it is the most common injury to hinder performance for ultramarathon runners, cause temporary duty restrictions in about 20 percent of active duty military personnel with them, and “I’ve even had a runner wind up in the intensive care unit with severe sepsis and almost lose his leg from a blister,” said lead author Dr. Grant S. Lipman of Stanford University School of Medicine in California.

The researchers studied 128 runners participating in a

six-stage 155-mile ultramarathon in 2014. Each runner had one

foot taped by a trained medical assistant who taped areas that

were prone to blisters in the past or taped random areas if the runner did not usually get blisters. While 30 runners developed blisters on the taped area of the foot, 81

developed blisters on untaped areas, according to the study online April 11 in the Clinical Journal of Sports Medicine.

Blisters form from resistance or friction on the skin, when

repeated rubbing causes shear stress on the superficial cells in the skin, he said. “Paper tape is

a very smooth thin tape, it causes easier sliding at the skin interface so

likely decreases the shear stress under the tape,” he said. “Also, it does not have a very strong adhesive quality so if a blister does form under the tape, pulling the tape off will not rip off the ‘roof’ of a blister.”He mentions that this should not be used as a first line of defense. Make sure you wear proper fitting running shoes, file down calluses and train appropriately.

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