Fun and Fitness for the 40-Something

An article in the New York Times last month drew attention to the high risk of injury to the feet of active people. It makes sense—think of the pounding they often take. And it seems that, starting in our 30s, we become even more vulnerable to injury, particularly a condition called plantar fasciitis. The good news is that injury isn’t inevitable—we can take some measures to minimize the risk.

According to the Times, runners might be especially prone to foot trauma:

A small but compelling 2003 study done in Brussels looked at the impact of running for 30 minutes a day for one week. The 10 subjects were new to the sport. Three showed slight signs of foot damage before the study. At the end of the week, half of the runners had either new or increased fluid accumulation in their bone marrow. After only seven days, the newbie joggers had pounded their feet into the earliest stages of stress fracture.

That sample size is way too small to draw conclusions, of course, even if the results seem logical. But it’s not just runners who need to worry about their feet—foot injury should be a concern for all active people in their 30s, 40s or beyond. Why, you ask?

An orthopedic surgeon in the Times article explains that a foot has two ways to absorb pressure: pads and springs. “The pads are the cushiony pillows of fat beneath the heel and the ball of the foot. The springs are its tendons and ligaments, which flex and bend as the foot moves. Strong tendons and ligaments can withstand several times a person’s body weight — the force with which a foot can hit the ground while jumping or running downhill.”

As athletes reach their 30s or 40s, the fat pads begin to thin irreversibly. And the tendons and ligaments tighten up. Foot tissues connect to the tendons and ligaments in the lower leg. If the Achilles’ tendon—the long, thick, tensile rope that binds the calf muscles to the heel—becomes inflexible, it pulls the calf muscles taut and strains the plantar fascia.

When the plantar fascia, the main ligament on the underside of the foot, is stretched too far, it becomes inflamed, i.e., the condition known as plantar fasciitis. The Times reports that injuries to the plantar fascia and connected tissues are the most common foot ailment in athletes over 30.

The most effective way to prevent and treat early-stage plantar fasciitis is stretching (some illustrations of useful stretches) to loosen the tight calf and foot muscles.  The articles notes that the stretching regimen recommended by most foot specialists isn’t strenuous. It involves such established exercises as dangling your heel from a stair step or grasping your bare toes and pulling them toward you. The director of the Foot and Ankle Center at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center stresses the need to make a real commitment to stretching. “I’d like to see people stretching three to four times a day,” he says, “not two or three times a week…”

Properly-fitted athletic shoes play a key role, too. Shop at the end of the day, when your feet are at their largest, and get measured (sadly, feet grow during adulthood). And remember that soft cushioning may actually be a bad thing because it can throw off the natural gait and lead to injuries like shin splints.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, October 22nd, 2008 at 7:18 am and is filed under General Fitness, Health and Wellness, Running. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.