Happy feet will make you a happier runner— and chances are, yours could use a tune-up . Follow these simple techniques and TLC tips to go longer and stronger.
You probably don’t realize it as you’re running, but your feet are pounding the pavement some 1,000 times per mile and taking a bit of a beating—a force of two to four times your body weight with each foot strike. No wonder up to 79 percent of runners experience some kind of foot injury each year, according to research in the British Journal of Sports Medicine.
“There are a large number of sensory nerve fibers in your feet,” explains Luke Bongiorno, the managing clinical director at Orthology, a physical therapy and sports medicine clinic in New York City. “If you don’t take care of your feet, you won’t properly stimulate those nerves, which can throw off your proprioception [the body’s ability to know where it is in space] and thus cause the wrong muscles to fire.” For example, during a run, when you push off your big toe, its nerves signal your body to activate your glute muscles; but if you are not able to get those feelings through your toe, the glutes won’t mobilize, and other, less powerful muscles will compensate.
Keeping your feet in top running order takes some dedication, but the payoff is worth it. Whether you hit the treadmill, track, trail, or street, follow our expert advice.
Strength-train your soles
This story is from the November 2016 edition of Shape Malaysia.
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This story is from the November 2016 edition of Shape Malaysia.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
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