Ektio’s New Shoe – Preventing Ankle Sprains

This month Ektio released their line of basketball shoes.  The claim is that their basketball shoes are the ‘first physician-designed athletic shoes that provide rock solid ankle support without inhibiting mobility.’  Their shoe, endorsed by former NBA New York Knicks player John Starks, will premier in the Amazon marketplace in January and is already found at some retailers.  The serious basketball shoe fanatic probably spends a lot on athletic shoes and may not flinch at the ~$200 price tag for either the Wraptor or Post-up styles, but others may be more hesitant.

We have discussed ankle injuries in the past.  While all joints are at increased risk of injury due to stress and movement, the ankle is probably the most prone.  It is one of the few joints that allows for movement in three directions.  Unfortunately, when playing certain sports, like basketball, some of these motions become exaggerated and can lead to injury.  This shoe is being marketed towards the athlete because of their increased incidence of ankle problems, but many of us who don’t play basketball can relate to ankle problems.  In my high school basketball days, I remember trying to lace my high tops just right to try and not hurt my ankle.  These shoes claim to make such worries and most ankle injuries a thing of the past.

The makers of this shoe have some high aspirations.  We all know ankle injuries can take time to heal and professional NBA players don’t want to be sidelined with injury.  We at AFAS haven’t tests these shoes ourselves and can’t comment on the ‘rock solid ankle support’, but only time will tell whether the company’s claims are true or not. Regardless, it is important to remember that with all new footwear make your change a gradual one.  Never start a new sport or activity without adequate preparation and conditioning. Failing to do so can make you prone to injury.  In the case of any ankle injury, implement the RICE principle and make a visit to see Dr. Thomajan. 

Until next time, keep those feet happy and healthy in the New Year, Austin!

Preventing foot injury – Holiday travel

With the final week leading up to the next two holiday weekends upon us, this may be our last chance to talk about staying safe during your travels.  The past few weeks we have discussed footwear and activities to avoid DVTs while you are journeying this holiday season. But, what are you to do if your footwear is no longer available, as has become custom at many airports? 

While we can hope that new practices put in place to keep us safe while traveling may let us keep our footwear on, it is a good idea to be prepared if indeed you are asked to remove them.  It is important to keep your feet protected from foreign bodies (splinters, sharps, etc.) and fungus.  Public places are ready for your feet to be assaulted by the molds and fungi that can cause ‘athletes feet’ and fungal toenails.  If you are wearing tennis shoes, as we suggested in earlier blogs, be sure to wear cotton socks.  Some are made with a thicker bottom and would be best suited for situations like this.  Make sure that they are comfortable in your shoes first, but wearing these types of socks will help to protect your feet if you do have to remove your shoes.  Because your socks can ‘pick-up’ dirt and grime from the floor, it’s also a good idea to pack an extra, clean pair of socks in your carry-on. You can then switch them before putting your shoes back on.

It is also a good idea to give yourself ample time to make your flight.  Attempting to rush through security checks can make you prone to injury.  Take the time to watch where you are stepping and avoid any of those foreign bodies.  If you do happen to step on anything, promptly make a visit to AFAS to have it examined and removed!  Travel safe this holiday.

Until next time, keep those feet happy and healthy this holiday Austin!

Traveler’s Thrombosis – Avoiding deep vein thrombosis for safe travelling

Hopefully you have made all your travel plans and are almost done preparing for the upcoming holidays.  While you may be focused on your destination or getting to spend time with family and friends, you should take a minute to think about staying healthy during your travels.  One significant event you can easily avoid is that of a deep vein thrombosis(DVT).

DVT’s occur when your blood forms a clot in your vein.  This results in pain, redness and swelling in the arm or leg that it occurred in.  It can become quite serious if this clot then becomes lodged in your lung or heart.  While this is most common in post surgical or hospitalized patients, there are a number of other factors that can put you at risk for this occurring.  Some of them, such as being overweight and smoking, are things your family doctor reminds you of at most visits. Other factors include advanced age, contraceptive use, travel…….wait? Travel?  The immobility and dehydration that are common to travelling lend to a DVT that has become known as traveler’s thrombosis.  Whether or not you have any of the risk factors we’ve mentioned, consider keeping yourself well hydrated as you travel.  Walking around terminals and hauling luggage can be quite a workout and you can easily become dehydrated if you do not drink plenty of liquids.  Staying hydrated is staying health whether you’re at risk for DVT or not.

If you do have some of the risk factors for DVT, consider other things you can do to keep them from occurring.  Since staying seated for long periods of time is another part of traveller’s thrombosis, try to move around during your travels.  If you are in a car, take occasional stops to walk around.  If a plane or train, stand up and walk around from time to time if possible.  You can also consider wearing compression stockings or flexing your leg muscles while you’re sitting.  These ‘little’ things you can do during your travels can help avoid DVT’s and the problems associated with them.

Until next time, keep those feet happy and healthy, Austin!

Footwear During the Holiday – Fit for Travel

With Thanksgiving fresh in our memories, Christmas is fast approaching.  We hope you enjoyed your Thanksgiving meal and spent a little time throughout the month to educate yourself about diabetes.  Dr. Thomajan has written a book to help you learn more about this disease and if you still don’t have it, be sure to get a copy of this free book with this weblink.

We have talked before about wearing the proper footwear for the activity you engage in.  With the fast approaching holidays and New Year, it is a fairly safe bet to assume that most of us will be doing some traveling to be with family and friends.  Whether you travel by car, plane, or train, it is important to wear comfortable and supportive footwear.  A comfortable pair of ‘tennis shoes’ are likely the best option as discussed in the AFAS monthly newsletter. Sign up to receive it here under inquiry type.   

Two things to keep in mind when wearing for comfort are size and lacing. Our bodies are always changing and your foot size is something you should check periodically. If there is not a thumbs width of space between your toes and the tip of your shoe, you need to find a larger size.  Those funny looking devices you stand on at shoe stores, are called Brannock devices, and are made to measure your foot.  As you should stand upright, their use requires a second person and the measurement should be from the heel to the ‘ball’ of your foot.  Make sure whoever measures you does it accurately, or better yet, next time you visit AFAS be sure to have your foot measured properly. Once you have the right shoe size, you may want to consider an alternative lacing pattern.  The ‘normal’ lacing pattern, or what you might see out of the box, is perfectly fine most of the time.  When you are sitting for long periods of time, such as an airplane flight or long car ride, you feet may swell.  Consider lacing your shoes to help better accommodate these changes.  You can find information on lacing patterns here.

Take a moment to sign up for out E-newsletter while you are here and check back with us throughout the month as we talk about different things to keep in mind while you’re traveling this holiday season.  Until next time, keep those feet happy and healthy, Austin!

Diabetes awareness month – Wounds and complications

As diabetes awareness month comes to a close, let’s spend some time talking about wounds.  Earlier in the month we talked about the determination it takes to properly heal wounds complicated by diabetes.  Because of complicating factors, this is definitely an area where ‘an ounce of prevention, is worth a pound of cure’. 

By examining your feet daily for changes in color, texture, and temperature, you can detect problems early and seek appropriate intervention.  There is actually a lot of ongoing research within the podiatry field to assess or predict wounds before they occur.  This research attempts identifying ‘hot spots’ or areas under increased stress, so that your podiatrist can put you in specialized footwear or inserts to stop the problem before it occurs.   

Examining your feet daily is doubly important if you have any neuropathy of sensation loses.  When you lose the ability to feel pain, a small cut or splinter can go unnoticed and quickly lead to infection.  Infections that are undetected can easily invade the muscle and bones.  If the infection becomes septic, or reaches your blood, you may experience nausea, fever, chills or vomiting for which you must go immediately to the hospital.  The sooner you see a podiatrist or make a trip to an appropriate medical facility the quicker steps can be taken to limit the damage and put you on the path to recovery.  Delays in treatment, especially when infection is involved, can result in surgery and amputations.

We would encourage everyone who has diabetes or is close to someone who has it to join the American Diabetes Association.  The ADA offers plenty of resources and helpful advice.  One such recommendation is yearly foot check-ups with a podiatric physician.  Regular healthcare can help you avoid many of the complications we’ve mentioned.  We at AFAS are calling all to action by continuing to learn about and be aware of diabetes.

Stay tuned next month as we discuss holiday travels and some the things you should keep in mind.  Until next time, keep those feet happy and healthy, Austin!

Week 11 Injury Report – Colt McCoy

We all know of Colt McCoy.  This Longhorn had a 45-8 college record making him the NCAA’s winningest quarterback.  After being selected in the 3^rd round of the NFL draft, Cleveland Browns president noted that Colt McCoy would be unlikely to see much playing time since the team already had three quarterbacks.  That prediction proved to be completely untrue after ankle injuries to Jake Delhomme and Seneca Wallace.  McCoy made an impressive rookie NFL start in week 7 when he led the Browns to a win against the defending Saints.  After a bye week, McCoy then helped the team to their 3^rd win of the season against the Patriots in week 9.  Weeks 10 and 11 were disappointing, even with over 200 passing yards from McCoy they couldn’t pull out another win.

This former Longhorn had a noticeable limp as the game progressed, but that didn’t stop him from leading a valiant effort late against Jacksonville.  After leaving the stadium with his right foot in a walking boot, it has been reported that he sprained his ankle.  We have talked about ankle injuries, especially in the NFL, several times before.  The collection of ligaments that keep your ankle in place are prone to injury when the leg and foot are strained in different directions.  For the average individual, getting knocked off your feet by a sack isn’t too much of a worry.  Even so, there are a variety of activities that can cause you to strain, or in other cases tear, the ligaments in your ankle.  Colt McCoy was able to continue playing through his injury, we hope without furthering his injury.  We here at AFAS would never recommend this course of action.  The possibility of making your injury worse and keeping you out longer should always keep you from continuing your activity once you are hurt.  Instead implement the RICE principle and seek medical attention.

Until next time, keep those ankles happy and healthy Austin!

Diabetes Awareness – Thanksgiving Focus on What You Eat

While most holidays involve some component of gathering with others for a meal, Thanksgiving, by far, focuses the most on eating.  This holiday typically conjures up images of feeling stuffed, ‘turkey coma’, or post meal naps.  Unfortunately, this type of gorging isn’t healthy for anyone.  Living with diabetes should mean that you focus on what you eat.  Your body’s inability to keep the sugars in your blood at the appropriate levels translates into you changing the when you eat, what you eat, and the level of activity you get.

It may be helpful to think of diet as all the good things you can eat and not the limiting of other not so good things you may be used to eating.  If you have any input into the types of foods you’ll be eating this holiday, visit the American Diabetes Association website.  This is an excellent organization to be a part of if you live with diabetes.  They offer a plethora of resources and ideas for living better while managing your sugars.  For the holiday season, they offer such ideas as mashed sweet potatoes, sage stuffing, and pumpkin pie with maple ginger crust to help you have an enjoyable meal without sacrificing your blood sugars and ultimately your health.  If you have the luxury of letting someone else prepare your meal, you should use a little caution in what and how much you eat.  Standard fair like turkey and yams can actually be ok as long as you don’t stuff yourself.  Sweet rolls are one of the foods you should limit or remove altogether as simple breads are one of those foods that can quickly elevate your blood sugars.  You should take full advantage of the many resources to help guide your choices at meals this Thanksgiving.

While we talked last time about ‘hidden’ exercise, you should consider taking an easy walk after your meal instead of that nap.

Until next time, keep those feet happy and healthy, Austin!

American Diabetes Month – ‘Hidden’ exercise

There are so many topics to address when it comes to talking about diabetes.  Living with diabetes, provides daily challenges and many changes to the routines you have developed over the years.  Early diagnosis of type 2 diabetes is often first managed with changes to diet and exercise.  Hopefully the word ‘diet’ doesn’t elicit images of tasteless cardboard like food (we will dispel this idea in the future).  ‘Exercise’ shouldn’t conjure images of hours on the treadmill, repetitive weight lifting, or being covered in sweat.  Small changes to your daily activities can add some of the exercise you need to best manage your diabetes. Here are a few ideas from your friends at AFAS:

·         Raking leaves:  While you should take caution if you have any kind of lung or heart condition, raking the leaves in your yard can really get your blood flowing.  The action of raking includes muscles in your back, arms, chest, and legs.  By using these muscles, your body can better process the glucose in your blood and more efficiently use the insulin you produce.

·         Parking in the back:  You may have heard this one a few times before, but instead of parking right up front, opt for one of the many open spaces in the back.  This, of course, requires that you have a little extra time.  Instead of looping around the parking lot to find a space closer to the entrance of your work or shopping center of choice, grab one of the many empty spaces in the back of the lot and get a little extra walking in everyday.  Walking is one of the best and simple exercises you can do to boost your health.

·         Take the stairs:  If you work on the 20^th floor of the office building, hoofing it up the stairs in your business attire probably won’t do.  Now taking it to the 18^th floor and walking a couple flights of stairs will provide some added activity without sweat beading up on your forehead.

Remember that living a healthy lifestyle, no matter how long or severe your diabetes is, can only help you better manage your blood sugars.  This November be aware of your diabetes or help a friend or family member to be aware of theirs.  There is a wealth of information from the American Diabetes Association^®, family doctor, podiatrist, dietitian and other health care providers to help you best manage this challenging disease.

Until next time, watch your blood sugars and keep those feet happy and healthy Austin!