Are thongs bad for your feet?

September 17, 2020/0 Comments/in Health, Podiatry Shepparton/by Sophie

The warmer weather is here and with that, off come the shoes.

If you’re a thong wearer, ditching the shoes and wearing thongs everyday can make the feet a little bit sore. If we don’t over do it, this soreness may only last a short time.

Don’t get me wrong, this is great for the feet – they NEED to move! However, there are a few considerations when making the change to more flexible summer footwear:

Limit wear time in the beginning:

This is similar to going for a long run with 0 training, or getting back in to the gym for the first time in a long time. You get sore!! This is not solely the shoes fault!
If the feet have been cooped up in stiff shoes the muscles, tendons and bones need time to adapt to this increase in movement.
Give them a break and let your feet recover in between wears.

Ensure you have a rear fastener on the shoe:

The traditional fastening of thongs (over the toes) is often loose, causing us to claw the toes downward to keep the thongs on our feet. Even if this fastener if firm, the back of the thong can still slip around – causing clawing for stability.
This constant clawing causes an un-natural walking gait and constant use of toe muscles which can lead to over-use injuries in the foot and ankle.
A rear fastening allows toes to relax – the foot is then able to function naturally

Now I know what you’re thinking, “but the rear fastener looks ugly and isn’t fashionable”. Trust me I’ve heard it all. However, some thongs with rear straps look good these days. If you want some options, chat to Tom!

Side note: Going barefoot on a regular basis as well as regular foot strengthening and mobility exercises will improve your ability to tolerate a flexible summer shoe.

Follow these steps and minimise your foot pain during summer. If you have foot pain and still want to wear flexible summer footwear – you can, just get it checked out, our Shepparton podiatrist Tom is an expert 😉

#shepparton #goulburnvalley #gv #physio #podiatry #sheppphysio #sheppartonpodiatry #gvsportscare #gvhealth #shepp #physiotherapy #pod #sportsinjury #movement #thongs #flipflops #summer

Tom Davey

Podiatrist Shepparton

GV Sportscare

Mapping your weekly runs

September 8, 2020/0 Comments/in Health, Physio Shepparton, Podiatry Shepparton/by Sophie

We have seen an increase in running injuries over the past few months in both experienced runners and those new to running.

Shepparton Podiatrist Tom explains in this video how to map out your runs and think carefully about the amount of rest in between each run. He also explains why rest days, strength and conditioning and cross training are all great ideas.

When it comes to running injuries, Tom will often help his clients to write out their weekly routine and look at what can be added or adjusted to allow the individual to continue to run while rehabbing an injury.

Tom Davey

Podiatrist Shepparton, GV Sportscare

Pregnancy, Physio and the Belly Pillow

September 3, 2020/0 Comments/in Health, Physio Shepparton/by Sophie

Our Shepparton physio Sophie explains what the Belly Pillow is and how it can be used for more effective treatment in the pregnant client, this pillow allows them to safely lie on their stomach for effective treatment, while feeling supported and comfortable 🥰

Designed and made by a Melbourne company from ‘hospital grade non-permeable,anti-microbial fabric’
✨

Sophie gives a demo on how to lie onto the pillow and is always on hand to help pregnant clients in and out of the pillow safely.
🤩

The Belly Pillow makes it much easier to treat the aches and pains that come along with pregnancy 🤰🏻

Low Carb High Fat (LCHF) Library

August 26, 2020/0 Comments/in Health/by Sophie

As health professionals we have an interest in diet as we believe diet, exercise and sleep to be the most important modifiable factors impacting your health. We first came across the low carbohydrate high fat diet (LCHF) in 2018. We felt an overall improvement in our health, energy levels, weight and sleeping. Since this stage we have gone on to learn more and more about LCHF and how the food industry has lead us astray.

🥑 🌶️ 🥒 🥜 🥓 ☕️ 🥗 🧀 🐟

Dr Peter Brukner, the ‘founder of sports medicine’ in Australia, creator of Olympic Park Sports Medicine, left his lucrative role as sports doctor for Cricket Australia and became a full time advocate to reduce Australia’s sugar intake by half. Sophie was lucky enough to watch him evolve through this process, seeing him lecture on the topic 4 times over a number of years. Peter has joined many other top doctors around the world to look at the impact of high carbohydrate (high sugar) diets on obesity, type two diabetes and overall health. The LCHF diet is essentially returning to how we used to eat, before obesity was rampant and is not a diet so much as understanding what is healthy food and what is not. Learning from science, not from what the food industry markets to us. It is about understanding that starch breaks down to sugar and it doesn’t matter if that is found in your white bread or your banana, it still breaks down to sugar.

We are particularly interested in the LCHF diet as it also aligns with a low inflammatory diet and this can have a large impact on musculoskeletal and arthritic conditions. Excessive weight has been proven to negatively impact your joint health and therefore we find it important to talk about your weight and diet as part of your injury management. It also impacts the health of a diabetic and Dr David Unwin, your friendly local GP from the UK has had huge success with reversing type two diabetes via diet alone (ie drug free reversal of type two diabetes). This again links to Tom’s work as a Podiatrist providing skin and nail care for diabetics who are more at risk of ulcers and sensation/circulation complications. We had the pleasure of hearing Dr Unwin speak and he is a gentle and thoughtful Dr that has changed how he practices and truly listens to his patients. We highly recommend his content, particularly his youtube videos if you are a type two diabetic.

As we are not dieticians or nutritionists we have put together a library of resources to read and learn from. We also have close contacts of people in these industries and can point you in the direction of a helping hand. It’s also important to note that different people have different food tolerances and this will impact what food is right for you. Chose your medium, don’t try to read/listen/watch to them all!

Books

A Fat Lot of Good, Peter Brukner

Good Calories Bad Calories, Gary Taubes

The Big Fat Surprise, Nina Teicholz

Websites and links

Low Carb Downunder, this website also has a list of Australian LCHF health professionals. If you are looking for a particular health professional please feel free to also speak with us.

Sugar by half

Fat lot of good: website links, podcasts

Diet doctor: A low-carb diet for beginners

Intermittent fasting for beginners

Detailed guide to fasting