Foot and Ankle Health for Your Favorite Springtime Activities
Springtime beckons us outdoors, and with that comes a surge in activities that can impact our foot and ankle health. From the pounding of pavement to the quick pivots of court sports, it’s essential to understand how these activities affect our lower extremities and how to stay safe. Explore with us at Step By Step Family Foot Care four popular springtime activities and their implications for your feet and ankles.
1. Jogging
Taking your run outside exposes you to uneven trails, hard surfaces, and a strain that your typical treadmill routine simply doesn’t offer. If you haven’t run outside in a while, consider a light jog, or even a brisk walk, to acclimate yourself to the outdoors and find a pathway that feels good on your feet. Don’t go full boar right away, because this could give you shin splints, Achilles tendonitis, plantar fasciitis, ankle sprains, and other running related injuries.
How you run, the shoes you wear, and where you’re running are all factors that need extra consideration while running outside. And we highly recommend getting fit for custom orthotics!
2. Hiking
Hiking on uneven terrain demands ankle stability and foot flexibility. While you’re not moving as fast as a jogger, the terrain is often difficult to navigate. Wearing boots, using a walking stick, and choosing a familiar trail are all ways to prevent a bad ankle sprain, or even worse, a bad fall, from occurring.
Nevertheless, hiking offers a wide range of motion and strength, which means your feet are getting a great workout even when they aren’t running intensely.
Sneakily Challenging Activities for Your Feet and Ankles
3. Gardening
While seemingly gentle, prolonged kneeling, squatting, and standing can stress the feet and ankles. Think of all the pressure bearing down on the feet as you squat, especially on the forefoot, as your toes balance your body weight. The metatarsalgia that can stem from this is significant.
In general, gardening can put your feet in a lot of awkward positions the human body is not used to, especially for the geriatric population (in which gardening is very popular!).
4. Pickleball
Another geriatric crowd favorite, this sport seems like a gentle version of tennis. But tennis is still tennis, and if you’re not used to it, playing competitively can certainly cause an ankle sprain, an Achilles injury, or plantar fasciitis.
From the sudden changes in direction to chasing tricky drop shots, these movements on hard court surfaces are not ideal for the unaccustomed senior (or anyone, for that matter) looking to get back into shape after a long, sedentary stint.
We recommend keeping it close to the kitchen and relying on a more athletic partner to chase the tricky stuff.
Step By Step Family Foot Care is here to assist you with your podiatry needs. To make an appointment with Dr. Debra Manheim, call us at (973) 917-3785 or visit our site to schedule an appointment. The staff at our Parsippany office is ready and eager to help.
