Thread: Pinched Nerve in me right Hoof.

Originally Posted by raycarey

if it's not gone in 3 months, go to a doctor to get a cortisone shot.

I'm reckoning he's only got a few days before gangrene sets in.

Better posture? The secret’s in your feet.


For a strong core, flat tummy and an end to back pain, start your workout from the toes up

Peta Bee
May 22 2018, 12:01am,
The Times



Our feet are intricately linked with our lower backs and abdomen

For years, our core muscles have been the focus of workout attention. For those who have failed to find them, these are the muscles that wrap around our middles like a corset and, through workouts aimed at engaging even the most deeply embedded of them, we have been promised better posture, flatter stomachs and more supple movement. Now there’s a new core workout that promises all of these gains and more. And what’s surprising is that the core muscles being targeted are not to be found in your trunk, but in your feet.

Improving foot core stability is the latest fitness target among those preoccupied with avoiding rounded shoulders and back pain. Last week, it was a focus of the podiatry and orthotics lectures at the Primary Care and Public Health conference in Birmingham. Matt Fitzpatrick, the chairman of the conference and a consultant podiatrist at the College of Podiatry, says that, for too long, our foot muscles have been neglected. In much the same way as in the muscles of the trunk, he says there is a complex structure of muscles in the foot’s core that work together to support the body. “Our feet comprise four layers of muscle and soft tissue,” he says. “There are muscles at the top and bottom of the foot that help to lock it into place and keep us upright.”

A strong, healthy foot has a moderately high arch, no overpronation — rolling inwards — and some natural spreading of the toes. In a paper published three years ago in the British Journal of Sports Medicine,a team of Harvard researchers define the central core of the foot as the range of muscles intertwining to maintain this raised arch, providing us with the stability needed to hold us in good posture or to support even the most basic movement patterns, such as walking. “We would like to suggest that perhaps it is time for the decade of the foot,” they wrote. “This type of attention is largely ignored, but critical.”

In evolutionary terms, the foot developed in response to the demands placed on it as humans walked and ran. Its intricate musculature connects to muscles in the ankle, lower leg, back and abdomen. “When we are doing something as simple as standing up, it is the feet that act as a solid base,” says Fitzpatrick. “When we walk or run, it is the muscles in the feet that provide the ability to push off and move forward.” Like any other muscle, when the foot’s core is underused it becomes weak and unable to function as it should.

As the Harvard researchers put it, our “foundation becomes unstable and malaligned” and the result, at the very least, can be foot-related RSI (repetitive strain injury) and chronic pain. With diminished strength, the foot arch can drop or collapse, potentially leading to strain of the plantar fascia — the thick, supportive band of tissue that runs across the bottom of your foot and connects to your heel. That can trigger pronation of the ankle and unusual forces being placed on the knee joint. Over time, a weak foot core can be implicated in reduced walking efficiency and range of movement, or worse. “It can lead to problematic things like chronic plantar fasciitis, tendon dysfunction and even osteoarthritis,” says Nick Holowka, a researcher in the department of evolutionary biology at Harvard University.

Despite this, our feet remain the last body part we think of working at the gym. There are no classes to strengthen the foot core muscles, no foot equivalent of the Pilates reformer or an exercise ball for the feet. So what should we do? A daily regimen of exercises designed to strengthen the foot core is key.

“Perhaps the simplest thing we should all do is to try to pick up things with our toes,” Fitzpatrick says. “Take off your socks and wriggle your toes, then try to pick up something like marbles. Ballerinas have the best foot strength and they train their muscles by doing this kind of thing 50 or 60 times a day.” Paul Hobrough, a chartered physiotherapist and sports scientist, says simple moves such as writing the alphabet with your toes or grabbing a towel with your feet are also great for developing foot core stability. And evidence has pointed towards daily practice of what podiatrists call the short-foot exercise, or foot “doming”, in which you use the foot muscles to create a dome by pulling the toes toward the heel and elevating the arch, being helpful.

In Nature’s Scientific Reports journal in February, Holowka and his colleagues suggest that the shoes we wear often do nothing to help foot strength. “Wearing supportive or restrictive footwear reduces the role of the foot muscles, leading to less growth and less strength,” he says. “Any shoe that constricts the natural motion of your toes, your arch, or your ankle could be considered a shoe that limits the amount of work muscles perform to control the stability of your foot and ankle.” That includes not only high heels, which force the feet into an unstable position and put pressure on the plantar fascia tissue, but also overconstructed trainers and insoles that provide so much support for the foot arch that the muscles have little work to do to keep it raised.

“If you already have flat foot or overpronation or other afflictions that cause foot pain, stick to your shoes or insoles or whatever helps you minimise that pain,” Holowka says. “But if you don’t have any of those problems, you should try easing your way into using less structured shoes. Based on our data, and that from other studies, we cautiously suggest that minimalist shoes — those with no in-built arch support — and sandals are ideal in helping to maintain a strong, healthy foot.”

That doesn’t mean ditching your entire shoe collection. In their report, the Harvard scientists suggest that some barefoot walking around the house can be used “as a tool to strengthen the foot core” in those who are not suffering existing pain. Fitzpatrick agrees. “I’m wearing shoes now,” he says. “But the very first thing I will do when I get home is kick them off. Work your feet muscles in any way you can. It really will pay off.”

The five-step foot workout

1 Towel grabbing
Sit on a dining chair and place a towel on the floor. Take off your shoes and socks. Place your toes on the towel with your heels flat on the floor. By raising and lowering your forefoot, grab the towel with your toes on every forward movement and scrunch the towel towards you. Hobrough recommends doing this for two minutes twice a day.

2 Marble pick-up
Sit on a dining chair and place 15 marbles and an empty container on the floor. Use your right toes to pick up one marble at a time and place it in the container. Empty the container and repeat with the left foot. Repeat once daily.

3 Toe alphabet
Sit on the floor, legs extended in front of you. Starting with the right foot, attempt to “write” the alphabet with your right toes. Repeat with the left foot.

4 Foot doming
Also known as the short-foot exercise, the Harvard scientist advocate this for foot-core development. Stand up and tighten the toes in your right foot. Imagine them as being a rigid support. Then “shorten” the foot by pulling the toes toward the heel, drawing up the foot arch. Hold for a count of 5-6 seconds. Release to the start position and repeat 8-10 times. Repeat on the left foot.

5 Resistance band dorsiflexion
This works the ankle and foot muscles. You will need an exercise resistance band. Loop the band around a fixed object such as a table leg or post. Sit on the floor with legs extended in front of you towards the post. Loop the other end of the band around the middle of your foot, making sure there is tension in the band when stretched by your foot. Flex your foot by pulling your toes towards you. Pause for 1-2 seconds, then return to the starting position. Repeat 6-8 times. Switch feet.

Karma kicking in for pissing on turtles

Apart from a broken vertebra in the neck, broken collarbone, broken ankle and wrist I have no ailments and I must be more then 20 years older then the Italian Rat!

Have a few more beers and walk it off Luigi!

Originally Posted by Loy Toy

Apart from a broken vertebra in the neck, broken collarbone, broken ankle and wrist I have no ailments and I must be more then 20 years older then the Italian Rat!

Have a few more beers and walk it off Luigi!

And then give give give cos that's what orphans are for.

Originally Posted by Loy Toy

broken vertebra in the neck, broken collarbone, broken ankle and wrist

let that be a lesson to everyone not to screw over your business partners.

Tiz fine now.



I may have misdiagnosed it.

Originally Posted by Luigi

I may have misdiagnosed it.

It was the soapy....admit it...

Originally Posted by Neverna

You put your daughter's ballet shoes on by mistake, didn't you?

It may have been from twisting to fit into the maid's underpants.



But that's not for sure.

Originally Posted by Luigi

Tiz fine now.

Originally Posted by Luigi

Tiz fine now.



I may have misdiagnosed it.

Great news, I thought 189 baht VIP a bit steep for m-in-law so sent her COD in the hold, so don't sign for anything and they'll return to bender, sure she'd appreciate a ya dong slipped into the crate

Originally Posted by VocalNeal

Throw your running/walking shoes away and buy some different ones.

He's already tried that. The shoe swapping parties were never a good circle to join. He wont listen, it's become a "go too event", every Thursday afternoon.

He's lost interest in Italy winning the World Cup as well. I worry about the Luigiettes safety.

After trying on all the latest n greatest Nikes and Adidases and ReeBalances and Mitsubishis, these Skechers were the best.



Oddly enough called 'Go Walk.


Tiz like prancing around on honey marshmallows.


Will be interesting to see how long they last, with that walking app. 6km average 5 days a week x 52 = 1560km a year. Reckon I'll have smoke coming off them come Friday.

Originally Posted by Luigi

Reckon I'll have smoke coming off them come Friday.

Thursday afternoon if the special one swaps her's for your new "slippers".

What's the tread like suitable for slippery red clay?

Originally Posted by OhOh

What's the tread like suitable for slippery red clay?

Gen 5 Cushioning bud.




For both performance and comfort.


Reckon they're bang on for both a bit o' strolling and laying unused in the back of a wardrobe.

So pretty safe either way.

Originally Posted by Luigi

lol.


Bunch a' comedians.



Right then, line up in an orderly fashion.



How wants to come and take the thing off with a fookin' hacksaw?

Jeez that's a stumpy li'l leg.

What are you, about 5ft 6?

One of those guys attracted to SE Asia because you need to be taller than your partner?

Originally Posted by cyrille

What are you, about 5ft 6?

Not sure. Think me mugshot was 175cm.

Or was it 185.




One of those.

Have it stuffed away someplace, will have to try n dig it out sometime.

Originally Posted by cyrille

Jeez that's a stumpy li'l leg.

What are you, about 5ft 6?

One of those guys attracted to SE Asia because you need to be taller than your partner?

One of my favourite things about Thailand is that I'm about average height

I came here to look up new friends, of course between the sheets is a great leveller o

Should be OK for the G spot as well. Ask your Thursday afternoon friend if she concurs and report back. A 1 to ten scale is sufficient.

Inserted a chip that mines Bitcoin with each step.

Rather mincy looking Lulu