Don't Let Your Lawn be a "Toe-Away" Zone!

Another edition of “Stupid Things People Do to Hurt Themselves”: Lawn Mower Foot Injuries

Your lawn could easily become a "toe-away" zone if you’re not careful when operating your lawn mowers. Just this weekend, while I was on call for FAANT, an unfortunate gentleman decided to mow his lawn in sandals, and ended up amputating the ends of his great and second toes after the blade got stuck on high wet grass. Nasty injury and very preventable!

The U.S. Consumer Products Safety Commission estimates more than 37,000 Americans suffer a power mower-related injury each year. Other groups cite up to 70,000 injuries! That’s way too many injured piggies!

Foot injuries from lawn mowers can range from dirty, infection-prone lacerations to severed tendons to amputated toes.

If you or your loved one gets in a tussle with your lawn mower, even just a minor injury, immediate treatment is necessary to clean and flush the wound thoroughly and apply antibiotics to prevent infection. Superficial wounds can be treated on an outpatient basis, but more serious injuries usually require some kind of surgical intervention to repair tendon damage, deep clean the wound and suture it. Tendons severed in lawnmower accidents generally can be re-attached surgically unless toes have been amputated.

What can you do to avoid your lawn being a toe-away zone?

•    Don’t mow a wet lawn. Losing control from slipping on rain-soaked grass is the leading cause of foot injuries caused by power mowers.

•    Wear heavy shoes or work boots when mowing. No sneakers and definitely no sandals or barefoot.

•    Mow slowly across slopes, Never go up and down.

•    Never pull a running mower backward.

•    If your mower gets stuck, don’t tug on it towards your body! Turn it off and untangle it.

•    Keep the clip bag attached when operating a power mower to prevent projectile injuries.

•    Use a mower with a release mechanism on the handle that automatically shuts it off when the hands let go.

•    Always keep children away from the lawn when mowing it.

If you do sustain a lawn mower injury, contact us or your local foot and ankle surgeon immediately! 

Running During Pregnancy

So my last blog was about running after pregnancy.  The questions that followed were more about running while pregnant. It seems that there are lots of women getting mixed messages about running while pregnant. Is it safe? The answer is, it depends.

Let me start with I am not an OB/Gyn specialist. I am a podiatrist who specializes in sports medicine. That being said, I am the mother of three girls; and ran a marathon 3 months pregnant with my daughter Caitlin (who is now almost 15). I ran during my first two pregnancies; but during my pregnancy with Sasha, my youngest, I had to stop due to complications. Age definitely was a factor, since I was approaching 40 at the time. Conclusion, talk with your doctor. I can only tell you about my experience and the experiences of many of my patients with running during pregnancy.

Alysia Montano, a former University of California star, ran the 800 meters at the US Track and Field Championships last summer, at the age of 28 and 34 weeks (8 months) pregnant. Her doctor cleared her to run and she ran a slower than her normal, at a steady even pace but finished with a respectable time. Her goal was just to compete.

I ran a marathon pregnant at the age of 31, and 14 weeks pregnant (3 months), but wore a heart rate monitor, and had a Sherpa on his bike checking on me along the course. His job was to make sure I didn’t get dehydrated or have any issues along the way. I finished in a respectable time; not my best, but not my worst!

So what are the recommendations about running while pregnant?

Running is actually good for the Mom and the baby, as long as you are not high risk AND it is part of your normal routine PRIOR to your pregnancy. It is not recommended to start a vigorous exercise program while pregnant.

During your first trimester, you should continue your normal routine; but be mindful of getting over heated. Make sure you stay hydrated and cool.

During your second trimester, time to talk with your doctor. Some women have to stop running because they have weakness in their cervix. This was why in my later pregnancy I had to stop. I was slowed down to a brisk walk. Kegal exercises are also important during the second trimester.

During your second trimester, it is also important to realize that you need to shorten your stride and watch your posture. Hunch back is not a good look; and it puts too much pressure on your knees and feet. This is also the time to change your shoes to at least a half size bigger. You may need wider as well. You may also need a more supportive shoe than what you normally wear. As you start to add bulk to your frame, your feet tend to swell and get a little longer, wider and a little flatter. (This does not change after you delivery – most women stay at least a half size larger in shoe size after pregnancy)

The third trimester is usually where many women stop running just because they are uncomfortable. There are bands that can help with the bulk of your belly; but you want to avoid anything that hampers fetal blood flow. Brisk walking and slow jogging can really be helpful to keep the swelling down in your legs and help in delivery. No studies have shown running is harmful to your baby.

After delivery, it is important to get back to your routine. This helps with your recovery and also can help avoid post-partum depression. See my last blogs for tips on getting back out there.

Bottom line: Pregnancy is not the time to start a new running program, but if you are a veteran runner and just happen to be pregnant; talk to your doctor about continuing to run. Other than woman with cervical weakness, most runners can continue as long as they are mindful of increasing heart rate, over heating and dehydration.

Update on the goal to run 2,015 miles in 2015: Art and I continue to churn out the miles. We are approaching 700 miles this weekend and will be in Chattanooga, Tennessee for the Ironman 70.3 Chattanooga this weekend. Full race report to follow next week.

Run Happy! Run Healthy!

300 Miles Down.....1715 to Goal!

It’s Snowmageddon in the DFW area this weekend. The Cowtown Marathon scheduled for tomorrow morning is up in the air at blog post time, and they’ve already cancelled the 5K and 10K today.  Roads are icy and snow has actually accumulated! Crazy weather all over the US and yet we are all still getting our miles in! 

Tomorrow is March 1^st and as of this morning’s treadmill session, we have run 300 miles since January 1^st! That puts us about 25 miles behind schedule to make our goal of 2015 miles in 2015 but with lots of time to make it up!  I figure, given the weather and the short month, we are doing just fine! Best of all, racing season is upon us in March.

Snuggle up this weekend and make a plan for spring! Pick a race and put it on the schedule! 

Keep moving forward to your goals peeps! See you out there……

Tips to Make Treadmill Running Not Suck!

Winter Weather Making You Hate Your Treadmill? Here are Some Tips to Break up the Monotony!

Let’s face it, I love to run…..outside! I hate the dreadmill! I mean treadmill ha ha. But at this time of year, and with the insane winter weather currently reeking havoc on the United States; the treadmill is a necessity. So I think I should’ve titled this blog, “How to make treadmill running not suck!”

Your treadmill can be a great training tool. They can also make running incredibly monotonous and boring. Here are some tips to help you not loathe treadmill workouts.

1.     Intervals. Running at a constant pace is the definition of boring. I almost always do some kind of interval workout on my treadmill. Some days that is five minutes of running with 1 minute of walking, then repeat. Some days it’s increasing pace then increasing elevation. This is a great way to work at race pace and to dial in your mile repeats pace. Make a goal for your intervals and then just set the treadmill to switch back and forth automatically so that you concentrate on the current interval, and stop thinking about the overall workout. If you are watching television, you can simply do commercial intervals. Run at a steady pace during the show but when it breaks for commercial, increase to 80% effort or at least 2 mph faster than your jog pace until the commercial break is over. Make it simple! Suddenly you realize your workout is done and you have gotten your sweat on!

2.     Distractions. Art is constantly watching a movie when he is on the treadmill. I often watch sports. Set your DVR for a movie you’ve wanted to watch or the game you missed the day before. Then set your time and get after it! It’s amazing how fast the workout gets done while you are screaming at a basketball or hockey game! Music is another great distraction. Make yourself a killer playlist with an upbeat tempo then sing if need be J

3.     Strength training intervals. Another trick I like to use is to doing run:strength intervals. What I mean by that is to run for 10 minutes then get off the treadmill and immediately do 25 push ups, 25 crunches, 25 side crunches, 25 lunges then get back on the treadmill and do it again. It can be as simple as 5 minutes running to two minutes of interval strength training then repeat. Don’t feel like doing push ups? Then how about 5 minutes running on the treadmill and then get off and run the stairs of your house for 2 minutes, then repeat. The purpose is to break up the workout! Try to do four or five sets. Breaks up the monotony and gets another goal done!

4.     Hill Training. Living in Texas we don’t have a plethora of good hills and a treadmill is great tool to use to work on your hill strides. Start with a 5-minute warm up jog. Then increase the elevation by 3 percent for 1 minute. Then back down by 1 percent for 2 minutes. Then back up to 3 percent and increase effort by 1 mph for 1 minute. Then drop the elevation by 1 percent but keep the pace for 2 minutes. Repeat increasing by 1 mph until you are now at 3 mph faster than your jog. Keep repeating until you have done your time or distance goal. You can creep up the elevation as well with the pace, but don’t go about 6 percent.

5.     Work on your stride count. You may not realize that most elite runners run around 180 steps per minute. The more steps per minute you take, the more efficient you run. Focus on counting your strides by counting how often your right foot hits the treadmill belt in a minute, then double. That’s your stride count. Try to improve it and pick up your feet and knees. No marathon shuffle or you will trip! (Not pretty, I’m sure you’ve seen the You tube videos)

6.     Have a virtual treadmill coach! Not crazy! I use Spinervals DVDs when I’m on the bike trainer. They also have a series of runervals. It’s a great DVD workout complete with music and Coach Troy yelling at you to pick it up or take it down a notch. Think virtual class! A good option if you need more focus during your workout. For more info go to www.spinervals.com (not a paid endorsement, just a user J)

Inclement weather and short winter days make the treadmill a necessary evil! Use these tips to make your treadmill runs not suck!

Still on the quest for 2015 miles in 2015! Only 1774 miles to go as of today…….

National Running Day is Here!

Simply How to Get Started Running

I was sharing with a patient that I was running through my neighborhood this morning and how lovely and peaceful the world looked at 6am. I was energetic and enthused about the start to my day, when the patient stopped me and asked a great question. “How do I tap into that energy? How do I, a certified couch potato, get started running?”

Great question! Running is one of the best ways to get started exercising, but it is very intimidating for many people. I encourage all my patients to start or continue to run, so here is a little advice to get you going.

First, make sure you are healthy enough to start running. A trip to the primary care physician or cardiologist is in order if you have any major health problems like diabetes, high blood pressure or a history of heart problems. A trip to the podiatrist, chiropractor or orthopedist is indicated if you have any lingering issues with your joint and tendons. Remember that almost always it is best to walk before you run.  Walking can get your heart rate up and ready your body for running.

Second, you have to realize that the first few weeks of a running program hurts. It gets easier and easier with time, and the old adage of, “if it doesn’t kill you, it will make you stronger”, definitely holds true! If you stick with it for at least 3 weeks, it will become easier and even fun! Promise yourself to stick with it at least 3 weeks!

Thirdly, embrace the “WHY POWER”!! What do I mean by that? Remind yourself daily why you want to start running. Need some encouragement? Here are a few reasons why to start running:

1.     It’s a great way to get in shape and to lose weight! If you start running, most will slim down, strengthen your heart and usually decrease your cholesterol.

2.     Usually you will start eating better as a side effect. It’s amazing how your diet changes when you realize that what you eat is your fuel. Junk food just doesn’t give you great fuel to run. I’m not saying that your diet will become amazingly better overnight, but in most cases it will improve!

3.     You will decrease your stress. Running has an amazing way to decease your stress and help you find peace. Your running time is your little oasis of time during your busy day. I promise you will start looking forward to it.

4.     Runners are fun and very social people. Most runners say hello to everyone who runs by them. You start to make friends on the trail and then invariably become part of a running tribe. You have running in common and that’s all that matters. Racing makes it even more fun! Times are irrelevant to most; it’s a participation thing!

5.     You will start to think better and more clearly. Running clears your mind and allows your consciousness to flow. It’s amazing how you will find solutions to the problems of your day on the run.

6.     You will find your inner tough guy! There is something about running that makes you start ignoring the little negative self talk in your head. You will be amazed on how tough you really are. Running can be transforming and inspiring!

So now do you have enough reasons to get off the couch and get going? The correct answer is YES!!!

Let’s talk about the rules of the road first.

1.     Start slowly. If you can walk briskly for 30 minutes, then you can start with walk:run (step 2 in the program). If you can’t, then you have to start with walking first. Remember that if you start with too much volume and/or speed, you will burn out quickly. The idea is to get started slowly and build a habit for life.

2.     Increase gradually. I tell people to start with no more than 30 minutes and then add no more than 10% each week. Start with 3 days a week then build to 4 after 3 weeks, then 5 after 4 weeks, up to a maximum of 6 days a week. Even God needed a rest day! Too much, too soon, too fast = injury!

3.     Recruit a friend. It is a lot easier to get started and to stick with any exercise program if there is a friend suffering with you and making you feel peer pressure or guilt to continue! Seriously, it is much easier to stick to a program if you have an accountability partner or group. My Saturday morning running group has been running together for more than 10 years.

4.     Get running shoes fitted to your foot type. Visit your podiatrist or a running specialty store and spend the money on an actual pair of running shoes. You will be amazed on how much better you will feel in a great fitting pair of shoes.

5.     Have fun! This is mandatory! Running should be fun and you should enjoy the process. You are pushing too hard if you aren’t having at least a little fun!

So here is a suggested program to get going…..There are lots of programs out there so this is just a suggestion:

1.     You should walk before you run. Briskly walk for 15-20 minutes three times the first week. If this feels pretty good, then increase by 5 minutes three times the next week. Work your way this gradually to 30 minutes three times a week. When you can do this, it’s time for step 2.

2.     Walk 5-7 minutes to warm up, then run for a minute, walk for 5 minutes, and repeat for a total of 30 minutes. Do this 3 times the first week. Add a fourth day of just walking for 30 minutes. Then next week, walk for 5-7 minutes to warm up, then run for 2 minutes, walk for 4 minutes, then repeat for a total of 30 minutes. Do this 4 times the next week. Gradually working the run:walk from 1:5 to 2:4 to 3:3 to 4:2 to 5:1.  Increase slowly as you feel your endurance improving. There is no set timetable. Everyone is different. When you can run:walk 5:1 for 30 minutes, four times a week it is time to increase duration by 10% each week or go to just running.

3.     Now make a goal! Sign up for a 5K! Make a goal to finish 1 hour of running without walking! Put a carrot out there, because now you are a runner! A couple of 5K’s later, sign up for a 10K! You will be surprised on how a marathon now doesn’t sound so crazy! 

Enjoy the run……