Custom Orthotics vs Off the Shelf Arch Supports

In this video, Grapevine podiatrist Dr. Marybeth Crane of Foot and Ankle Associates of North Texas explains why custom orthotics are frequently better than prefabricated orthotics.



Custom foot orthotics are made to fix the biomechanics of your foot; however, they’re not for everyone. If you don’t have an underlying problem, but just need a bit of arch support, an off-the-shelf insert may work well for you. However, if you have a repetitive stress injury or foot deformity, then the only thing that you should be using is a custom foot orthotic.

When choosing a practitioner, you need to make sure he or she is experienced in making the orthotics that you need. A three-dimensional scan or cast of your foot should also be made in order to make your orthotic—which is considered the gold standard.

The second thing to consider is which shoes your orthotics need to fit into. Your podiatrist should consider this when fitting you for your custom orthotic.

The last thing to consider is how long your orthotic is going to last. Based on your size and use of the orthotics, your doctor should be able to give you an expected timeframe.

If you’re experiencing foot pain, the first thing to do is visit a Grapevine foot doctor. We will examine the causes of your pain and develop a treatment plan just for you, in order to get you back on the path to a pain-free lifestyle. http://www.faant.com 

Tips for Enjoying Running in the Rain

“I’m singing in the rain, just singing in the rain, what a glorious feeling…..”  What a great old movie, but notice they didn’t say I’m running in the rain…..

Rainy weather happens everywhere, even in North Texas. We have all signed up for a race and woken up to a deluge. I actually did an Ironman in Quebec where it rained almost the entire time! Quite the challenge! (an a personal worst time to boot!) Rain happens, so here are some tips to prepare you for running in rainy weather. Personally, as long as it is not freezing cold, I enjoy the flashback to childhood romps in the puddles that can come from a rainy day run outside.

1. Dress in layers but not necessarily waterproof. I find that waterproof jackets actually trap moisture and heat, which can make you overheat in a jiffy. You can get dehydrated in the rain since you don’t notice that you are sweating that much. A water-resistant jacket breathes better. Layer this on top of a moisture wicking technical shirt and you are good to go, as long as it is over 40 degrees! Wear the least you think will keep you warm on a dry day and avoid overdressing. You are going to get wet. More is not better, just heavier!

2. Wear a hat with a brim. It helps to be able to see where you are going and avoid falling.

3. Wear reflective gear. Drivers often has poor visibility and think you are nuts for running in the rain, so they won’t be on the lookout for runners like they are on a nice day. If you don’t have reflective gear, make sure your top layer is light colored.

4. If you are running a race, wear a lawn and leaf trash bag as a fashionable jacket for the start. You can throw it off after the first few miles as you warm up. Please don’t litter! Give it to a spectator or aid station.

5. Wear older running shoes. We all have them in the closet. That pair that has a few too many miles but you haven’t parted with them yet. Pull those out as long as they are not way too worn. If you don’t have an old pair, pick your ugliest. We all have them too!

6. Chafing sucks! Wet weather can lead to chafing so use Body Glide or at least Vaseline on those parts that are prone to chafe or get blisters. This is your toes, heels, underarms, inner thighs, nipples and bra lines.

7. Leave the electronics at home. If you are a music junkie, today is the day to go au natural. Enjoy nature in its fullest and leave the IPod at home.

8. Let loose and enjoy your inner child! Make it fun and even jump in puddles! Life is too short not to enjoy a rainy day like a 6-year-old!

9. Take care of your shoes when you finish. There is nothing worse than a pair of running shoes that shrink. Stuff your shoes with old newspaper and this will draw the moisture away and helps keep their shape. You can put them in the dryer on no heat and that helps too! Spray them with Lysol after they dry to ward off any fungus or mold that may accumulate!

Rainy days can be fun and a time to enjoy a long run! Keep safe and enjoy running in the rain!

Seven Steps to a New You in the New Year! Motivation For Change

It’s the last day of school vacation for most kids in North Texas. Teachers are back today and busy Moms can’t wait until they put the kids back on the bus tomorrow after more than 2 weeks of Christmas vacation.

This is the time that many of us are thinking about New Year’s resolutions and are trying to motivate ourselves to change a bad habit or start a new one. It turns out that 67% of resolutions are not to stop doing something, but to start a new good habit. Exercise tops the list. Unfortunately almost 95% of people will not reach their goals in 2013. Why?

1. Lack of motivation to change
2. Unrealistic goals 
3. Focusing on goals and not behaviors
4. Change is uncomfortable
5. Excuses, excuses, excuses 
6. Lack of accountability coach
7. Procrastination

Let’s take these 7 reasons for failure and work on 7 tips for positive change. Let’s make 2013 the year that you reach your goals and find a whole new you! Whether your goal is to lose 10 pounds, run your first 5K, finish your first marathon or break 12 hours in an Ironman triathlon; these tips still hold true.

1. What is your motivation for change? Examine it. Are you just feeling full and bloated at this moment? Do you have a hangover from last night? Was your last race truly unfulfilling and your time disappointing? Or is there a more enduring reason for your desire to change? If you can't think of a better reason than the fact that you're uncomfortable at this moment, then you're better off not making promises to yourself that you probably won't keep. However, if you are realistic and accept the responsibility of discipline required for change, your motivation will be sustained long after the discomfort from over-indulgence has passed. Let’s face it, most of us feel fat and out of shape when the holidays end and the New Year dawns. Mom’s apple pie gives quite the hangover for weeks!

2. Make realistic goals. Habits and behaviors that are changed gradually have a greater chance of success. Don’t decide that you are going to lose 100 pounds or run a marathon when you haven’t even gotten off the couch in a year! Make a resolution to run 5 out of 7 days a week. Lose 10 pounds in 30 days. Do a speed play session at least once a week. You get the idea….. Bottom line: write your goals down! A goal not written down is a mere wish!

3. Focus on the behavior more than on the goal. For example, if you decide to control your diet, your goal for the day is not to lose a specific number of pounds, but to stick to your program. Make sure you have a written program to follow! Such focus on your behavior will help you feel in control of your life. You will gain satisfaction from making sensible choices several times throughout the day. Then the pounds will fall off as you accomplish a change in your behavior.

4. Learn to redefine physical sensations of discomfort. Whenever we restrict ourselves or change a behavior, we have both physical and mental reactions. For example, a new runner feels aching and soreness when he start to increase his workouts. However, he has a choice as to how he interprets these symptoms. He can define them as extremely unpleasant, or alternatively he can interpret them as his body growing stronger. Someone who is restricting food intake will also feel physical discomfort. However, the successful dieter tells himself that his growling stomach is a sign that his body must go to the fat reserves for energy. Bottom line: change is painful but worth it!

5. Make tasks non-negotiable. Forget excuses. I can come up with some really good ones to stay in bed! People who are most successful at implementing such changes are those who make their tasks non-negotiable. For example, if you debate with yourself at 5:30 a.m. whether you feel like getting up to run, you will probably opt for staying in bed for another half hour. But if getting up for exercise is no more negotiable than getting up for work, then you'll do it regardless of how you feel about it. The same goes for organizing your closet or taking charge of your finances. One can almost always find an excuse not to do these things. However, if you make a non-negotiable decision that's based on a sound logical reason rather than on how you feel at the moment, you will be successful.

6. Be accountable to someone else and allow for imperfection. It is important to profess your goals to the world and ask for help. Your family and friends can be motivators but often they are the greatest naysayers. A couch or personal trainer can be helpful to get you on track. No one is exactly on target all the time. In fact you should expect to falter every now and then. If you give in to temptation, do not use this as an excuse to abandon the whole program. Learn from your mistake and move on.

7. Do it now. If you're waiting for a more convenient time to begin, it won't happen. It's almost never convenient to change ingrained habits or build new ones. Now is just as convenient as any time. And if you begin now rather than later, you'll have a jump on a more satisfying future. Make a plan and start today!

Kids are back in school tomorrow. Time for me to get back to work and put a race on the calendar! Make 2013 your most successful year yet! Run Happy!! And often…….

Self Motivation to Exercise

Why do most people not achieve their goals? Great question! 

I had a patient today who was in to get a new pair of orthotics. They were quite worn and she was having recurrent foot pain. We discussed shoes, stretching and new orthotics. Then I asked the million dollar question, “When are you going to get serious about losing weight?” For every pound you lose in body weight, you lose 3 pounds of torque on your feet. It is amazing on how just a few pounds can impact your foot health.  She gave me some hollow excuses and then said’ “I just can’t get motivated.” 

This is not uncommon. Unfortunately, we are part of the microwave generation and many lack self-motivation. I personally always have a race on the calendar as a carrot to chase. If I’m not training, then the race will be humiliating or hurt really bad! That’s part of my motivation. The other part is the personal well being, you could call it the “runner’s high” that I get out of my workouts! They just plain make me feel better! 

I’m going to try to find something that is inspirational at least once a week during this holiday season to try to help you motivate yourself to start reaching your goals way before the New Year! Remember, Rome was not built in a day! Baby steps every day towards your goals and all of a sudden you find you are there!

Motivation is what gets you started. Habit is what keeps you going. -Jim Ryan

Reasons To Run

"The reason we race is not to beat each other, but to run together......"

A great sentiment for a Fall Monday morning.

This weekend saw the cancellation of the NYC marathon for obvious and logical reasons. I did have some peeps who made the trip to New York and were saddened not to be able to race, but their stories of how bad the city was hit by Hurricane Sandy and how awful the streets looked and felt, put the race cancellation into focus.

This weekend was also Ironman Florida and we had lots of competitors from the area have great races! The weather was favorable and lots of PR's were set! Got to love Ironman. It makes you feel invincible to cross that finish line!

Last, but never least, was the running of the annual DRC Half! This is one of the few years I have missed the race. The DRC Half marathon is a great race on a cool course and is run by runners! Shocker! This hometown race is always a great event and this weekend was no different. Lots of great reviews from veterans and newbies alike. It traditionally marks the 4 weeks until the White Rock Marathon (Now known as the Dallas marathon, but always going to be White Rock to us) and is a great warm up race for the marathon. Seeing some of the times this year, it looks like many are ready for the big race!

Happy Monday to all. Pick a race. Put it on the calendar! It will help you stay training through this busy holiday season!

Run Happy! And often!

Dr Oz on Better Flip Flops

I couldn't have said it better myself....check out Dr Oz on why you should wear good, supportive sandals even when wearing flip flops. He recommends my favorite Orthaheel flip flops....available at Healthy Steps DFW in Grapevine :)

Which Hydrates Better: Water or Sports Drinks?

This time of year we seem to be focused on hydration. A heat wave is sweeping the country and runners are feeling like they are running on the face of the sun, even early in the morning.

 Water is by far the most popular fluid choice during exercise. However, sports drinks actually do a better job of hydration, while also providing other benefits that water does not. There are lots of ads out there touting that this drink or that drink are better than water. Is this true?

Yes!

Sports drinks actually do hydrate you better than water. This is because of three things:
 1. The osmolality of most sports drinks is closer to that of your blood, so it absorbs faster.
 2. Most sports drinks contain electrolytes, which help to regulate your fluid balance.
 3. There is sodium in sports drinks that actually makes you thirstier, so you actually drink more.

The ideal sports drink is under debate, but you should chose one that has at least 15mg of sodium and contains at least a little protein. It turns out the protein makes it absorb more too! One study showed that athletes retained only 53% of plain water, 75% of traditional sports drinks and 88% of a carbohydrate and protein mix sports drink.

Water is a great drink choice outside of workouts, but during exercise you're much better off with a sports drink. In this case, there's truth in advertising.

The Mezamashii Run Project: Test Drive a Pair of Mizuno Running Shoes

Mizuno is looking for a few passionate runner to test drive, and they hope, embrace their shoes. The word "Mezamashii" means brilliant or eye-opening. They want you to have that kind of fantastic run! If you are a passionate runner or triathlete, like most of my readers, then apply to be part of the project. What do you have to lose except maybe an exceptional running experience. (I am need to emphasize the I am not endorsing or being paid by their project, but I like the idea. Test drive and decide for yourself)

 

To apply to join the project, click here and then click on apply for an invite on the top right of the screen.

 

Good Luck....

The Road to Ironman Mont-Tremblant Goes Through Lubbock

Janet and I decided we needed a hilly warm up 70.3 race about 2 months before Ironman, so of course we picked the hardest course we could find; Buffalo Springs Lake 70.3 Triathlon in Lubbock, TX.

This was the same weekend that Mont-Tremblant was having their warm up race as a 70.3 on the same course as the Ironman race, but who has the time or the money to go to Quebec twice in one summer? No, we thought, we will drive to Lubbock.

That was our first mistake! We jumped in the car Friday morning and drove the 300 miles to Lubbock. What a beating! There is nothing between Fort Worth and Lubbock but wind farms, crops and cow patties. At one point, we were laughing at all the small towns with population 250ish! Really? We stopped in a Dairy Queen about 100 miles from Lubbock to get a snack. The people in the restaurant looked at us like we had dropped in from another planet.

After a lovely drive (NOT), we checked into one of the nicest hotels in Lubbock, the Holiday Inn (smirk). It actually was not horrible and was clean. Lubbock is not exactly a happening town. There really isn’t much in Lubbock other than Texas Tech and lots of cotton fields. We went to the expo on Friday night and got our numbers. The race shirt was the ugliest one I have ever seen!! A steak dinner and a beer, then off to bed.

Saturday morning we decided to go out to Buffalo Springs Lake and watch some of the sprint triathlon as well as check out the water temperature and the horrendous hills we had both heard about. If you listened to most of our friends, the hills were mountains and we were going to perish on them. Well, the water temperature was about 76 and even though they said it was going to be wetsuit legal, we both decided on speed suits. The lake was gorgeous! The hills were steep, but nothing like the mountains that had been described! We rode out bikes up and down the first 3 hills and decided we would live! A nap then a pasta dinner and we were ready for bed!

4am came really early. We had our breakfast and hit the road about 5am. We ran into a little traffic jam getting into the canyon. Seems there was a race going on! Got to the parking lot and then had to walk our bikes down a gigantic hill to transition. Found our spots and we were ready to go.

Swim waves were interesting. All the women were in one huge wave so the start was a little challenging. Then the majority of the men started just a few minutes later. Needless to say, they ran us right over! I got punched in the eye and was happy I was wearing double swim caps so I didn’t lose my goggles. Then I got kicked in the face and got a bloody lip! Ugh! At least the water was relatively calm and the temperature was very friendly! My swim time was not stellar but I got to transition only bleeding from my top lip!

Onto the bike course we went. The first hill is almost as soon as you leave transition and it was almost a 9% grade! Sadistic! After conquering the first few hills it was relatively flat but the wind kicked up as soon as you left the canyon. My swim was so bad I was convinced there weren’t too many people behind me until we hit the third hill, which was another sadistic grade, but this time I was catching the downhill. Now I know what 40 mph feels like on a bike! Scary!! Sadly I reminded myself I had to go back up that grade on the way back! At this point I saw the crowd behind me as I made the first turn around. Whew! I wasn’t in last place. That would be embarrassing! Janet passed me just about the 30 mile marker like I was standing still! Man is she fast on the bike!! The fourth hill is a long winding grade with killer turns and a skinny road. In other words, as your butt is being kicked by the grade you have to watch out for the people coming down out of control on the turns and trying to kill themselves and you. Written on the road was SLOW DOWN on one side and THANK MIKE FOR THE HILLS on the other! You then hit a long stretch of windy farmland in which you began to cook. Literally. My nutrition and hydration were great and I actually had to pee for about the last 25 miles! A good sign!

I had the pleasure of cheering on a few of the hand-cyclists as they were challenged by the hills. Those guys are tough!! Back into the canyon I went after feeling like I was challenged but not beaten, hit the last two hills and wanted desperately to get off my bike!!

Into transition I went, ditched the bike and found a port-a-potty. Running shoes and a little more sunscreen, I was ready to run! Who turned up the heat? As soon as I hit the asphalt, I felt the heat. Thanks Mike for the roving ice carts. He put people on golf carts with large coolers of ice to help with the heat. The hills on the run were not that bad, but were sadistic in the fact that they were long and it was almost 100 when I started running. When I hit the 6 mile marker, the volunteer at the aid station said it was 105! Crazy! The heat was just wafting off the road. I had ice chunks in my bra and down my pants as well as down my back just to keep my heart rate from spiking. It was walk:run the whole way. Walk through all the aid stations then run until your heart rate started to spike again. A beating! I passed Janet at about the 7 mile marker. She wasn’t faring much better than I was. We were both in hunker down and get it done mode.

I was so happy to enter the park and see the finish line, I almost cried. I crossed, got my medal and shirt then headed for the lake. I barely took my shoes off before I dived in. The water felt amazing!

So that was Buffalo Spring Lake 70.3 Triathlon. A butt whipping of a race, but a great challenge on the road to Ironman Mont-Tremblant. The hills were a challenge, but totally doable. The heat is what got you. Now I understand why it is a Kona qualifier. It was harder than Ironman Texas because of the heat coupled with the tough course. Mike, you are a sadist! And , Yes, we will be back!!

PS. Janet won her category, so she got to go home with a really cute buffalo trophy which she named Leonard. ☺ Very cool!

PPS. Video on the way.....soon