European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - July 2, 1991, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Foot with Flat  a a of f of a a it it Quot Quot it  Steps to keep people on their toes stories by Gerri Kobren the Baltimore Sun the athlete s foot is often an Achilles Heel. Hop skip jump or jog and its your Leet that take the Shock absorbing two to seven times your body weight with every step. Quot you re Likely to see everything from trauma to overuse injuries Quot with athletes feet says or. Vito Giardina a podiatrist. He gives examples athletes fall they twist their Ankles they kick the Post instead of the soccer Ball they get whacked by someone else s Lacrosse stick. Or they do Loo much too soon without sufficient stretching or without enough toe room support or cushioning in their shoes. And they end up on the disabled list with aching Arches sore soles and hurting heels with blood clots under the toenails stress fractures in the metatarsal Bones and inflammation of the fibrous Quot plantar fascia Quot that connects the Heel to the Ball of the foot. And because the foot Bone is connected to the leg Bone and the leg Bone to the hip disordered feet can make their presence Felt in other places too. Quot a lot of problems at the knee and hip can originate from problems in the foot Quot says or. John Senatore a Baltimore podiatrist. The loot anatomically Akin to the hand but specialized for weight bearing movement rather than Fine motor coordination is a complicated Structure of Bones and Muscles joints tendons and Arches. Quot there Are a lot of moving parts a Senatore says Quot and if one of those parts in t working properly there Are going to be problems with  non athletes with an imperfect part often can get away with it uneven leg lengths a Peculiar foot strike pattern or an abnormally High Arch that makes them walk on the outside Edge of their feet May not make much difference if the people Are sedentary except in the Way they Wear Down their shoes. With athletes such abnormalities Are More of a problem Quot if you done to have a Normal Arch you Are More subjected to foot pathology when you take up sports Quot says or. Peter Hoffman a podiatrist in Pikesville my. Quot some people with High arched feet run and run Well. Others have knee pain or Low Back pain or develop painful calluses. With a High arched foot you have a lot of pressure under the Metatarsals and Heel Quot causing inflammation overgrowth of Bone and pain. Flat feet on the other hand can Lead to muscle fatigue he says Quot those people complain of tired feet because their Muscles Are out of  distance also makes a difference. Quot a patient who runs two Miles three times a week frequently won t have problems. Runners who do 30 to 35 Miles a week May develop symptoms Quot Hoffman says. Stoic about their symptoms athletes usually Are hurting a lot before they seek foot Aid Giardina has found. Quot if they re a Little sore they try to run through it Quot he says. Quot at the second level of pain they take aspirin or advil. At the third level they come for  finding the source of the pain can be a fairly sophisticated process. Quot you have to determine Why there s a problem not just treat it Quot Senatore says. Quot you can t just look at the patient As he sits on the table. We put them on the Treadmill videotape them running and Analyse the tape to see where the mechanical fault May be. We do the same thing with  what Senatore finds most often is that the difficulty results from behaviour. Quot in 80 percent of patients the problem is in the Way they train or in their shoes Quot he says. The prescription is Likely to be longer warm ups More stretching new shoes or orthotics a custom made foot supporting inner soles that Correct abnormal Foo strike relieve abnormal pressure or compensate for uneven leg length. In fact he says Good athletic shoes Are now 1 being made with inner soles that can be removed easily and replaced with made to order orthotics. Generally that s the sort of thing the athlete wants a a remedy that gets him or her Back to full activity very quickly. But sometimes that can t happen some biomechanical faults Are not amenable to orthotic a correction and some injuries won t heal without rest. That a where sports psychology comes into play Giardina says. A Quot if you Tell runners not to run they la go to someone else Quot he says. Quot eco you have to help them get it into their Heads that taking Days off or not running so fast is a part of training. Quot and you give them a game plan suggest alternative Quot activities if there a a stress fracture of the foot for instance you suggest swimming or you give them jogging vests so they can run in water without touching the Bottom of the Pool so they can stay Active so they done to feel they re just vegetating in a  shoes essential for healthy feet sports Medicine experts say you should use sports specific shoes a aerobics shoes for aerobics running shoes for running basketball shoes for playing basketball and so on. This Way you get Shock absorption where you put most pressure and stability in the areas where you need support. Walking May be an exception the usual advice is that you can walk in running shoes but you should t run in walking shoes. However or. John Senatore a podiatrist at the Union memorial sports Medicine Center in Baltimore says that walkers need walking shoes which Are made with More lateral support than running shoes. Shoes should be replaced when they begin to Wear out. If your soles have a smooth surface where they used to have tread it s time for a new pair the cushioning is probably gone at that Point too. Whatever the sport the shoe needs to fit you right that Means there should be enough height in the toe Box As Well As sufficient length the Back of the shoe should cup your Heel without rubbing and the Arch should be comfortable. For brochures on feet and various kinds of sports Send your request along with a stamped self addressed business sized in veloce to the Maryland podiatric medical association 1729 Glaston Berry Road Potomac my. 20854. 1 . Page 14 a the stars and stripes tues