Don’t let the snow and ice stop you in your tracks this winter! Walk confidently on ice and reduce your slips and falls with Magic Spikers ice shoe grippers. Great for winters like the one we are experiencing now in the UK. Also great for skiing holidays.
Ice Grips
Buy Magic Spikers today at Orthotics-Online.com
Ingrown Toenail
An ingrown toenail is when the side of a nail has pierced the skin. This created an open wound, prone to infection. The body treats the nail as a foreign object and tries to push it out creating lots of inflammation and sometimes pus.
There are a number of causes, it may be one or a few of these:
Yes, usually the infection and swelling get worse if left untreated.
A Podiatrist or GP can diagnose an ingrown toenail easily on clinical examination.
Most ingrown toenails can be treated conservativly by cutting out the offending piece of nail.
Some people suffer from recurrent ingrown nails and conservative treatment doesn’t cure it long term.
The long term solution for recurrent ingrown toenails is Surgery to permanently remove the troublesome part of the nail.
Lighter Feet are now able to provide a mobile Podiatry (Chiropody) service in Melton Mowbray.
We are fully qualified, HPC registered Podiatrists with at least 3 year degree level training in feet!
We offer a friendly, reliable service and work to the highest Standards.
We can diagnose and treat a wide variety of foot onditions from, corns and callus to ingrowing toenails and sports injuries.
If you would like to treat you feet then call one of our friendly team on: 01572 850013 to book an appointment.
We are in Melton on Mondays and Wednesdays 4-8pm.
We look forward to treating your feet soon!
Painful cracked heels is a big problem for feet and their owners, particurly in the summer months when we’re wearing backless shoes. 
There is good news! Lighter Feet have started using a revolutionary new treatment for cracked heels. It is a specially formulated medical adhesive called LiquiHeel, used to simply glue the skin together once the hard skin has been removed by the podiatrist.
Successful treatments have been carried out by Southampton University and it was found to provide:
Lighter Feet are able to offer this treatment in the comfort of your own home.
If you would like to find out more or to book an appointment today call Lighter Feet on: 01572 850013 or email info@lighterfeet.co.uk
Rutland Water held its first marathon yesterday. The cold weather was a shock to the system but the turn out seemed good, with an overflowing normanton car park.
Lighter Feet set up a Podiatry tent for blisters, toenail problems and sports injuries.
Rutland Marathon
Jack Loveday our Podiatrist is qualified in Kinesio Taping, a specialist form of sports taping designed to aid recovery. He was taping everything from feet to knees and even a back!
Kinesio Taping
Lighter Feet are excited to be @ the first Rutland Water Marathon on Sunday 7th November 2010, organised by Fat Feet.
Jack Loveday will be providing a Kinesio Sports Taping Service for a small fee of £5.
Kinesio taping is a new, unique type of Sports taping used to treat and prevent sports injuries. It uses a special tape and Kinesio taping techniques to support muscles during high intensity exercise without limiting movement or restricting circulation.
We will also be offering a FREE blister clinic and Podiatry treatments for those who want advice or return from the marathon with foot and nail problems.
We are fully qualified Podiatrists with Bachelor of Science degrees in Podiatry so feel free to challenge us with your foot problems!
We treat a wide variety of conditions including:
o Plantar Fasciitis
o Achilles Tendonitis
o Shin Splints
o Mortons Neuroma
o Arthritis
o Hallux Limitus/Rigidus – Stiff big toe joint
o Bunions
o Knee pain
o Hip pain
o Lower back pain
We look forward to treating your tired feet at the marathon!
Zoe & Jack
Running trends come and go, but few have attracted as much media attention as barefoot running. The subject has provoked fanatical reactions from both ends of the spectrum – those who believe in barefoot running, and those who don’t. I personally do not share the extreme views of either side, so would like to present the key arguments for and against, so that you can make up your own mind if barefoot running might be a good idea for you.
Running without shoes is anything but a new idea, so why all the buzz now? Much of the media attention has stemmed from Daniel Lieberman’s research published in the January 2010 issue of ‘Nature’. Lieberman, ‘the Barefoot Professor’, himself a keen advocate of barefoot running, conducted a pilot study comparing ‘shod’ vs. ‘unshod’ runners and habitual and non-habitual barefoot runners.
Despite the fact that it was not necesserily intended as such, this research was taken as conclusive evidence by many headline grabbing journalists that modern running shoes cause more injuries than they avoid. The Daily Mail for example ran the headline – ‘Searching for the perfect pair of jogging shoes is a waste of time – running barefoot is better for you’.
In short, they came to this conclusion because joint forces measured were lower when participants were barefoot compared to wearing modern performance running shoes. They did not take into consideration the current evidence on the effect of joint forces on overuse injury, nor the many flaws in the research design, or even that it was sponsored by Vibram, the manufacturers of the Five Fingers ‘barefoot shoe’. This media reaction prompted Lieberman to add a disclaimer to his website – www.barefootrunning.fas.harvard.edu –
‘Please note that we do not present data on how people should run, whether shoes cause some injuries, or whether barefoot running causes other kinds of injuries. We believe there is a strong need for controlled, prospective studies on these problems.’
So if you are considering including barefoot running in your weekly running sessions, what are the main potential benefits and dangers of doing this?
Benefits and Pros –
ü Barefoot running encourages a more efficient, higher cadence, midfoot strike pattern.
ü Barefoot running can strengthen intrinsic and postural muscles.
ü Proprioception is increased when the foot is not enclosed in a shoe.
Dangers and Cons –
X No protection from hard, sharp, uneven surfaces and objects.
X Increased risk of infection if running barefoot with cuts/abraisions.
X Our natural forefoot fat-pad is not sufficient on modern hard surfaces – this issue increases with age.
X As cadence increases when running barefoot, this may negate the effect of the arguement that joint forces are lower when unshod.
If you feel that barefoot running could help enhance your running experience or improve your ability, there are ways to avoid or minimise many of the dangers listed above. For example, to reduce the danger of sharp and uneven surfaces, you could invest in a ‘minimalist’ or ‘barefoot shoe’. There are many available, the pros and cons of each would require a discussion of its own!
These include –
Nike Free – this is often now considered a ‘fashion’ shoe, however it was originally designed ten years ago as ‘a piece of equipment to protect the feet while performing barefoot strides’.
Vibram Five Fingers – designed to mimic the appearance of an unshod foot, this is about as minimalist as it comes without actually being barefoot
Newton – designed to promote a forefoot/midfoot strike primarily by making the forefoot ‘lugs’ lower/closer to the ground than the heel.
When considering running barefoot or in minimalist shoes, you need to ask youself some important questions –
What style or strike pattern do you usually run with? – if you already run with a midfoot strike, high cadence and a short to medium stride length then it is likely to take less of an adaptation period to running barefoot.
Do you have any biomechanical insufficiencies? – if they are notable, then it is likely that barefoot running is not for you or should be kept to an absolute minimum. If you pronate in unipedal stance to the point at which the navicular bone is prominant on the medial side of you foot, then no amount of strenghening exercises are likely lift this bone back into place. If you are unsure of your foot-type or individual biomechanics then you should have this looked into before making the jump into barefoot running.
Do you have any previous injuries? – the role of performance running shoes is to prevent and protect from injury – if you have any weaknesses then barefoot running may amplify them.
What surfaces do you usually run on? – barefoot running should be limited exclusively to soft surfaces such as grass and sand. We may have been built to naturally run barefoot, but we certainly were not build to run barefoot on tarmac!
If you have asked yourself these questions (and answered them honestly!) and still feel that barefoot running is for you, then here is some general advice –
I hope you have found this helpful if you are thinking about barefoot running for the first time. I do not profess to be an expert in the field of barefoot running, but much of the advice given is taken from people who really do know what is best when it comes to the mechanics of the lower limb.
I would welcome any questions or comments by email at jack@lighterfeet.co.uk
I hope to see you out running soon!
All existing customers of Lighter Feet had the chance to win a free Podiatry (Chiropody) Home Visit and a luxury, natural, organic foot balm.
Thank you to all of you who entered.
The competition was drawn today and has been won by a lady in Whissendine.
Thank you to everyone who visited our stand at Rutland Day and entered our competition to win a free treatment and luxury foot balm.
The competition has been drawn and won by a gentleman in Langham.
Theo Peter Allen, joined us early, at 8pm on Monday 20th September, weighing 7lbs 9.
I’m putting my feet up now for a change!
Jack Loveday has joined me and is available to look after your feet!
I’m taking bookings for him so you can still call me on the same number: 01572 850013.