In Transition From Summer To Fall

By: Deny Dallaire, B.Sc., C.Ped (C)
Certified Pedorthist (Canada) with Thera-Ped Moncton

Although we hate to admit it, summer is almost over. Soon it will be back to school, as well as back to the old routine. Most people slow down to some degree over the summer. However, when September rolls around, activities and sports start up again and our bodies go through a “kick-start”. From a Canadian Certified Pedorthist’s perspective, in order to avoid foot and lower limb injuries this fall, follow these simple rules:

• Check the condition of your fall and/or sports footwear. Too many people injure themselves because their footwear is in poor shape. If your shoes are worn or deformed in any way, then it’s time to go shoe shopping.

• Wear activity-specific footwear. What this means is don’t attend your school walkathon or gym class in your flip-flops. Make sure that if you know that you will be spending a lot of time on your feet, that you wear comfortable and supportive shoes that are conducive to your activity.

• Ease back into your routine. The vast majority of people we see at our clinic in September through to December are people that “forgot” that they were less active over the summer and tried to do too much, too quickly.

• Finally, if you feel any pain of injury coming on, DON’T IGNORE IT! Consult your family physician right away. Regarding foot or lower limb injuries, Canadian Certified Pedorthists are trained to treat these injuries using prescribed orthotic and/or shoe therapies.

For more information about Pedorthics and Canadian Certified Pedorthists, visit the following websites: www.pedorthic.ca and www.cpedcs.ca.