Introduction Keeping mobile is key to good health. I'm not talking about your smartphone here, though you should definitely keep that charged up and ready to go at all times. Mobile in this context refers to moving around on a regular basis. And regular doesn't mean every few days or even every day—it means every minute of your waking hours! The old adage is true: A sedentary lifestyle will kill you (and it's not just metaphorical). That's why it's so important to stay active and get plenty of exercise, even if it's just walking around the office building or taking [...]

How to be Healthy without trying It’s fair to say that healthy drives, faddy diets and fitness crazes are a recent development for humanity. Their recency also correlates with our obesity epidemic, and spiralling rates of diabetes throughout the modern world. Clearly something isn’t working. Modern life is alien to us as a species. We haven’t had the time required to adapt to the enormous changes we have made to our everyday environment and diets. Driving cars, less walking, sitting at desks, not lifting heavy things, eating processed food, the list is endless. Our strategies in the pursuit of health [...]

How Can I Cure My Heel Pain Fast? The Pain of Plantar Fasciitis. What is Plantar Fasciitis? Heel pain is a common problem that affects people at any stage of their life, but it is more common in our middle age. It can be very restricting, and last for extended periods of time for some people. The plantar fascia attaches to the heel bone, and it can become very painful at this site. The condition is more common in active people, runners, and those who stand on flat hard floors for extended periods of time.   Diagnosis Commonly heel pain [...]

 School Shoe Shopping Its that time of year again when the shoe shops are filled with parents and kids getting uniforms and shoes in preparation for the new school year. “Do they feel too tight? Where’s your toe in them?” Parents doing their utmost to ensure they don’t pay for shoes which the child will claim hurt them inside 20 minutes of wearing them. Shoe shop assistants helping and measuring feet. The surprise at the till when 3 pairs come to pretty much what you paid for your first car. It can be a stressful time. What matters? Fit, support [...]

Balance What do our feet do? Why are our feet such complex structures, so many bones, muscles and ligaments?  It all comes down to balance. Its a tough ask to get a structure the size and weight of a human to balance on something the size of feet, let alone move without falling over, just ask any engineer. It has taken years of the finest engineering minds and enormous corporate budgets to make clumsy robots that fall on rough ground.  Our feet are a wonder, in their ability to hold us up on pretty much any terrain, and allow us [...]

Cracked heels can make for a miserable summer for many, but why do they make an appearance in the summer months? The skin on the soles of our feet has a much harder job than anywhere else on our body. Skin has to allow perspiration, be waterproof, house nerve endings, protect deeper structures. The skin on our feet has to do this whilst taking our full body weight for thousands of steps each day. Skin needs to be supple so that it may stretch and deform according to the demands placed on it, and any changes in hydration of the [...]

Inspired to Run Great sporting events leave a bit of their magic with many of us. I’m sure we can all remember a sporting event from our childhood that put a fire in our belly, if even for just a little while. The roads are currently littered with people on bikes, inspired by Le Tour coming to the UK. Are you inspired to run? This week, the Commonwealth Games will be dominating the sporting media, and lets hope it brings some inspiration with it. Being inspired to run might just change your life, running can offer enormous health [...]

A week in the life of a work experience student…. Tell us a little bit about yourself. I am a 15 year old girl who lives in the neighbouring village. I go to school in the local area and I was given the opportunity to take work experience on the last week of the term before the summer holidays instead of normal lessons: we were given the option whether to take up the chance and a choice of where we would like to go. For years, I have had the ambition of becoming a physiotherapist, so given the chance I [...]

One of the most common conditions a podiatrist treats, corns don’t attract much sympathy from non sufferers but they can make a persons life miserable. The smile on a patients face when a painful corn is removed is one of the most rewarding experiences, but the greatest reward lies in preventing them in the first place. Corns can form anywhere on the foot, they can affect young and old, men and women, active and inactive. The only common factor is pressure. Pressure causes a response from the skin which leads to a change in the structure of the skin, and [...]