Covid Crash and Burn
Jun 22, 2022During the first few months of Covid, a bunch of us in our neighborhood got into the habit of walking 6-8 miles every day.
We would walk 3 to 4 miles in the morning and another 3 to 4 miles in the evening. Most of us spent the time pleasantly strolling along and chatting about events and our families that we have not been able to see because of the epidemic.
We were able to enjoy the company of our friends and sometimes we would get close enough to surprise a deer or two. If we were lucky, we could even sneak up on a Blue Heron looking for its breakfast.
Some of our group, however, were serious power walkers and/or joggers that the rest of us could not keep up with. Nonetheless, we were all out there walking every day.
After a few weeks, we started to notice that some of our more aggressive walkers and runners slowly started dropping out of the group.
We wondered if we may have offended them or something.
A few phone calls were made and it turned out that one of our friends had serious shin splints, another one had a stress fracture and two of our friends were crippled by plantar fasciitis.
“What was going on?“ Asked some in our group.
This made me recall a very interesting study done by Women’s Running Magazine approximately 20 years ago.
They found that women who walked at a pace of less than 3 1/2 mph were able to do so with virtually no foot and leg injuries.
They also found that women who power walked or jogged tended to have substantially more foot and leg injuries and had to drop out of their exercise routines.
The casual walkers were able to maintain their routines indefinitely while the aggressive walkers completely dropped out of their exercise programs due to their injuries.
So there IS something to the old tortoise and the hare story….
The sad thing is, the aggressive walkers really weren’t getting that much more In the way of health benefits because of their increased speed.
It turns out that the most important factor in burning calories is the distance that you walk and not the speed that you walked.
Studies show that you burn off the same number of calories per mile whether you run, jog or walk that mile.
A good rule of thumb is that you burn off approximately 100 calories per mile whether you take it slow and easy or fast and hard.
Of course, we find out that the fast and hard version comes with plenty of injuries.
That’s good business for me as a foot doctor, but not so good for you if you want to maintain your Health and Fitness.
Of course, I have nothing against running and jogging.
They do have added cardiovascular benefits over simple walking, but those benefits tend to be canceled out in many people due to the higher rate of injuries.
If you have a foot ankle or leg injury that is keeping you from getting your daily exercise or keeping you from spending quality time with your friends, family and grandchildren, we can help.
For the next week, we are offering a free musculoskeletal diagnostic ultrasound study with your visit. (Value up to $170)
This test can determine if you have torn or injured ligaments or damage to joints. We can actually see the cause of your pain.
We get much of the same information with this modality as we get with a very expensive MRI study and the results are available and reviewed with you by me during your initial visit.
So, if you have a foot or leg or ankle injury and can’t do the things you love to do, give me a call today. (Be sure to ask for your free sonogram study when you call)
We will get you back on the road and back in the yard and back to work ASAP.
Wishing you the best of health,
Dr. Frank Henry
“Your Friendly Foot and Ankle Specialist”
Frank Henry
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