Recovery

Experienced distance runners have learned through trial and error the importance of recovery. Those who test the limits of their body's ability, and who care more about running daily instead of running consistently, are destined for injury. The key to reaching your running or fitness goals is to listen to your body and understand when it is O.K. to push and when it is necessary to take your foot, so to speak, off the accelerator. 

So, what exactly is recovery? Absolute recovery is a passive approach. The strategy is to stop completely all running activities and to raise our legs above our heart. That’s nice, but not practical. Especially for those enthusiasts who use running as a release from our hectic worlds.

I like to use the term “dynamic recovery.” This requires the runner to play an active role, which can incorporate a number of different forms:

• a long walk or bike ride on off days
• self massage and foam rolling
• ice baths
• nutrition and hydration

Now, I understand that many well-intentioned runners simply do not have enough hours in the schedule to perform all of these tasks. Therefore, I support the use of movement in footgear that decreases the amount of ankle power needed to move. The Oofos recovery line of sandals and shoes is an excellent option for those of us on the go because the footgear has been clinically tested and research-proven to assist in the recovery phase. 

Success is not measured by the medals we wear but by knowing we were able to put out our maximal effort without wearing out. My hope here is that you learn to know yourself and to embrace recovery in order to attain new goals. Good luck!

Water Log

Modern-day athletes are well aware of the importance of proper hydration. But those who are involved in an activity for two hours or more on a given day have specific concerns that must be addressed.  

Dr. Mark Cucuzzella, a family-medicine physician from West Virginia, says, “It should not come as a surprise that the right balance of electrolytes is essential for hydration. This is foundational to hydration and rehydration in the medical field.”  

An improper intake of fluids and electrolytes could lead to fatigue, disorientation, and cramping. An often-overlooked complication is the effect this imbalance has on the skin and nails of distance runners. 

John Vonhof, author of Fixing Your Feet, says, “Long periods of physical exercise cause stress to the extremities as fluid accumulates in the hands and feet.  Fingers and toes often swell when they retain fluid because of low blood sodium (hyponatremia). This causes foot problems as the soft, waterlogged tissues become vulnerable to the rubbing and pounding as we continue to run.” The results are hot spots, blisters, and hematomas to the toenails, which can lead to pain and loss of the nails.

Medical professionals no longer preach that runners should drink at every water station but rather only when thirsty. There are algorithms as to what to take in prior to and during a race. I caution all my patients to remember that these are only guidelines, and to remember that we are all an experiment of one. 

Athletes should do their own due diligence and experiment throughout their training so that come race day, they are in control of their own body. The one caveat to this is that hydration is dynamic and can change due to effort, temperature, and humidity.

Turkey Trot and New Year's Resolution

Here it is, more than halfway through November, and it’s time to start thinking about Turkey Trots and Thanksgiving and eating lots of good food.

I’m going to take a page from one of my mentors, Dr. Robert Gilbert, a psychologist from Montclair State University. He recommends using this time of the season to start your New Year’s resolution 35 days early.

We have Thanksgiving coming up on Thursday. Why not use that holiday to say, “Hey, I’m going to run that Turkey Trot. I’m going to give it my best shot and finish that 5K before I start eating all the goodies later in the afternoon. I’m going to just do it!”

Racing runs in the family: Dr. Conenello (flanked by his sons Kyle, 14, and Luke, 16, after a race this past summer), an active runner, practices what he preaches.

Be Smart

Before you trot out the door on Thanksgiving morning, be smart. Make sure you are wearing a good pair of sneakers that give you the cushioned support you need. Hand in hand (or foot in foot) with the proper running shoes are good moisture-wicking socks that fit you well and provide additional cushion. And then get out there and enjoy the activity. Don’t try to kill it. Take it nice and easy and have fun.

The day after Thanksgiving, get out there again. We always say it’s the start that stops us. That does not have to happen. If you have a goal to lose weight or to become more physically fit or simply to try to be more active, this is your opportunity.

Start slowly

Try to build. Tell yourself, “I’m going to do this every other day,” or “I’m going to run five times a week,” or “I’m going to try to maintain 30 minutes of light jogging a week.” Whatever it is, make the Turkey Trot this Thanksgiving the start of your program.

And if you are able to follow through, you will have a 35-day head start on all those other people with their New Year’s resolution. By the time January 1 comes along, you will have momentum that you won’t want to stop.

Keep in mind a couple of concepts:

• Be good to your feet.
• Be good to your body.

Pre- and Post-Race

Before and after your Turkey Trot, use some static stretches, some wall stretches, some calf stretches. Purchase a foam roller and use it on the backs of your legs, your hamstrings, calf muscles, and Achilles tendons. Get a lacrosse ball and roll it with your foot to prevent or ease plantar fasciitis.

All these things are important as you begin your personal running plan. This is a great time to motivate yourself to do more. The winter doldrums are right around the corner. You do not want to get into a habit of doing nothing. Use this week, and the Thanksgiving Turkey Trot, as a head start to incorporate a running program into a healthier lifestyle.

Evidence-Based Medicine

Dr. Conenello at the 2015 New Jersey Special Olympics State Games 

One thing I have learned, after being in practice for 25 years, is never to assume. So, I have always tried to proceed with the philosophy of utilizing evidence-based medicine. Too many times I have had patients come in who took for granted that what they had, or what they wanted me to look at, was benign. After examination, however, that was not always true.

For instance, there were times when a patient appeared to have what looked like a freckle, and wanted me to back up his own layman’s diagnosis with a second opinion. In many cases my examination did just that and I was able to allay any slight apprehensions he had.

On another occasion with a different patient, I biopsied the area. The blemish turned out to be a melanoma. The good news is that we were able to catch it as an early sign and get the patient the proper clinician to treat the cancer in a timely manner. In his case, the treatment was a simple excision. The patient had no other issues.

The process holds true for not only skin lesions but other things as well. A doctor might believe he has a good handle on what a specific problem is, but he should always practice evidence-based medicine. That means taking the proper x-ray if he is not sure, or the proper blood test or advanced testing, such as an MRI or a CT scan. Just to rule out all the possible negative things. That’s good medicine.

I believe that patients need to learn to be their own advocates and to ask for these types of procedures or tests if their doctor is not doing it. As a patient myself I had to learn to be my own advocate and to reach out to the doctor and sometimes push for more information via just such advanced testing.

The moral: Do not accept a diagnosis if you are not satisfied.

Heel, Pain!

The latest technological medical advances in alleviating runners’ heel pain

I think I could have a practice of patients with just heel pain. A day does not go by where I don’t have anywhere between 5 and 10 patients who complain of chronic heel pain.

Plantar Fasciitis

When patients come to me with heel pain, I feel their foot. It might be a little warm and tender in a certain spot. If they have had the pain for only under a month, then it’s probably a condition called plantar fasciitis.

The plantar fascia is a thick, fibrous, elastic band of tissue in the inner bottom side, or medial part, of the heel bone that stretches to the ball of the foot. What it does is support the long arch of the foot. As you walk or run and your foot alternately flattens and rises, the plantar fascia moves back and forth. With overuse, sometimes it can get stretched beyond its norm. In extreme cases, it can tear slightly. The body’s normal response is to try to repair the inflammation by sending lots of blood and healing tissue to that area.

My patients want to be involved in their healing process. So, I use a diagnostic ultrasound machine and show them what and where their fascia is, where it is pathological (meaning thickened), and how it moves when their foot moves. Plantar fasciitis responds well to conservative treatment: namely, rest, ice, anti-inflammatory medications, and usually some kind of over-the-counter support and taping of the area.

Chronic Heel Pain

Other patients of mine complain of heel pain they have had for over three months. They’ll come in with multiple pairs of shoes and maybe over-the-counter arch supports or some prescription orthotics and other kinds of apparatus and splints they’ve worn. And they’ll say, “Doc, it’s killing me. It’s affecting my activities and my daily living.”

When it gets to that and the patients say they are compensating and now feel pain on the outside of their foot or their knee, or that their lower back is starting to hurt, it’s a chronic issue that needs to be addressed. Many of these patients are seeking relief from their physicians, and they are receiving ineffective care in the form of multiple cortisone injections in the heel to try to resolve this condition.

Now, there’s nothing wrong with cortisone injections, but they have to be used judiciously. In my practice, I might give you one or two. If the condition is not responding, then it’s time to move on. With multiple injections the steroid decreases inflammation, but it also decreases healing, thus weakening the area and making it more susceptible to further damage or tearing.

That’s what happens with a chronic situation. The band of tissues starts to tear and repair, tear and repair. The patient will tell you that when they wake up in the morning, the first step out of bed is very painful. What happens is that the first step down in the morning is unsupported, the tissue rips again. That sets up the cycle of tear and repair and healing.

Over time, you get scarring to that area. You no longer have inflammation. So, those typical treatments that would help respond to the plantar fasciitis won’t work anymore because you now have a fibrotic area, meaning an area that’s lacking blood supply and the ability to heal.

Remedies for Heel Pain

Shockwave Therapy

In these situations you have to consider implementing newer technologies. One that I use in my practice is extracorporeal shockwave therapy, which sends an acoustic wave across the foot from the outside to the inside and creates tiny holes as it penetrates the fascia. This causes an irritation to the area of the fascia where it is scarred, causing it to bleed a little bit and thus accelerate the healing process. It’s almost as though we were opening up and scraping away all the scar tissue, but the treatment is via this external source, the shockwave.

Shockwave is done on consecutive weeks, usually anywhere from one to five weeks. Patients respond really well to this. We also use this procedure for other types of tendinopathies, like Achilles tendinitis and anterior shin splints. The good news about this treatment is that patients can continue to perform their activities (running, biking, hiking) while they are receiving the treatment. Patients might not feel a complete resolution of symptoms for a couple of months. But for the most part, 80 percent of the population does very well with this.

Tenex

Another treatment that has really been a game changer for heel pain in my practice is a technology called Tenex. What we do with Tenex is perform a microscopic type of plantar fasciotomy. We cut and remove a portion of the tissue using a small, hand-held, pen-like probe that is introduced into the plantar fascia through a small incision on the inside of the heel.

This procedure must be performed in a surgical center or a hospital. There is downtime. The patient has to take it easy for one week, walking in a post-operative boot with minimal weight bearing. After a week’s time there is some kind of post-treatment therapy.

Physical therapy works very well for these patients. They are instructed how to manipulate the foot so they can decrease the amount of scar tissue in that area. Once the foot feels better—and patients usually do feel better right after the Tenex procedure—the patients’ balance and symmetry are off. The therapist will work with the patients to help strengthen their core so that the problem doesn’t recur. After a week in the boot, we get the patient into a soft shoe or sneaker. We don’t get them back to doing their regular athletic routines, especially any pounding type of activities, for three to four weeks. They need that time to heal.

The great news about Tenex, and why we say it is a game changer, is that we notice that patients have over 90 percent success rate after having this done. Tenex addresses not just the symptoms, it addresses the cause. It brings new blood flow to the area that was once void of circulation, making it healthy again. It gets that mobility of the fascia back to normal.

Sometimes we’ll incorporate both procedures, Tenex and Shockwave, if need be. But what’s really great is to have in your toolbox both of these modalities to get the patients where they need to be.

By Robert M. Conenello, DPM, FACFAS

Clinical Adviser, Special Olympics, Fit Feet

Past President American Academy of Podiatric Sports Medicine

www.orangetownpodiatry.com

Prescription for Marathon Runners

With the stage set for this year's New York City Marathon (and the decision made to proceed after Hurricane Sandy swept through the east) and the more than 47,000 runners presumably having completed their training, Dr. Robert Conenello sat down to answer a few questions and offer some last-minute advice on foot care for the race entrants. Dr. Conenello is President of the American Academy of Podiatric Sports Medicine, the owner of Orangetown Podiatry, and a global clinical adviser to the Special Olympics, having volunteered his time and expertise to that organization for the past decade. He is also a past participant in the New York City Marathon.

Q. Is there anything runners should be focusing on now, with the race set to begin at 9:10 A.M. on Sunday (November 4)?

Dr. Conenello: The day before, you should try to hydrate and just relax. As far as your feet go, prepare. In other words, make sure that you have all the right gear, including a good moisture-wicking sock. If you have any hot spots on your feet, put Vaseline or some kind of body glide on them to make sure you don’t get blisters. And get a massage on Saturday. It’s a great idea to relax.

Q. What about mid-race? What should a runner do about foot pain that during the race?

Dr. Conenello: First, try to walk it off if you can. Take it slowly. It could just be cramps or tightness or improper posture. It could even be a simple thing like a sock that bunched up. If that’s not the case, seek medical attention. There are so many good professionals on the sidelines that can take care of you there. If you are having sharp discomfort, don’t try to run through it because it could be a problem. A stress fracture, or something like that.

Q. And after the race, what should the runners do for their feet?

Dr. Conenello: Again, hydrate, because you could still have problems with your feet if you don’t have enough fluids in you. The most important thing for your feet, though, is R.I.C.E. That is, rest, ice, compression, and elevation. Get your shoes off. Alternate as the day goes on between hot and cold treatment for your feet. Get another massage to get some of those toxins out of the muscles. If you have blisters, soak them in a little bath of Epsom salts to shrink them down. Cover them with a little antibiotic ointment and a non-stick dressing. If you’re in a lot of pain, or if you have a black toenail, go see your sports podiatrist. Those are the main things to address.

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The Doctor Is In

Introducing Dr. Robert M. Conenello

Dr. Conenello is a renowned sports medicine specialist with the following distinctions:

• The global clinical adviser of Special Olympics International
• An honorary surgeon for the New York Police Department
• A Fellow, and incoming President of the American Academy of Podiatric Sports Medicine
• On the faculty of Dominican College
• A member of the President’s Council of Saint Thomas Aquinas College
• Dr. Conenello has lectured around the world, specifically about sports medicine pertaining to foot and ankle issues, treatments, and surgeries 

Education

• DPM - New York College of Podiatric Medicine, 1990
• BA - Ithaca College, 1986

Residency

• Podiatric Surgical Residency of Brooklyn - Chief Podiatric Resident - 1990-1991

Fellowships

• Fellow of the American College of Foot and Ankle Surgeons
• Fellow of the American Academy of Podiatric Sports Medicine

Professional Memberships

• Diplomate American Board of Podiatric Surgeons
• Board Member American Academy of Podiatric Sports Medicine
• American College of Foot and Ankle Surgeons
• American Podiatric Medical Association
• New York State Podiatric Medical Association

Hospital/Surgical Affiliations

• Nyack Hospital
• Rockland & Bergen Surgery Center
• Ramapo Valley Surgery Center

Additional Certifications

• Acoustic Shockwave Therapy for the Treatment of Heel Pain
• Diagnostic Ultrasound of the Lower Extremity

Lecture History - Nationally & Internationally

• Sports Medicine
• Athletic Shoe Specialist
• Diabetic Wound Care
• Pediatric Foot Deformities
• Elder Care

Honors

• Pi Mu Delta National Podiatric Honor Society

Other

• Honorary Police Surgeon, New York Police Department
• Global Clinical Advisor of the Fit Feet Program of Special Olympics
• Podiatric Medical Director for Racing the Planet - Sahara Desert
• Trustee of Alfonse Sedotto Memorial Foundation

Personal History

• Place of Birth - New York, New York
• Father of three children - Luke, Kyle, and Marette
• Sports enthusiast and avid fan of baseball and football
• Clinical interests include sports medicine, pediatrics, and surgery
• Completed NY City Marathon
• Triathlete