While the season and routine practice sessions have concluded, the off-season is an opportunity to focus on weak areas and strengthen them before the new season begins. Improving performance during the off-season has many benefits and is key for continued athletic growth.

On the other hand, completely stopping training during the off-season can cause your body to return to its pre-training state. It’s much easier to stay in shape than to get back into shape.

Off-season training is important for all sports as it provides time to rest, develop, improve, and focus on skills that directly and indirectly impact competitive performance.

Benefits of Training During the Off-Season

• Upkeep and Improvement - Overall Strength, Coordination, and Skilled Movement
• Enhances Flexibility, Speed, and Agility
• Improves Range of Motion
• Helps to Prevent Burnout
• Injury Prevention

As the off-season draws to a close, we recommend that athletes start shifting their attention back to sport-specific exercises. While maintaining the same intensity, they should decrease the duration and volume of their workouts, reacquainting their bodies with the usual sport-related exercises to smoothly transition back into peak condition for the upcoming season. This approach will ensure they are fully prepared and better equipped to prevent injuries once the competitive season begins.

Call our offices at (610) 522-9200 to schedule an evaluation. To learn more visit www.drleecohen.com.

Dr. Lee S. Cohen and Associates, Sports Medicine Podiatry Center treats foot pain, ankle pain, and painful conditions of the knees, legs, hips, and lower back in athletes and individuals of all ages. We provide specialized treatment of the feet, ankles, and lower body extremities for athletes, biomechanical performance enhancement, injury prevention, and general podiatric foot and ankle medical treatment solutions for individuals and their families serving South Jersey, Philadelphia, and surrounding areas with offices conveniently located in Marlton, N.J. and Ridley Park, PA.

A recent study suggests that some workers can walk as much as 1,632 miles a year on the job. That's approximately the distance between Miami, Florida and Portland, Maine.

If you're a police officer, mail carrier, doctor, nurse, or healthcare worker these professions are considered foot intensive, and they put workers at risk of foot discomfort and related ailments.

The same study reports that teachers, factory workers, and bankers are also prone to foot problems. And for everyone else, even if you don't walk a lot at work, just standing can create foot problems.

Some common complaints from members of foot-intensive occupations are heel pain, arch pain, toe pain, ankle pain, calluses, corns, and foot deformities such as bunions and spurs. These workers may also suffer from knee, leg, hip, and lower back pain as a result of their jobs.

Think your feet are doomed? Not necessarily.

Our “Secret Weapon” custom orthotic shoe inserts can not only help your work and athletic performance, but they can also help you get out of pain and bounce back from an injury much more quickly. In addition to relieving pain and reducing inflammation, custom orthotics help control the alignment and function of the foot. This helps treat and prevent injuries caused by sharp or excessive movement during physical activity.

Here are some tricks for foot-intensive trades that can help prevent some of these types of foot problems and alleviate foot pain.

1. Dress your feet for comfort, not fashion. This includes buying your shoes late in the day when your feet are most swollen, so they'll fit when your feet are at their largest.
2. Dress your feet for safety; wear safety shoes on jobs where your feet are exposed to danger.
3. Whenever possible, remove your shoes and massage your feet to improve circulation.
4. To relax your muscles, make small circles with your ankles ten times in each direction. To strengthen muscles, lift weights with your feet.
5. At the end of the day soak your feet in a warm foot bath.
6. Get fitted for custom orthotic shoe inserts.

Custom orthotics can help you reach and achieve your goals and improve your activity so that you can do more with less pain.  Visit our website www.drleecohen.com/custom-orthotics and schedule your comprehensive biomechanical evaluation today www.drleecohen.com/contact or call our Sports Medicine Podiatry Center and book an appointment at either our Marlton, N.J. Sports Medicine Podiatry Center or Ridley Park, P.A. office location with one of our podiatric sports medicine podiatrists today at (610) 522-9200.