Heel Pain and Obesity: The Chicken or the Egg?

A new survey has found that heel pain caused by plantar fasciitis, a problem affecting almost a third of people who are overweight, often limits exercise and therefore makes it difficult for people to lose weight. The survey of 381 adult Americans, conducted by Heeling Solutions LLC, (www.heelingsolutions.com) found that 90% of people with heel pain who exercise at least 1 to 2 times per week report that heel pain limits their physical activity. The survey also found that 69% of people reporting heel pain were interested in losing weight, as compared to 58% of the general public.

Plantar fasciitis is the most common type of heel pain and is an example of a physical condition that can prevent or derail a weight loss program. It usually strikes people when they are increasing the amount of physical activity that they do. Be it a runner training for a marathon, a weekend warrior at a weekend tennis game, or an obese person starting to exercise. The change in the amount of stress put on the heel and foot can lead to plantar fasciitis. This can be especially devastating for overweight people who often develop plantar fasciitis as they begin to see progress in their attempt to lose weight.

"It strikes people of all ages and levels of physical activity," says David Nader, an exercise physiologist and advisor to Heeling Solutions, a company focused on helping patients and their doctors resolve heel pain through education and non-invasive techniques. Plantar fasciitis does not discriminate; even pro-athletes in excellent shape get it. For example Minnesota Vikings receiver Randy Moss, who missed last years Pro Bowl, because of plantar fasciitis, or the Pistons Rasheed Wallace, one of this years key players in the NBA finals, who battled plantar fasciitis since late in the 2004 season.

Though in most cases heel problems are not directly causing obesity, it is clear that resolving heel pain is important to staying healthy and losing weight for a large number of people.

"Some diseases like arthritis, tend to greatly reduce a person ability to exercise, and there is little that one can do about them, however, there are others like plantar fasciitis where that need not be the case," according to Dr. Jeffrey Peterson, physician with the Northern California Institute of Sports Medicine, "Most people can recover from plantar fasciitis using conservative means, which can really make a difference in helping people lose the weight."

Many people needlessly suffer from heel pain for years before they do anything about it. According to the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons, it is estimated that 2 million people seek treatment for plantar fasciitis every year in the United States, and it is believed that there are several million more who go untreated and suffer needlessly. In most cases the longer a person waits to seek treatment the longer it will take to get rid of it.

If your heel hurts and it is limiting your ability to exercise, its time to get diagnosed and get on the road to recovery.

Daniel Marein-Efron is a former plantar fasciitis sufferer and President of Heeling Solutions LLC http://www.heelingsolutions.com . Mr. Marein-Efron has been involved with a variety of entrepreneurial businesses through his consulting company DMEX Consulting LLC.

What is the Best Bowling Tip for a Beginner?

Bowling, one of the most popular sports in the world, may seem confusing, but these bowling tips for beginners will go a long way toward helping you feel like a pro in a very short time. This article gives some bowling tips for beginners, from choosing the right ball to use, to playing an actual game. As with all other sports, there is no exact method that must be followed. Each person is different and needs to find the most suitable style with these bowling tips for beginners.

The first bowling tips for beginners involves choosing the right ball. Keep in mind, the sport is based on timing and coordination, meaning you need a ball easy enough to handle. As one of the bowling tips for beginners, we suggest a ball depending on your size and height. Usually, balls for women range from 8 - 15 pounds and for men, they range from 14 - 16 pounds. The best bowling tip for beginners who are looking to choose the correct ball is to bowl with the heaviest ball you can swing comfortably.

A small, but important step in bowling tips for beginners is your bowling stance. Start by gripping the ball with your bowling hand, and rest it in your non-bowling hand (your balance hand). Stand approximately 2 feet from the end of the approach (explained further on in the list of bowling tips for beginners). Stand with your toes pointed straight at your target, while keeping your hips and shoulders parallel and lined up with your feet. Many books containing bowling tips for beginners also refer to this process as squaring up. Bowling tips for beginners cover your approach to the lane.

In our bowling tips for beginners, we suggest you experiment with your delivery of the ball. There are several different deliveries for the average bowler. Bowling tips for beginners gives the subsequent distances as starting points for these particular deliveries:

- 3 step delivery, stand 8 - 10 feet from the foul line.

- 4 step delivery, stand 10 - 12 feet from the foul line.

- 5 step delivery, stand 12 - 16 feet from the foul line.

If your size or your stride is larger than normal, make changes to adjust for this.

Both these factors in bowling tips for beginners, grip and aim, are very important. While keeping a good grip on your ball, bowling tips for beginners advise you to align the ball with your shoulder and, keeping your forearm slightly bent, use your balance hand (non-bowling hand) to balance the ball. Taking a deep breath, then exhale keeping your stomach muscles tight is part of the great bowling tips for beginners and aids your concentration and aim.

The next step in bowling tips for beginners is to hold the ball until goes passed your left foot. The distance after the line of foul is the right time to release the ball. According to bowling tips for beginners, this release will depend on the particular size, speed limit, length, and amount of steps used by the individual bowler.

The last tip of our bowling tips for beginners is that you should enjoy your game. This is the most important tip of all. Remember that bowling itself is a sport, and no matter what, the game should be fun for you. Of all the bowling tips for beginners, this one is the most important. Join a league, whether for competition or just for fun.

Jordan Matthews is an internet entrepreneur with a 239 average, who enjoys bowling at local ABT tournaments every weekend. Visit Jordan's Bowling Website for more information about bowling in tournaments and improving your scores.

Joe Montana 1979 Draft Day Picks

Joe Montana was born on June 11, 1956 in New Eagle, Pennsylvania. It was evident early on that Montana was going to be a great football player thanks to his athletic prowess as well as his above average intelligence. And standing at 6 foot 2 inches and weighing 200 pounds, Montana also had the perfect body for a top of the line quarterback.

Montana played his high school football at Ringgold High School in the Pittsburgh Steel Valley. In high school Montana was a standout athlete not only on the football field, but also in the games of baseball and basketball. He started two years for the Ringgold football team, and after his senior season he was named to the Parade All American Team.

After high school Montana decided to take his football game to the University of Notre Dame despite receiving several basketball scholarship offers. Although Montana put together a solid career at Notre Dame, he did not put up big enough numbers to make everybody notice. But one thing that he did do during his college career is establish himself as one of the greatest come from behind quarterbacks of all time.

Montana was selected by the San Francisco 49ers with the 82nd overall pick in the 1979 NFL Draft. Although he did not play a lot his rookie season, by the end of his second year he had become the full time starting quarterback. In 1981 Montana led his team to the first of four Super Bowl victories. In all but one of these Super Bowl wins he was named the Most Valuable Player of the game. For his career Montana passed for 35,124 yards. He also was named to the Pro Bowl team eight times.

It is safe to say that Joe Montana will always be known as one of the greatest quarterbacks of all time.

Bob writes for DraftDayPicks.com and MVP ProShop Where you can purchase a Joe Montana Jersey or information about a Joe Montana Jersey [http://www.fanfrenzyzone.com/nfl/joe_montana_bio.html]