Special Olympics Fit Feet (Podiatry) Volunteer

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Our next Fit Feet screening will take place on Saturday, June 20th at our Summer Games Competition in St. Paul. Click on "I Want To Help" to receive information on how to sign up.

VOLUNTEERS ARE NEEDED WITH THE FOLLOWING QUALIFICATIONS
* Certificate and current licensure as a Podiatrist, Orthotist, Nurse, Sports Medicine, GP, or other Licensed Health Care Professional.

The Healthy Athletes program is dedicated to providing health services and education to Special Olympics athletes, and changing the way health systems interact with people with intellectual disabilities. Through free health screenings, training of healthcare professionals, and evaluation of the health status of people with intellectual disabilities, Healthy Athletes has become a powerful public health organization worldwide.

Fit Feet helps Special Olympics athletes step lively on the playing field, and in everyday life. Many athletes suffer from foot and ankle pain, or deformities that impair their performance. In fact, up to 50 percent of Special Olympics athletes experience one or more preventable or treatable foot conditions that can affect their sports participation. Often, these individuals are not fitted with the best shoes and socks for their particular sport. To alleviate these problems, volunteer podiatrists work with athletes to evaluate problems of the feet, ankles and lower extremity biomechanics.

Athletes are evaluated through a series of stations that include: gait evaluation, foot exams and foot sizing for proper shoe fit.

IMPORTANCE AND IMPACT
At Fit Feet screenings, we learned that a large percentage of Special Olympics athletes in the United States have the following health related concerns:

• 50% have gait abnormalities
• 53% have skin and nail conditions
• 21% have bone deformation
• 41% of Special Olympics athletes in the U.S. are wearing the wrong size shoe

• Feeling good about helping those who cannot afford service or who did not know help was available to them.
• Experiencing the joy of seeing athletes walk pain free or with improved gait because of the insoles they have been given.
• Enjoying the camaraderie of working together with a group of your fellow professionals.
• Having the ability of increasing the number of patients in your practice: your practice will grow once word gets around that you work with persons with intellectual disabilities.