Should Runners Get Pedicures?

 

 JenJackie Cartier of Boulder, Colo., has been running for 10 years. That has left her feet beaten up and bruised, with thick calluses and the occasional missing toenail. But she won’t step foot in a salon to have a pedicure.

“I really need the calluses I’ve built up,” said Ms. Cartier, 27. Whenever she’s gotten the full pedicure treatment in the past, she said, those calluses have been removed. And without that extra layer of protection, her next few runs really hurt.

As for her toenails, she says that she’s embarrassed about the way they look. But she’ll paint on top of however many nails remain, some of them bruised and blackened, and wear open-toed shoes anyway.

Runners shy away from pedicures for a lot of reasons. Not only may they want to preserve protective calluses, they may also think having pretty toenails doesn’t really matter when you’re losing them so often. Others are just too embarrassed to sit in a chair and have a stranger evaluate their battered feet. Still others don’t want to inflict any more pain on nails that are already put through so much.

Lost or discolored toenails are a perpetual problem for runners because running is “blunt trauma” on the feet, said Dr. Albert D’Angelantonio, an assistant professor of plastic and reconstructive surgery at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania. “Imagine if I beat on your skin a few times and hit you in the same spot,” he said. “You would get black and blue. The same thing happens underneath the nail.”

Dr. Ken Jung, a foot and ankle surgeon at the Kerlan-Jobe Orthopedic Clinic in Los Angeles, likens the nail trauma that comes with running to stress fractures. “When the stress overcomes what your body’s able to handle, you get stress fractures,” he said. “The same thing is true with the nail.”

It’s not the actual nail that is damaged, but the nail bed, the tissue under the nail that is rich in blood vessels, Dr. Jung says. Running, particularly running downhill or while wearing shoes that are too small, puts pressure on the front of the foot and can traumatize the nail that protects that bed. As a result, the nail bed bleeds, making the toenail appear black.

The buildup of blood also creates pressure that can push up the nail. The nail can then detach from the nail matrix, the area at the base of the nail from which new nails grow. For the majority of runners, Dr. Jung says, that matrix remains unharmed. That’s why often when a dead nail pops off, a new one is already growing underneath. After I ran the New Jersey Marathon, I had seven and a half toenails — I say half because by the time one popped off, half a nail had already grown back underneath.

If the nail matrix is damaged, however, then the nail sometimes won’t grow back. That typically occurs after a more intense trauma. I didn’t start losing toenails until I was training for and running marathons, but for some runners it can also occur when the toes jam against the front of an overcrowded, too-tight shoe or if the second toe is longer than the big toe. Some ultramarathoners actually have the matrix and nails from problem nails removed to end constant pain. Getting rid of toenails means they don’t need to worry about the nails popping off in a race.

Lauren Parker, a 28-year-old publicist in New York City, uses pedicures as a treat, visiting a salon every time she finishes a marathon. She’s run three so far. “It’s my reward for putting my feet through a lot of training,” she said.

While training for the race itself, she keeps her nails trimmed and moisturizes her feet often. That, she said, “keeps my feet healthy, not necessarily beautiful.”

Spas and salons have been catering to runners’ feet, too. As part of the Las Vegas Rock ‘n’ Roll Marathon, the Mirage Hotel and Casino last year offered a pedicure as part of a V.I.P. package.

Go! Spa, a St. Louis-based salon, has been offering the Perfect 10K pedicure for the last eight years. “A lot of our clients who are runners want that callus,” said Katy Oliver, a spokeswoman for the salon. So instead of sloughing them off, the spa technicians leave them on. They also cut the nails to a medium length – too short, you risk ingrown toenails; too long, and you’re more likely to bang the nail against the front of your shoe.

The main benefit of a pedicure from a health perspective, says Dr. Jung, is that it keeps the nails properly trimmed. The nails should be cut straight across instead of rounded, he said, to prevent ingrown toenails.

Of course, you should take care to visit a salon that is hygienic in its practices – one that sterilizes its tools, including nail files and buffers. Dr. D’Angelantonio recommends bringing your own instruments, and also patronizing a salon that uses a plastic inlay inside of the soaking tub that the technician can replace after each customer to assure you’re putting your feet in a sterile solution.

And if you have an underlying medical condition like diabetes, which can increase the risk of infection, he says, check with your doctor before getting a pedicure.

Ultimately, there’s not much people who run a lot can do to prevent lost or discolored toenails entirely. Making sure your running shoes fit properly may help. So can avoiding downhill running, which jams your toes against the front of your footwear, though that’s not really practical.

As for my own feet, I’m not embarrassed enough about my toenails to want to avoid my nail salon. Right now I have my toenails painted American flag-red – all nine of them.