Pain!!! A cry for help.

If you called the fire department when your house was on fire and they didn’t come, that would be really bad. Since nothing was done to put out the fire, you’d end up losing everything. This is essentially what your body is doing when it creates pain and the results of ignoring pain can be just as bad. When something hurts, your body is saying “Help, something is not right! Something is malfunctioning!” Most people try to ignore the pain, take pain killers, or think that once the pain is gone the problem will be gone as well. Sometimes the pain does just go away. But this can be very deceptive. Just because your body has stopped sending calls for help doesn’t mean the problem is fixed. Often our bodies will try to correct the problem by compensating in another way, but this ends up putting unnatural pressures on another part of our body and can cause even more problems.

If you have an ingrown toenail, don’t think that just because it’s on a smaller part of your body you can be a surgeon for a day.

If you have pain in the arches of your foot in the morning and it goes away after you stretch a little bit, don’t think your body is just being cranky.

If your toes are starting to look bent and you get corns frequently, don’t think you are just looking in a fun house mirror.

These are all symptoms of foot problems and unlike wine they do not get better with time. Listen to your body. It knows what it needs. If you are experiencing foot pain in any way or a part of you foot is starting to look different than it has in the past, call a podiatrist before the problem gets out of hand. We want to help put out the fire.

Ankle Injuries: More than just an annoyance.

Though ankle injuries are painful when they first occur, the long term damage that is caused can be even more detrimental. Ankles that have suffered an injury are seven times more likely to become arthritic that ones that have seen no trauma. Injuries can very in severity and still have the same long term affects. From inconspicuous reoccurring ankle sprains to more seemingly detrimental ankle fractures or broken bones, the damage that is caused is irreversible. Ankle cartilage is quite strong and can usually withstand a life time of movement but when the cartilage gets damaged its cells are unable to be repaired. Cartilage is made to glide smoothly to create movement but when it becomes worn or frayed the movement is not fluid. This leads to swelling, inflammation, and pain in the ankle joints. If proper treatment is not attained after the injury, post-traumatic ankle arthritis could very well occur in the future.

A study taken from 1991-2004 at the University of Iowa, studying 639 patients with grade 3 or 4 arthritis concluded that ankle injury is the most common cause of ankle arthritis. Trauma was the primary cause of arthritis in 445 patients out of the 639 patients surveyed. That is about 70%. The other 30% was caused by rheumatoid disease and primary osteoarthritis.

Symptoms of ankle arthritis include: pain or tenderness, stiffness or reduced motion, swelling, difficulty walking, bone spurs, and instability. No matter what stage of arthritis is present, or if arthritis is just a possible threat in the future, professional care should be sought. Podiatrists everywhere have many surgical and non-surgical options to help cope with the pain, prevent arthritis from over running everyday life, and catch arthritis before it become a problem.

This little piggy...

This little piggy ran a mile. This little piggy swam three. This little piggy bench pressed. This little piggy danced free. And this little piggy showed up everyone else in the gym. But how did these piggys get so strong?? Because their owner never forgot to work them out before and after the physical actives the owner participated in.

When exercising, feet are usually forgotten to be warmed up and cooled down with the rest of the body. Rarely are they considered a body part that needs to be strengthened. They are smaller than other parts of the body, attract less attention, and are usually out of sight and out of mind. But these little guys under go a huge amount of impact during a work out or a physical activity.

Stretching and strengthening feet is a very important way to prevent foot injury from occurring during the everyday life not and in the future. This is also a very effective way to help relieve foot pain if an injury has already occurred. A little tender love and care is important to keep your feet healthy and pain free enough to get you the places you need to go.

Here are a few stretches, exercises, and massage techniques to keep your piggys marching on.


Stretches:
- Toe Raises: Hold onto a wall for support. From flat foot, rise up so you are standing on your toes only. Hold for 5 seconds. Repeat 10 times.
- Toe Points: Sitting down, flex the arch of the foot so the toes are pointed into a straight line and the heel is close to the back of the leg. Hold for 5 seconds. Repeat 10 times
- Toe Curls: Sitting down, scrunch all your toes together so they are pointing away from the top of your foot. Hold for 5 seconds. Repeat 10 times.

Exercises:
- Toe Squeezes: Hold a toe separator between your toes. Squeeze for 5 seconds. Repeat 10 times. This exercise is great for people with Hammer toes of suffer from toe cramps.
- Towel Scoop. While standing, place a towel on the floor, pick it up with only your toes. Repeat 5 times.

Massage techniques:
1. Apply an ample amount of lotion to feet.
2. Start by massaging the length of your feet up and down. Repeat 3-5 times.
3. Cup your heel and gently assist your foot in rotating the ankle. Repeat 5 times both directions.
4. Hold toes in one hand and heel in another. Gentle bring toes back towards your shins. This will stretch the calf. Hold for 3-5 seconds and repeat 5 times.
5. Gently grab each toe individually and pull directly away from foot to stretch and lengthen the toe. Hold for 3-5 seconds and repeat 5 times.
6. With your thumb, in circular motions, gently rub and apply pressure to the arch of your foot. Continue for 60 seconds.
7. To finish, once again massage the length of your foot 3-5 times.

Broken Bones

Broken bones or fractures in the foot are common due to all the repetitive stress the foot goes through from normal day to day activities. It can also occur from strenuous sport activities or blunt trauma such as an object falling on it. The two types of traumatic fractures are displaced and nondisplaced fractures. If a fracture is displaced that means the two fragments or pieces become separated and are no longer aligned with each other. This makes the healing more difficult and might require surgery to realign them. A nondisplaced fracture usually will heal with just rest and taking weight off the foot. Signs and symptoms of a traumatic fracture include hearing a snap at the time of the injury, pain at the site of the injury, and swelling with bruising. Also, just because you can walk on it doesn't mean its not broken.
Unlike a traumatic fracture, a stress fracture is a tiny hairline fracture usually caused by repetitive stress. It usually affects athletes and runners. Common symptoms are pain after normal activity, pain that goes away after resting, and swelling without bruising. Rest and immobilization is usually enough to treat a stress fracture.
Because of the various types of fractures and correlating symptoms, it is best to have your foot evaluated by a podiatrist if you had a recent injury, to make sure you get the correct treatment.

Tailor's Bunion

A tailor's bunion, also called a bunionette, differs from a regular bunion by its location. It is located on the outside of the foot as opposed to a traditional bunion which is located on the inside of the foot. It is due to either an enlargement of the head of the fifth metatarsal, which is the end of the long bone that attaches to the little toe or due to the fifth metatarsal moving outward towards the side of the shoe. Just as with a regular bunion, this can become painful with shoe rubbing causing redness and swelling.
A bunionette can easily be diagnosed by a podiatrist using x-rays to determine the extent and cause of the deformity. There are a variety of non-surgical treatment options that can be used to treat the condition. These include padding, shoes with a wide toe box, anti-inflammatory oral medications, and corticosteroid injections around the joint. In the case where conservative treatment isn't enough to alleviate the pain and discomfort, the podiatrist will select the appropriate surgical procedure to correct the deformity. Visit your local podiatrist if you have questions or concerns regarding your tailor's bunion.