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Foot Notes

Posts for tag: Neuroma

By Clark Podiatry Center
May 29, 2019
Category: Foot Pain

There are many things that can cause pain in your feet. One is called a Neuroma. A Neuroma is the thickening of the skin and irritation of a nerve between your toes. Neuromas can affect the ball of your feet and is usually found between your 3rd and 4th toes. This is also called Morton’s Neuroma.

Symptoms of a Neuroma include:

  • Feeling like you have a pebble in your footwear
  • Sharp, burning pain in your feet especially between your toes
  • Toes may feel numb

Risk factors for a Neuroma include:

  • High heel footwear – can put undue pressure on your toes and ball of your feet
  • High impact sports – jogging, running, basketball and/or gymnastics
  • Inherited or other foot issues – bunions, hammertoes, flat feet or high arches

Home treatments can include:

  • Ice – 15 minutes on and off for several hours to reduce pain
  • Anti-inflammatory meds – Tylenol. Make sure you take them only as directed.
  • Better fitting footwear – that do not put undue pressure on your toes or ball of the foot
  • Reducing or stopping the aggravating activity – take a break from running or basketball for awhile

It is very important to see you podiatrist if you think you are developing a Neuroma. Your podiatrist can treat the condition in the following ways:

  • Use specifically designed orthotic – your podiatrist can recommend which one is best for you
  • Inject steroids to alleviate the pain
  • Surgery – a cutting and thereby loosening of the ligament around the affected area
  • Surgery – the removal of the affected nerve. This can, however, result in permanent numbness
  • Injections of something called sclerosing alcohol. This treatment has seen some positive results, but not in all cases. Your podiatrist is the best person to decide.   

Do you suspect you have a Neuroma or have any other foot concerns,  schedule an appointment with Clark Podiatry Center  at 732-382-3470 to see our board-certified podiatrist, Dr. Brandon A. Macy who is  associated with New Jersey Children's Foot Health Institute . Come see us at our Clark, New Jersey office today!

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By Clark Podiatry Center
April 24, 2019
Category: Orthotics

There are many reasons to wear an orthotic, depending on the type of foot problem you may have.

Reasons to wear an orthotic include:

  • Flat feet – low arches
  • Supination – an outward roll of the foot when stepping
  • Overpronation – inward roll of the foot when taking a step
  • Diabetes – lack of insulin in your bloodstream
  • Shin splints – painful swelling of the shin from repeated pounding on hard surfaces
  • Morton’s neuroma – tingling in your forefoot caused by damaged nerve
  • Metatarsalgia – pain in the ball of your foot
  • Heel spurs – painful swelling of the heel usually caused by a buildup of calcium
  • Morton’s toe – where your second toe is longer than your big toe
  • Plantar Fasciitis – the inflammation of the bottom of your foot

In each of the above cases, a specific orthotic can be of great help. Many orthotics provide much needed extra cushioning for such conditions as diabetes, shin splints or flat feet, yet each provides cushioning different from the other. Those suffering from diabetes need a softer orthotic, whereas shin splints need cushioning that will absorb the shock of pounding feet. Flat feet, however, need greater support in the arch. Each condition requires knowledge about your specific foot problem. While there are many orthotics or insoles on the market, the best resource for this is your podiatrist who will diagnose your exact condition and determine just what orthotic is best for you.

Basic types of orthotics:

  • Semi-rigid – more flexible orthotic providing cushioning without a lot of arch support
  • Rigid – a stiffer orthotic that is considered aggressive support often used for arches.

Other types of orthotics may include athletic, gel, heat moldable, high heel, children’s and memory foam. Each treat different types of problems so just getting a basic insole is not enough. Your foot has a specific need and must have a specific type of orthotic. The best person to determine what your foot requires is your podiatrist.

If you believe you need an orthotic or have any other foot concerns, please make an appointment with us. Dr. Brandon A. Macy, who is associated with New Jersey Children's Foot Health Institute. He will assess your feet and find the appropriate treatments to get you back to being active. Call Clark Podiatry at (732) 382-3470.

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By Clark Podiatry Center
March 12, 2019
Category: Athletic Foot Care

If you’re an athlete, you know from experience that your feet are very important to your performance. Agility and coordination are crucial and making sure your feet continue delivering their best depends on how you treat them. Different activities place different stress on your feet.  Martial arts require quick repetitive movements that strike hard trauma inducing objects, whereas aerobic exercises like gymnastics demand strong cushioning and balance. Team orientated sports like football, baseball, and basketball can strain ankles and knees making stretching very important.

Some of the most common problems athletes experience include:

  • Ankle sprains. With most of a person’s weight placed on each leg, the ankle suffers if it isn’t supported and strengthened.
  • Heel issues. Constant pounding on hard surfaces can cause problems with an athlete’s heel making walking or running very difficult and painful.
  • Stress fractures. Insufficient cushioning can steadily lead to small fissures in a person’s bones.
  • Achilles tendon. The irritation and possible separating of the main tendon at the back of the foot. This is very painful and can end an athletic career.
  • Morton’s neuroma. A hardening of the skin at the ball of an athlete’s foot.

All the above problems can be treated with a little care and attention. First, making sure your feet are well rested and stretched before any performance is important. Stretching will include not just your feet, but other parts of your body as well. Slowly increasing your range of motion is your goal, as is strengthening muscles in and around your feet. Doing so will help absorb the shock and stress often associated with athletic competition keeping you ‘on your toes.’

It is not uncommon to see an athlete bob up and down as he or she pushes his muscles and tendons during a pregame stretch, however this can be very dangerous if they are not careful. Too much bouncing can pull a muscle, just the opposite of what you want. A slow, steady, yet tolerable stretch is best as it extends the muscle but does not strain it.

Stretching is a good habit to get into whether you’re an athlete or not. Doing so when you wake in the morning will get your blood flowing and allow you to start the day more physically and mentally prepared.

If you have any questions about these posts or would like to see the doctor, please make an appointment with us.  Our podiatrist, Dr. Brandon A. Macy, who is associated with New Jersey Children’s Foot Health Institute, will assess your feet and find the appropriate treatments to get you back to being active. Call Clark Podiatry at (732) 382-3470.  

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By Clark Podiatry Center
August 22, 2018
Category: Foot Pain
Tags: Bunions   Flat Feet   Hammertoes   Neuroma   Shoes   injury   orthotic   dancing  

A neuroma is a condition in which the tissue around a nerve becomes thickened.

You might have a neuroma in your foot if you:

  • feel like you want to remove a small stone that you keep stepping on, but when you take your shoes off, it’s never there.
  • feel like you have a pinched nerve in the ball of your foot.
  • have burning pain, numbness, or tingling between the third and fourth toes.

A neuroma in your foot is called Morton’s Neuroma and it’s usually caused by inflammation, irritation or injury. Repetitive motions with high pressure on the balls of the feet can cause chronic inflammation on the soft tissues near the nerve. This can include wearing shoes with high heels and/or narrow toe boxes for long periods of time. Participating in activities like dancing or sports that involve running, sprinting, or jumping are also likely culprits. Additionally, if you injure the foot by dropping something on it or stepping hard on a pointed object, it can cause a prolonged inflammation in that nerve.

Some foot deformities can also put you at higher risk of developing symptoms of Morton’s Neuroma. Hammertoes, bunions, flat feet, or very high arches can all shift your body weight so that the ball of the foot has to unevenly bear more weight. 

Once symptoms set in, it’s important to rest the foot and reduce inflammation and pain to prevent worsening and ongoing symptoms. Using orthotic inserts, applying ice, massaging the foot, and/or anti-inflammatory drugs may help you feel better. You may also consider how your shoes might be affecting the way your feet feel on a day-to-day basis. If they are too tight, your toes might need more room to relax throughout the day. If you don’t have enough arch support or cushioning, the balls of your feet might have to strain more.

If conservative at-home treatments and adjusting your shoes do not help, our podiatrist might use cortisone injections or sclerosing alcohol injections to relieve pain. At worst case scenario, the nerve may need to be surgically removed.

Don’t suffer from Morton’s Neuroma! We can help you feel better! Make an appointment today at Clark Podiatry Center. Our board-certified podiatrist, Dr. Brandon Macy will assess your feet to find the best treatments or solutions for your feet. We are located in Clark, NJ and serve patients in all the surrounding Union County towns!

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By Clark Podiatry Center
August 01, 2018
Tags: Hammertoes   Neuroma   stretching   injury  

Looking for another way to spend family time together? It might sound strange, but how about a night of foot fitness? Yep, you read that right. Specifically, we want to focus on exercising the toes. It’s not a body part you usually think about when working out, such as the biceps or abs, but strengthening the toes are just as important.

Why should we exercise the toes?

  • Stretching out the toes can help prevent certain chronic issues and toe deformities like toe cramping, hammertoes, and Morton’s neuroma.
  • Strong toes help you with balance and stability to improve performance for athletic activities.  
  • Healthy and flexible toes help prevent serious injury.

Toe exercises to do together (in the form of games):

  • Tiptoe competition: How many times can you raise your heels while your toes remain on the ground? This is a great exercise for the calves too!
  • Moving Marbles: Using just the toes, move marbles from one plate to another. Race each other or see who can do it in the quickest time. This can also be done with small towels or other small objects.
  • Big Toes Game: If you’ve played the Thumbs Game as a group icebreaker, you know that it can be a fun prediction game. At each person’s turn, everyone raises 0, 1, or 2 thumbs, as the person whose turn it is calls out a number from 0 to the number of total available thumbs (a group of 4 would have 8 thumbs). In this version, use your big toes instead of your thumbs. It’s a fun way to learn to control your toes.
  • Spelling Game: Use the toes to spell words in the air – the first person to guess what you’re trying to write wins a point!
  • You can choose your own prizes and/or consequences, but one idea is that the winners can get foot massages from the losers!

If you find that you have pain or problems in your feet while you play some of these games, come to see our foot doctor for an assessment. Make an appointment today at Clark Podiatry Center. Our board-certified podiatrist, Dr. Brandon Macy will assess your feet to find the best treatments or solutions for your feet. We are located in Clark, NJ and serve patients in all the surrounding Union County towns!

 

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Podiatrist - Clark, Dr. Brandon Macy, 1114 Raritan Road, Clark NJ, 07066 732-382-3470