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Foot Notes

Posts for tag: calluses

By Clark Podiatry Center
June 11, 2019
Category: warts

Sometimes foot problems can be misidentified causing the wrong treatment to be applied. Plantar warts are one such issue. Often taken for corns or calluses, a plantar wart is a small growth that appears on the heel or other weight-bearing surfaces of your feet.  Plantar warts are caused by the HPV virus or human papillomavirus that enters through cracks in your feet.

Signs of a plantar wart include:

  • Small fleshy growth – occurs on the bottom of your feet
  • Black pinpoints – actually small blood vessels
  • Pain – tenderness in the ball of your foot or another weight-bearing areas
  • Hardened area of the skin – may indicate where the wart has grown inward in your foot

Risk Factors for a plantar wart include:

  • Children and teenagers
  • People that walk barefoot in public places like locker rooms or pools
  • Men and women with weakened immune systems
  • If you’ve had a plantar wart before

Ways to avoid developing a plantar wart include:

  • Wearing sandals in locker rooms or pools
  • Avoid touching a wart, if you do, wash your hands thoroughly
  • Keep your feet clean and dry
  • Alternate shoes and socks

Plantar warts can go away on their own but can take quite a while. You may want to treat the wart yourself or see your podiatrist.

Treating a plantar wart includes:

  • Using an over the counter medicine
  • Salicylic acid – applied by your podiatrist, it will help peel away the wart
  • Cryotherapy – Your podiatrist will freeze it off
  • Surgery – Cutting the wart by an electric needle. Requires a pain medicine
  • Immune therapy – Strengthening your immune system to fight the plantar wart itself
  • Laser therapy – treating the wart with a laser. Must repeated several times to be effective

If you believe you have a plantar wart or any other foot concerns, please make an appointment with 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
May 08, 2019
Category: Foot Pain

When it comes to having healthy feet, besides regularly seeing your podiatrist, you may want to take a few minutes to give them a good massage. This would be especially rewarding after a long day at work or athletic activity. You don’t have to be a professional masseuse to make your feet feel better. This you can do on your own and in your home.

You can break foot massages down into two categories:

  • Wet Massage – massaging your feet after you’ve soaked your feet in a combination of warm water and Epsom salt for about 20 minutes.
  • Dry Massage – Massaging your feet without soaking in warm water.

While you can massage your feet without a good soak, soaking will loosen up the muscles and help alleviate any pain you may be suffering. Make sure you dry your feet well before massaging though.

How to Give a good foot massage:

  • Start by rubbing the soles of your feet.
  • Focus on anything that feels tight or feels good when you rub.
  • Rub from your heel to the ball of the foot.
  • Stretch out your toes and ankles but wiggling them back and forth.
  • Rub the tops, sides and bottom of your toes to get the blood flowing.
  • Squeeze your heel and top side of your foot. Work to loosen the muscle and improve blood flow.
  • Also remember to rub the muscles in your arch.  
  • Focus on the bones of the foot by rubbing between them with a firm circular motion.
  • Repeat the above for any areas that felt especially good.

This is also a good time for a ‘foot checkup’ checking for corns, calluses, bunions, areas of soreness, trimming of nails or other concerns etc.  When finished, feel free to rub in skin lotion or powdered corn silk.

If you have foot concerns or just want to ask questions about your feet, please make an appointment with us. 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
April 09, 2019

It probably won’t be a surprise to you that much of a child’s foot health is inherited. High or no arches, tendencies to walk bow legged or the development of calluses are just some of what a child can expect if their parents suffered from the same. One common malady, however, is something called Severs Disease. Also known as Calcaneal apophysitis, Severs Disease is the inflammation of the growth plate in the heel of growing and active children. Severs disease causes pain and a slight swelling around the heel making it difficult to walk or run.

Treating Severs disease includes the following:

  • Reduce activities – Have your child immediately refrain from any activity that causes heel pain.
  • Ice – apply ice to the heel for 20 minutes 3 times a day.
  • Orthotics – children with high arches, no arch, or bowlegs an orthotic may be needed to alleviate the stress on the heel. See your podiatrist for this.
  • Short leg casts – in more dramatic cases children may need to have a short leg cast to temporarily rest the Achilles heel.
  • Shoes – wearing more elevated and cushioning shoes.
  • Stretching – stretching the Achilles tendon can loosen the affected area.
  • Pain meds – using non-steroidal anti-inflammatory pain medications like ibuprofen and naproxen can help. Male sure to only use as directed and see your podiatrist if you have any questions.

As long as the treatment works, your child can go back to their active self. It is not uncommon, though, for the malady to return unless long term care such as the above is taken. Some of the sports which would be prone to this are running, basketball, tennis and gymnastics, but any activity that requires pounding their feet on a hard surface can induce Severs.

If you or your child has heel pain or 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, 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 20, 2019
Category: skin conditions

A Dry foot is a common ailment for many people. Besides looking unhealthy, having dry feet could lead to other more serious conditions, so keeping an eye on the health of your feet is important. Some of the causes of dry feet include:

  • Athlete’s foot – a skin disease caused by a fungus which usually occurs between the toes
  • Eczema - also called dermatitis. Most types cause dry, itchy skin and rashes on the feet
  • Psoriasis – inflammatory skin disease that causes flaking
  • Thyroid disease – over or underactive thyroid can cause an unhealthy thickening of the skin
  • Diabetes – (Associated with feet) loss of feeling due to high levels of sugar in the body

If you have dry feet, try soaking your feet in warm water for 10 to 20 minutes. This will loosen the skin and make it easier to remove. You can also soak pumice stone in warm water and gently rub the foot in a circular motion which will slowly take off the dry skin. Follow this up with a good skin oil or lotion which includes Coconut and olive oil. Make sure you inspect your feet after showers or baths. This is an especially good time to use the pumice stone as your feet will have just come out of the water.

Curing and Preventing Dry Feet

Some of the ways dry skin can be prevented include:

  • Wearing soft, cushiony socks
  • Use wide and comfortable shoes with low heels
  • Use soft insoles that allow the feet to breathe
  • Soak any corns or callouses in warm water
  • Regularly use pumice stones
  • Frequently apply oil or lotion

If you believe you have dry skin or 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, 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
February 13, 2019
Category: Shoes
Tags: blisters   calluses   ingrown toenails   overpronation   Running   injury   fit  

Gearing up to participate in a running event is no simple task. If you want to do your best, you’ll want to start training months in advance, especially if you are running a long race. Additionally, you’ll want the best gear to support you and keep you safe from injury.

What gear could we mean? Your running shoes, of course! To keep your feet supported and as comfortable as possible during your training and the actual race, look for the following features when choosing your running shoes:

  • Shoes designed for running – While cross-trainers and other athletic shoes could work, running shoes are designed with running in mind.
  • Fit – Make sure that the shoes fit the feet well. They shouldn’t be too big or too small as that can also cause problems.
  • Lots of cushion – The repetitive impact you encounter while running can impact your feet, ankles, knees, and hips. This can cause pain while you run, which can limit your performance.
  • Arch and heel support – The arches will be working hard to keep your entire foot engaged. If the arches become tired, they may flatten out, which can cause you pain toward the end of your race and for days after. Additionally, the heels need to be planted in heel cups so that they don’t slide about in the shoes, causing instability.
  • Firm heel counter – A firm heel counter will increase support in the shoes. It will help prevent overpronation (straining the arches) and keep the feet stabilized in the shoes.
  • Good outer sole grip – You’ll most likely be running outdoors during these events, so you’ll want shoes that have a good grip on the outer soles. At any point, if there are slippery or slick surfaces, it can create instability for your feet while you run if you don’t have good or enough tread.
  • Breathable material that supports and flexes at appropriate points – When you check the shoes and take it for a test run, make sure that your feet are not overheating. This is a sign that your shoes are not breathable and can cause you to excessively sweat. That will make perfect conditions to cause foot issues like foot odor, blisters, and calluses.

As you prepare, make sure you keep good hygiene, trim your toenails properly (to prevent ingrown toenails), and stretch your feet and ankles before and after each run. If you experience an injury, it’s important to rest and recover, rather than continuing to train on it.

If you experience foot pain while you are training, see our board-certified podiatrist, Dr. Brandon Macy at Clark Podiatry Center. He can assess your feet and find the best treatment for any concern you may have. Make an appointment at our Clark, NJ office so we can keep you walking (or running!).

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