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Foot Notes

Posts for tag: injury

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 15, 2018
Category: Foot Conditions

Also known as Adult-Acquired Flat Foot or Tibialis Posterior Tendonitis, this condition results in a flattened arch in the foot. Those affected might experience symptoms such as pain along the inside of the ankle and foot, as well as a foot deformity with a shifted heel bone. Left untreated, it can cause chronic pain and severe deformity, making it hard to find shoes that fit comfortably.

What causes it?

  • Posterior Tibial Tendon Dysfunction (PTTD) – This is one of the most common causes of painful progressive flat foot. When there is inflammation of the posterior tibial tendon, or if it is damaged or torn, it can no longer properly hold up the arches of the feet.
  • Health issues – Obesity (excess weight that the feet have to bear), Diabetes (reduced sensation can lead to weakened foot structures and eventually lead to Charcot Foot), and Hypertension (reduced blood supply to the tendon).
  • Arthritis: When joints and bones are affected by arthritis, they can become weakened and allow for a collapsed arch.
  • Injury: Blunt trauma can cause the issues that lead to a fallen arch, including inflamed or torn tendon, or structural deformity in the feet.
  • Flat foot since childhood – Some folks are born with flat feet, and they may not always cause problems until later in life when the arch collapses.

What can be done to treat it?

  • Orthotics, including custom supportive inserts, specially made shoes, immobilizing casts, or supportive braces. These assistive devices can help to correct your gait and posture. They can prevent your feet from rolling inward from having flat feet, as well as relieve pressure on the arches as you walk and stand.  
  • Physical therapy can be helpful to strengthen the soft tissue in the feet to correct gait.
  • Icing and NSAIDs can help relieve pain, swelling, and inflammation.
  • Treat health conditions like obesity (weight loss), diabetes, hypertension, and arthritis.
  • In rare cases, surgery might be an option to treat any posterior tibial tendon issues, or if there are any structural bone issues.

If you suspect that your arches have fallen and if you have pain along the inside of your feet or ankles, 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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By Clark Podiatry Center
May 02, 2018
Category: Foot Pain

Did you know that you have 2 small pea-sized bones near your big toe joint that are not connected to any other bones? Don’t worry; it’s not as weird as it sounds. They are not just floating around in your feet, but rather, connected to the tendons. Yes, every time you move your big toe up and down and take a step, your tendons are sliding along the sesamoids, kind of like a pulley.

So why are they to blame for foot pain?

In the same way that your Achilles tendon in your ankle can become irritated and inflamed, the tendon in your feet can also experience tendonitis, called sesamoiditis. Either the tendons are overused and become irritated as they repeatedly pass over the sesamoids, or they have endured an injury to the tendon or bones, causing inflammation.

Ballet dancers, sprinters, golfers, and baseball players commonly experience this injury because of the position their feet are often in. A lot of weight and pressure goes onto the big toe joint, making it more vulnerable to overuse injury.

If your foot pain looks like this:

  • Swelling and possibly bruising under the big toe joint,
  • Big toe joint pain when moving the big toe,
  • Inability to bear weight on the front of the foot, then you might be able to blame Sesamoiditis for your foot pain.

How can you get relief from Sesamoiditis?

  • RICE method (not just for children!)
  • NSAIDs (non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs), like ibuprofen and naproxen
  • Tape the foot or use a brace to keep the toe bent downward to reduce tension on the affected tendon
  • Steroid injection near the site of pain

Remember, since sesamoids are also bones, they could become fractured in an injury (or stress fractured due to overuse). If the pain is very severe and does not subside, get medical attention from our podiatrist ASAP.  Come see our board-certified podiatrist, Dr. Brandon Macy for an assessment. Make an appointment today to have your sesamoids treated with care. We are located in Clark, NJ and serve patients in all of Union County! We keep you walking!

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By Clark Podiatry Center
January 03, 2018
Category: Foot Care
Tags: Frostbite   stretching   injury  

It’s the season of snow! Snow-covered streets and lawns can be such a wonderful sight to see on a serene weekend morning. But when it’s on a workday, it can be a stressful discovery. Not only do you have to do all your morning routines, now you have to add shoveling the driveway and walkways to the list of things to take care of.

Just like with our raking safety blog post, there are important tips for staying safe while shoveling:

The Right Gear

Gloves, socks, and warm clothing are a must. If possible, you’ll want to wear waterproof gloves to prevent icy fingers. If it’s still snowing, a hat or a hooded jacket will not only keep your head warm but will regulate your core body temperature.

Proper footwear is essential.  Boots with warm insulation well help prevent your feet from freezing and maybe even frostbite! Don’t forget those wool socks.  They will keep your feet toasty as well as wick away sweat from your feet.

Make sure you boots have the following:

  • Good traction on the bottom
  • A snug fit around the ankles or calves
  • Warming features like fur-lining or good insulation

Warm Up and Posture Up

Yes, it will be cold, so not only should you warm up your body to prevent from getting cold, you should warm up so that your muscles do not get injured if you strain while you shovel.

Warming up tips:

This can help prevent strained ankles and feet, as well as your back. In addition, to prevent back pain, use the following posture tips:

  • Bend at the knees, not at the back. Many people end up pulling their back muscles while lifting or pushing large amounts of snow.
  • Keep the feet wide apart to give you balance and stability. The surface of your driveway may not be smooth and may have ice built up under the snow layer, so it’s important not to slip – risking hip, knee, ankle, or foot injury.
  • Turn your feet in the direction of where you are throwing or pushing the snow, also to prevent strain on the back and ankles and prevent slipping.

Do you have an injury from shoveling? Maybe your snow boots need some more support. Our board-certified podiatrist, Dr. Brandon Macy can assess your feet and give them the treatment or orthotic support they need. Come see him at Clark Podiatry Center. Make an appointment to see us today at our Clark, NJ office.

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