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Clark, NJ 07066

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Foot Notes

Posts for tag: sprains

By Clark Podiatry Center
October 26, 2018
Category: Foot safety
Tags: Shoes   sprains   children   broken  

Batman, Iron Man, Spiderman, Wonder Woman!

A Mummy, a Witch, the Grim Reaper!

A Butterfly, Lion, T-Rex!

For children, Halloween is probably one of their favorite times of the year. It’s hard for them to contain the excitement of picking out costumes, choosing a treat basket, and seeing how much candy they can collect. They’ll compare with siblings or friends as to who got more candy or who got the better treats. Some will be able to take their time with eating the candy while others will have a tummy ache from eating it all, this very night.

We’ll leave it up to you, how you’ll monitor their candy intake, but we do want to encourage you to take some precautions about their safety before they scamper around the town.

To protect against foot injuries while they haunt (or brighten!) the neighborhood, keep the following in mind:

  • Your child should wear shoes that are: supportive and comfortable. If they are difficult or painful to walk in, they will not have a fun time! They should also fit well so that your children don’t have cramping pain at the end of the night.
  • If your child has clown shoes or animal paws covering their feet, have them practice walking around. The bulkiness can cause them to trip up on lawn decorations, piles of fallen leaves and branches, and the sidewalk curb. It can cause strains, sprains, or even a broken bone as your child runs around.
  • Go into the light. Stay on brightly lit paths and areas with bright street lamps to prevent unseen dangers. Additionally, you never know if a child might run out into the street when a car is passing by!
  • Be sure they layer up! Wear socks with shoes since the weather has been getting colder. Frostbite is probably not a major threat, but if feet get wet in the cold, they will be painful when they “defrost”.

Does your child already have an injury, prior to Halloween? Get creative and incorporate a brace, crutch, knee walker, or wheelchair into being part of the costume, Maybe as Robocop or a racecar driver in a race car! Doable with some innovative power, cardboard, and paint!

If you are worried about how your child’s costume may have caused him or her pain, make an appointment today at New Jersey Children's Foot Health Institute at Clark Podiatry Center. Our board-certified podiatrist, Dr. Brandon Macy will assess your child’s feet to find the best treatments or solutions for growing 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
October 24, 2018
Tags: Shoes   sprains   children   fungal   broken  

Most children love the prospect of going to the playground. They will even be on their best behavior when promised a reward of time at the park. Because playgrounds are mostly designed for children, we tend not to think twice before letting them loose once inside the playground gates.

However, the unfortunate truth is that playgrounds can be dangerous for children. Factors such as surface, structural integrity, maintenance, and safe play can determine whether or not children leave a playground with an injury. 

To protect against injuries, especially foot injuries, keep the following in mind:

  • Be sure that your child wears shoes that are: supportive, sturdy, comfortable, and fit properly. These features will help your child stay stable and protected as they play on the different surfaces at a playground. While some surfaces are chosen to reduce impact for falls, they can also make for slightly unstable surfaces that can cause ankle twists and sprains as your children run around.
  • Your child’s feet will be at risk of splinters, cuts, bruises, and bacterial or fungal infections if you allow them to go barefoot at a playground.
  • Don’t ride with your children down the slide. This may be something you have always done, but a common injury involves your child’s foot getting wedged in between the slide and your leg. The foot can become severely twisted/sprained or even broken!

Unsafe Playground Equipment/Areas – Be sure that our child is supervised and that they know which areas are safe for play. In particular, be wary of:

  • Aging structures – if not properly maintained, playground structures can be wobbly or degraded. Fraying ropes can snap or become loose, bridges might collapse, and hanging rings might fall. Be sure to check structural integrity before allowing your children on an old playground.
  • Climbing structures – one wrong step can lead to a fall with as much of a drop as 5 feet!
  • Merry go rounds – as children try to get on while it’s spinning, they can become injured; on the other hand, they can suffer an injury if it spins too quickly and they are thrown off.
  • Swings – Not only can a child be injured from a moving swing (with a person on it or not), they can be injured while jumping off as well. It may be a fun challenge, but an incorrect landing can mean a sprain or broken ankle.

It’s not to say that you should be afraid of the playground. Rather, be smart and safe with your children. Make sure they are supervised and able to enjoy the appropriate parts of the playground.

If your child has suffered an injury while at the playground, make an appointment today at New Jersey Children's Foot Health Institute at Clark Podiatry Center. Our board-certified podiatrist, Dr. Brandon Macy will assess your children’s feet to find the best treatments or solutions for growing 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, 2017
Tags: sprains   stretch   weak ankles  

Some people naturally have weak ankles, which makes them more prone to getting an injury. From strains and sprains to broken bones, an ankle injury can be immobilizing, and worse, it can be recurring. An injured ankle tends to get re-injured more easily.

The best way to care for and prevent ankle problems is to be proactive. Strengthen your ankles and condition them to be flexible and resilient. Listed below are some exercises you can do to strengthen your ankles – whether they are weak or not! (Remember to stretch before you workout)

  • Flexing and Pointing the toes: You can do this while you’re watching TV! While sitting, raise your feet off the ground and flex and hold, then point and hold your feet. Try holding for at least 3-5 seconds for each rep, and do at least 10 reps.  
    +1: Use an elastic exercise band to increase resistance during your points.
  • Floating Foot Circles: This is also something you can do while watching TV! Lift your feet from the ground and make circles with them, rotating at the ankle joint. Go slow and steady, feeling the struggle and stretch.
  • Circle Sways: Standing with your feet together, try to lean forward, side, back, and other side, making a circle. It should take your feet, ankles, knees, and quadriceps muscles to balance you.
  • One-legged squats: This is not easy, so try holding a pole or ballet barre. Bend one leg and to allow you to squat with one leg, as low as you can without falling over. Do about 10 reps and repeat with the other leg.
  • Heel-Toe Walking: Try walking across the room on your tiptoes. Then walk back while balancing on your heels only.
    +1: Try standing with feet hip distance apart. Rock your feet so that you go from tip to standing on heels, while maintaining balance and steadiness in the rest of your body.

Worried about unstable, weak ankles? Do you twist or sprain your ankles often? Come see our board-certified podiatrist, Dr. Brandon Macy. Make an appointment today at The New Jersey Children's Foot Heath Institute at Clark Podiatry Center to have your feet assessed and treated with care. We are located in Clark, NJ and serve patients in all the surrounding Union County towns! We keep you walking!

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By Clark Podiatry Center
April 05, 2016

Although young and resilient, children and teens are not immune to sports-related injuries.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports that more than 2.6 million teens and children are treated each year in U.S. emergency rooms for injuries suffered while participating in sports activities.

Without taking the proper precautions, your child may be one of those harmed in one of these sports-related injuries:

  • Overuse injuries occur when muscles, bones, ligaments and tendons are subjected to repeated stress without healing time. Overuse or repetitive motion injuries can include stress fractures, tendonitis or plantar fasciitis, inflammation of the plantar fascia, which often results from jumping or running on inflexible surfaces.
  • Strains and sprains are very common sports-related injuries. A strain is an injured muscle or tendon, while an ankle sprain occurs at the joint where the ligament attaches.
  • When youth are still growing, they may experience growth plate injuries. The growth plate is a tissue area that appears at the end of longer bones such as the forearm, lower and upper leg, foot and hand and finger bones. Symptoms of growth plate injuries are similar to broken bones. A growth plate injury must be evaluated and treated by a foot doctor or orthopedic surgeon.
  • Heat-related illnesses like dehydration, heat exhaustion and heat stroke can be very serious, especially for the young.

Use Common Sense to Prevent Sports-Related Injuries

Many injuries can be prevented with careful preparation as well as parental involvement:

  • Meet all coaches and check that they are qualified in the sport, know how to use all equipment and have both CPR and first aid training.
  • Monitor your child's workouts and games to safeguard that they are not being stretched too far.
  • Always outfit your child in properly-fitting footwear that is not worn out and is appropriate to each activity. Invest in good protective gear.
  • Make sure there is plenty of water available before, during and after sports sessions to stay hydrated.
  • Your child should gradually build up endurance in the sport. Check for adequate warm up and cool down periods with safe, gentle stretching.

If your child or teen complains of any discomfort or pain, don't ignore it. Continued athletic activity can increase stress on an injury and make it worse. Contact Clark Podiatry Center for an appointment right away to have the pain evaluated and treated.

Many injuries can be treated at home with the R.I.C.E. method: Rest, Icing, use Compression and Elevate the leg. However, if your child has severe pain or if the foot or ankle is obviously broken, significantly swollen or appears dislocated, please go to an emergency room or come to our office right away.

Learn more in our blog Choose Children's Athletic Shoes Carefully.

We Treat All Types of Youth Foot and Ankle Injuries

Dr. Brandon Macy, board certified podiatrist has extensive experience with teen and children foot and ankle injuries. You can reach us for an appointment in our Clark office at 732-382-3470 or use the contact information at the website. Please call us soon if you suspect a foot or ankle injury.

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