Monday, June 28, 2010

This Blistering Heat

The foot is a common place for blisters, which usually stem from some kind of friction against the skin. Athletes, hikers, and those in the military know about these all too well. Blisters happen when a tear occurs between the top layers of the skin. The bottom stays intact and fluid from your capillaries fills in between the layers. The friction that causes this can come from a few places such as socks, insoles, shoes, or the ground itself. As for the feet, they tend to show up on the back of the heel, the ball of the foot, and your toes.

Your podiatrist is the specialist who will be able to properly diagnose the cause of your blister. They can be caused by tight fitting shoes, hyperhidrosis, or by a structural deformity like a bunion or hammertoe causing more friction against a shoe. There are a few ways to prevent these. Make sure your shoes are properly sized. For athletic shoes make sure there is a little slippage in the heel so the shoe isn’t rubbing too strong. Sockwear can also help prevent blisters. Make sure they are moisture-wicking as this will decrease friction too.

There are different sizes and severities of blisters but your podiatrist will examine the cause to prevent further instances. Remember that popping or tearing a blister isn’t the greatest idea as this could potentially lead to infection. For these and any other question about your feet, come by and see Dr. Grimm or Dr. Pattison.

Monday, June 21, 2010

Shin Splints

Continuing our segment on the World Cup, another common injury that soccer players suffer is shin splints. It shows up as pain on the front part of the lower leg during exercise, usually after a period of relative inactivity. Many other types of athletes get shin splints too, especially runners and sports that involve more running activities. So what causes it?

The exact injury is not quite known, but the pain appears to stem from inflammation due to injury to a tendon in the front of the outer leg. This is commonly described as an overuse injury. A sudden increase in distance or intensity of a workout can be associated with this inflammation. Other factors can cause shin splints, such as a tight Achilles tendon, weak ankle muscles, and a tendency to overpronate the foot. Some have even stated that athletes with worn-out footwear have shin splints due to the shoe’s inability to absorb the shock of the ground.

So how can your podiatrist help you with your shin splints? Usually this diagnosis can be made with a careful patient history on the details of their exercise routine. For an unclear diagnosis, a bone scan or x-ray could be implemented to separate this from a stress fracture. After your podiatrist properly narrows down the condition, they will decide the best treatment plan for the athlete. For shin splints the best medicine may be rest from the activity. This could also include switching to non-weight bearing activities until the condition is healed. Your podiatrist may also recommend ice or medication to reduce inflammation, an Ace bandage, and strengthening and stretching exercises. For this and any other sports injury, be sure to come by and see Dr. Grimm or Dr. Pattison.

Wednesday, June 16, 2010

Turf Toe

In continuing with last blog’s theme of the World Cup in South Africa, we’ll take a look at another soccer injury that podiatrists see. Turf toe is becoming increasingly common as more complexes and even high schools are installing some form of an artificial playing surface. However, this doesn’t mean that it has to be a sports-trauma injury or occur solely on turf.

Turf toe occurs when the first metatarsophalangeal joint (MTP), or the big toe, becomes hyperextended. This results in a joint capsule sprain or potential tear of the capsule and ligaments. Usually this occurs when the heel is off the ground and the front of the foot is planted. An outside force then comes along and forces that big toe to bend even further, hyperextending the joint. Patients with turf toe complain of swelling, redness, pain or misalignment of the big toe during or after a traumatic event. The best form of prevention is to make sure your footwear is activity-specific and fits correctly.

Your podiatrist can treat turf toe a number of ways depending on the severity. Initial treatment consists of rest, ice, and elevation. A shoe with a stiff sole can help reduce motion of the injured toe while walking. Physical therapy may be recommended. An orthotic device could also be used to better align the foot structure and decrease the strain on the bottom of the joint. In the case of dislocation, your podiatrist may recommend surgery to properly align the joint. And as always, for this soccer injury and all the others with it, come by and see Dr. Grimm or Dr. Pattison for all your foot and ankle needs.

Tuesday, June 8, 2010

Ankle Sprains around the World

It’s been 4 years waiting, but after all the construction, planning, and qualifying games, the 2010 World Cup is finally here. In the last week there have been a number of injuries to some of the world’s best soccer players, most notably to Jozy Altidore of the American team. He suffered a lateral ankle sprain, but is listed as day-to-day. So why are these so common, especially on the outside of the ankle?

An ankle sprain is a stretching of the ligaments that hold the ankle joint together. There are a few reasons that lateral ankle sprains are more common. The architecture of the joint itself makes this possible as well as the ligaments. There are 5 ligaments on the medial side (towards your midline) and 3 on the lateral (outer side of your body). So the outside of the ankle doesn’t have as much protection as the inner side. Your foot structure type could also make you more prone to ankle sprains.

How can your podiatrist help? Well an ankle sprain usually occurs with trauma and presents as pain when walking, with swelling, redness, or bruising. However a number of other injuries of the foot present with these symptoms as well such as tendonitis, a bone fracture, tendon rupture, capsulitis, and a few other conditions. So it’s best to see your podiatrist to properly narrow down the condition. They will want to run a few tests and x-rays to look at your foot structure and move forward with treatment. This can range from RICE (rest,ice, compression, and elevation), anti-inflammatories, crutches, orthoses to correct the underlying foot structure problem, physical therapy to help recovery, and possibly even surgery if the sprain is severe enough. If you’re hurting for the World Cup or any other reason, come by and see Dr.Grimm and Dr.Pattison of Foot Associates of Central Texas.

Tuesday, June 1, 2010

Ingrown Toenails

Summer has arrived. And your swimsuit isn’t the only thing seeing the light of day more. Those toenails are coming outside more too. However podiatrists see your toenails come year-round, usually as an ingrown toenail. This painful condition occurs when the edge of a nail grows down and into the skin of the toe, or when the skin enlarges and the folds cut into the nail. This usually presents with pain, redness, and swelling around the nail.

You can suspect you have an ingrown toenail if you start having pain along the side of a toenail and it becomes extremely painful to the touch. Infections can also form here and show up with pus if the nail pokes through the skin. While part of this can be genetic in cause, how you cut your nail can also affect it. Be sure to cut straight across or gently curved if you allow your nail to stay longer. Also avoid improperly fitting footwear.

If you suspect you have an ingrown toenail you should come see Dr.Grimm or Dr.Pattison. They may start with an antibiotic and soaking the foot to prevent an infection from occurring. To correct the nail, a podiatrist can trim the nail border in hopes of the nail growing back straight. Ingrown toenails do have a high probability of coming back, in which case your podiatrist may recommend the nail border of the whole nail be removed. This surgery is very common and can be performed with a local numbing anesthetic in your podiatrist’s office. And as usual, for this or any other foot problems, come by and see Dr.Grimm or Dr.Pattison at Foot Associates of Central Texas.