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Common Foot Problems and Effective Prevention Strategies: Keep Your Feet Healthy and Active

Healthy Feet: Preventing Common Foot Problems

Healthy Feet: Preventing Common Foot Problems

 

 

 

 

WeTreatFeet Podiatry for All your Foot and Ankle Needs

Your feet are the foundation of your body, carrying you through countless steps each day. However, various foot problems can hinder your mobility and overall well-being. In this blog post, we will explore common foot problems and provide effective prevention strategies to keep your feet healthy and active.  Click the condition for more information!

  1. Plantar Fasciitis: Plantar fasciitis is a painful condition caused by inflammation of the plantar fascia, a thick band of tissue that runs along the bottom of your foot. To prevent plantar fasciitis, wear supportive shoes, avoid excessive high-impact activities, maintain a healthy weight, and stretch your calf and foot muscles regularly.
  2. Bunions: Bunions are bony bumps that develop at the base of the big toe, causing discomfort and deformity. To prevent bunions, choose footwear with a wide toe box, avoid high heels and pointy shoes, maintain a healthy weight, and consider using orthotic inserts for added support and alignment.
  3. Ingrown Toenails: Ingrown toenails occur when the edges of the nails grow into the surrounding skin, causing pain and potential infection. To prevent ingrown toenails, trim your nails straight across, avoid rounding the corners, wear properly fitting shoes, and maintain good foot hygiene.
  4. Athlete’s Foot: Athlete’s foot is a fungal infection that commonly affects the skin between the toes, causing itching, redness, and peeling. To prevent athlete’s foot, keep your feet clean and dry, wear moisture-wicking socks and breathable shoes, avoid sharing towels or footwear, and use antifungal powders or sprays as needed.
  5. Corns and Calluses: Corns and calluses are thickened areas of skin that develop due to friction or pressure. To prevent corns and calluses, wear well-fitting shoes with cushioning, use protective pads or inserts to reduce pressure, regularly moisturize your feet, and gently exfoliate to keep the skin smooth.
  6. Achilles Tendonitis: Achilles tendonitis is an overuse injury that causes pain and inflammation in the Achilles tendon at the back of the ankle. To prevent Achilles tendonitis, gradually increase your exercise intensity, stretch your calf muscles before and after activities, wear supportive footwear, and incorporate cross-training and rest days into your routine.
  7. Heel Spurs: Heel spurs are bony growths that form on the heel bone and can cause heel pain. To prevent heel spurs, maintain a healthy weight, wear shoes with good arch support and cushioning, avoid excessive standing or walking on hard surfaces, and use ice or stretching exercises to relieve heel discomfort.

Conclusion: Don’t let foot problems slow you down! By implementing these effective prevention strategies, you can keep your feet healthy and active. Remember to choose proper footwear, maintain good foot hygiene, stretch regularly, and listen to your body. If you experience persistent foot issues, consult a healthcare professional for personalized advice. Take care of your feet, and they will support you every step of the way!  We are here for you Maryland and Pennsylvania, call us at 410-363-4343 for an appointment

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WeTreatFeet Plantar Fasciitis Prevention Tips!

Plantar Fasciitis (Heel Pain) Prevention: Tips to Keep Your Feet Healthy

Plantar fasciitis is a common condition that affects millions of people worldwide. It is characterized by pain and inflammation in the heel or arch of the foot, caused by damage to the plantar fascia, a thick band of tissue that runs along the bottom of the foot. While the condition can be painful and debilitating, there are steps you can take to prevent plantar fasciitis from occurring in the first place. In this article, we will discuss some tips to keep your feet healthy and prevent plantar fasciitis.

Plantar Heel Pain

Wear Proper Footwear to prevent heel pain

Wearing proper footwear is one of the most important steps you can take to prevent plantar fasciitis. Make sure your shoes provide adequate support to your feet and have enough cushioning to absorb shock. Avoid wearing high heels or shoes with flat soles, as they can put extra stress on your feet and lead to plantar fasciitis. Instead, opt for shoes that have a low to moderate heel and a supportive arch.

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Stretch Your Feet Regularly

Stretching is an essential part of keeping your feet healthy and preventing plantar fasciitis. Make sure you stretch your feet regularly, especially before and after exercise. Simple exercises like toe curls and ankle rotations can help keep your feet flexible and reduce the risk of injury.

Maintain a Healthy Weight

Excess weight can put extra stress on your feet and increase the risk of developing plantar fasciitis. Maintaining a healthy weight through a balanced diet and regular exercise can help reduce the risk of foot injuries and keep your feet healthy.

Avoid Walking Barefoot

Walking barefoot can put extra stress on your feet and increase the risk of developing plantar fasciitis. Make sure you wear shoes or sandals with adequate support, especially when walking on hard surfaces like concrete or tile floors.

Use Custom Orthotics

Custom orthotics are special shoe inserts that are designed to provide extra support and cushioning to your feet. They can help reduce the risk of injury and alleviate pain caused by plantar fasciitis. If you are prone to foot injuries or have flat feet, consider using custom orthotics to provide extra support to your feet.

Take Breaks From Standing

Standing for long periods can put extra stress on your feet and increase the risk of developing plantar fasciitis. Make sure you take breaks from standing and walking, especially if you have a job that requires you to be on your feet for long periods.

Conclusion

Plantar fasciitis can be a painful and debilitating condition, but there are steps you can take to prevent it from occurring in the first place. By wearing proper footwear, stretching regularly, maintaining a healthy weight, avoiding walking barefoot, using custom orthotics, and taking breaks from standing, you can keep your feet healthy and reduce the risk of developing plantar fasciitis. If you experience foot pain or discomfort, consult a doctor or podiatrist for further advice and treatment.

We Treat Feet Podiatry with 11 offices in Maryland and Pennsylvania offers comprehensive foot and ankle care for patients of all ages. With a focus on prevention, early intervention, and personalized treatment plans, our talented physicians bring the latest and best possible treatment options for our patients.  Call today or click here for an appointment

heel pain

Why does my heel hurt?

It will happen to you.  If you ask, it has happened to your friends, neighbors, coworkers.  It’s pain in your heel.  First thing in the morning, you get up, and once your foot hits the floor, you want to fall down and cry.  It is very common, occurs to everyone, and won’t go away by itself.

It is heel pain, or plantar fasciitis.  That morning pain in the heel that makes you hop to the bathroom.  It makes you afraid to get out of the car when you get to work.  It makes you afraid to exercise.  And it hurts!

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Foot Injury Focus: Heel Pain

The heel bone is the largest of the 26 bones in the human foot, which also has 33 joints and a network of more than 100 tendons, muscles, and ligaments. Like all bones, it is subject to outside influences that can affect its integrity and its ability to keep us on our feet. Heel pain, sometimes disabling, can occur in the front, back, or bottom of the heel.

Causes
Heel pain has many causes. Heel pain is generally the result of faulty biomechanics (walking gait abnormalities) that place too much stress on the heel bone and the soft tissues that attach to it. The stress may also result from injury, or a bruise incurred while walking, running, or jumping on hard surfaces; wearing poorly constructed footwear (such as flimsy flip-flops); or being overweight.

Common causes of heel pain include:
Heel Spurs: A bony growth on the underside of the heel bone. The spur, visible by X-ray, appears as a protrusion that can extend forward as much as half an inch. When there is no indication of bone enlargement, the condition is sometimes referred to as “heel spur syndrome.” Heel spurs result from strain on the muscles and ligaments of the foot, by stretching of the long band of tissue that connects the heel and the ball of the foot, and by repeated tearing away of the lining or membrane that covers the heel bone. These conditions may result from biomechanical imbalance, running or jogging, improperly fitted or excessively worn shoes, or obesity.
Plantar Fasciitis: Both heel pain and heel spurs are frequently associated with plantar fasciitis, an inflammation of the band of fibrous connective tissue (fascia) running along the bottom (plantar surface) of the foot, from the heel to the ball of the foot. It is common among athletes who run and jump a lot, and it can be quite painful.

The condition occurs when the plantar fascia is strained over time beyond its normal extension, causing the soft tissue fibers of the fascia to tear or stretch at points along its length; this leads to inflammation, pain, and possibly the growth of a bone spur where the plantar fascia attaches to the heel bone. The inflammation may be aggravated by shoes that lack appropriate support, especially in the arch area, and by the chronic irritation that sometimes accompanies an athletic lifestyle.

Resting provides only temporary relief. When you resume walking, particularly after a night’s sleep, you may experience a sudden elongation of the fascia band, which stretches and pulls on the heel. As you walk, the heel pain may lessen or even disappear, but that may be just a false sense of relief. The pain often returns after prolonged rest or extensive walking.

Excessive Pronation: Heel pain sometimes results from excessive pronation. Pronation is the normal flexible motion and flattening of the arch of the foot that allows it to adapt to ground surfaces and absorb shock in the normal walking pattern.

As you walk, the heel contacts the ground first; the weight shifts first to the outside of the foot, then moves toward the big toe. The arch rises, the foot generally rolls upward and outward, becoming rigid and stable in order to lift the body and move it forward. Excessive pronation—excessive inward motion—can create an abnormal amount of stretching and pulling on the ligaments and tendons attaching to the bottom back of the heel bone. Excessive pronation may also contribute to injury to the hip, knee, and lower back.

Achilles Tendinitis: Pain at the back of the heel is associated with Achilles tendinitis, which is inflammation of the Achilles tendon as it runs behind the ankle and inserts on the back surface of the heel bone. It is common among people who run and walk a lot and have tight tendons. The condition occurs when the tendon is strained over time, causing the fibers to tear or stretch along its length, or at its insertion on to the heel bone. This leads to inflammation, pain, and the possible growth of a bone spur on the back of the heel bone. The inflammation is aggravated by the chronic irritation that sometimes accompanies an active lifestyle and certain activities that strain an already tight tendon.

Other possible causes of heel pain include:
rheumatoid arthritis and other forms of arthritis, including gout, which usually manifests itself in the big toe joint; an inflamed bursa (bursitis), a small, irritated sac of fluid; a neuroma (a nerve growth); or other soft-tissue growth. Such heel pain may be associated with a heel spur or may mimic the pain of a heel spur;
Haglund’s deformity (“pump bump”), a bone enlargement at the back of the heel bone in the area where the Achilles tendon attaches to the bone. This sometimes painful deformity generally is the result of bursitis caused by pressure against the shoe and can be aggravated by the height or stitching of a heel counter of a particular shoe; a bone bruise or contusion, which is an inflammation of the tissues that cover the heel bone. A bone bruise is a sharply painful injury caused by the direct impact of a hard object or surface on the foot.

When to Visit a Podiatrist
If pain and other symptoms of inflammation—redness, swelling, heat—persist, limit normal daily activities and contact a doctor of podiatric medicine.

Diagnosis and Treatment
The podiatric physician will examine the area and may perform diagnostic X-rays to rule out problems of the bone.

Early treatment might involve oral or injectable anti-inflammatory medication, exercise and shoe recommendations, taping or strapping, or use of shoe inserts or orthotic devices. Taping or strapping supports the foot, placing stressed muscles and tendons in a physiologically restful state. Physical therapy may be used in conjunction with such treatments.

A functional orthotic device may be prescribed for correcting biomechanical imbalance, controlling excessive pronation, and supporting the ligaments and tendons attaching to the heel bone. It will effectively treat the majority of heel and arch pain without the need for surgery.

Only a relatively few cases of heel pain require more advanced treatments or surgery. If surgery is necessary, it may involve the release of the plantar fascia, removal of a spur, removal of a bursa, or removal of a neuroma or other soft-tissue growth.

Prevention

A variety of steps can be taken to avoid heel pain and accompanying afflictions:
-Wear shoes that fit well—front, back, and sides—and have shock-absorbent soles, rigid shanks, and supportive heel counters
-Wear the proper shoes for each activity
-Do not wear shoes with excessive wear on heels or soles
-Prepare properly before exercising. Warm up and do stretching exercises before and after running.
-Pace yourself when you participate in athletic activities
-Don’t underestimate your body’s need for rest and good nutrition
-If obese, lose weight