 Newsletter
– Winter 2005
The
Skinny on Getting Fit in the New Year
Tailor’s Bunion – That Big
Pain in Your Little Toe
Do
Kid’s Flat Feet Need Treatment?
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The
Skinny on Getting Fit in the New Year
Did you make a New Year’s resolution this year to get in
shape and shed those extra inches?
Each
year this resolution spikes attendance at gyms, draws runners,
walkers, and bikers to the roads and trails and finds us cleaning
the dust from our home workout equipment. “No pain, no gain”
may be a motto for most workouts, but “too much too soon”
can lead to unwanted pains, such as foot and ankle injuries, thus
sabotaging your fitness goals.
One
of the most common sports injuries is a sprained ankle. If you
sprain your ankle, don’t “play through the pain.”
Proper treatment and rehabilitation of ankle sprains is crucial
to ensure adequate healing. If you avoid seeking treatment for
the injury, not only can you cause further damage to the tendons
in your ankle, which may take much longer to heal or possibly
require surgery, but you may be overlooking a more serious injury
– a stress fracture.
A
stress fracture may feel like an ankle sprain at first, but you
may notice some additional warning signs, such as swelling without
bruising and pain even during normal activities or when touching
the area. If you have any of these symptoms, have your foot and
ankle evaluated as soon as possible. Don’t walk it off!
Improper treatment – or no treatment at all – may
lead to improper healing, which could result in prolonged inactivity,
no weight bearing on the foot, or possibly require surgery.
If
you finish your workout and experience any pain or swelling around
your Achilles tendon, seek treatment right away. These could be
indications of Achilles tendonitis. If left untreated, a stretched
or strained Achilles tendon may worsen over time, leading to stiffness
and fatigue in your injured leg. Worse yet, untreated Achilles
tendonitis could result in a ruptured tendon, which would require
surgery and a lengthy rehabilitation of several months!
Another
common “overuse” injury is heel pain. If you have
heel pain that lasts for more than a day or two, or seems to worsen
when you stand after sitting for an extended amount of time, you
may have a condition known as plantar fasciitis. This common condition
is a result of an inflammation of the tissue extending from your
heel to your toes. If caught early enough, our office can examine
the condition and recommend some at-home conditioning. In late
stages, the problem is much harder to treat and takes much longer
for the pain to resolve. Fortunately, most patients with heel
pain and plantar fasciitis can be successfully treated without
surgery, although in persistent cases, surgery may be required
for complete pain relief.
If
you’ve injured your foot or ankle during a workout, don’t
ignore the pain. Schedule an appointment with our office for an
examination. Early treatment leads to a speedy recovery, avoids
further damage or subsequent injuries, and enables you to get
back on your feet to enjoy a happy, healthy lifestyle.
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Tailor’s
Bunion – That Big Pain in Your Little Toe
Is your little toe a major pain? If so, you may have a tailor’s
bunion, which is similar to a bunion on your big toe, but not
as common. Tailor’s bunion is an enlargement at the end
of the little toe’s metatarsal bone—the long bone
leading from your foot to each toe. This condition is usually
caused by an inherited faulty mechanical structure of the foot
– so if your parents had tailor’s bunions, you may
get them, too.
Tailor’s
bunion got its name centuries ago, when tailors sat cross-legged
all day with the outsides of their feet rubbing the ground, causing
a painful bump at the base of their little toe. Today, the symptoms
of tailor’s bunions are usually caused when shoes rub against
the enlarged bone, irritating the soft tissues beneath it, causing
inflammation.
If
you have a tailor’s bunion, you will notice redness, swelling
and pain at the site of the bump. We can treat it with shoe modifications,
oral medication, injection therapy, padding, or icing.
There’s
no need to live with the pain. If you have tailor’s bunion,
schedule an appointment with our office today.
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Do
Kid’s Flat Feet Need Treatment?
Young children’s feet often appear to be flat, and parents
wonder whether this should be of concern or whether they will
“grow out of it.”
Most
children with flat feet have no symptoms. However, sometimes they
may have trouble participating in physical activities and sports,
or appear to walk and run awkwardly. They may also complain of
pain or cramping in their feet, legs, or knees. Sometimes parents
say that these are just “growing pains.” But growing
should never hurt!
Any
pain or difficulty with a child’s feet should be evaluated.
There are several different types of pediatric flatfoot, and a
variety of treatments are available. Ignoring painful flatfoot
in a child can result in lasting damage that will continue to
cause problems throughout his or her life. Early diagnosis and
treatment will go a long way toward restoring the ability to fully
enjoy the activities of childhood.
This information was developed by the American College of
Foot and Ankle Surgeons.
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