Category: News

Posted on

Using the toe straighteners to correct the toes

There are various items and gizmos which have been intended to assist with correcting the toes and also fixing their positioning if you have a problem. Toe straighteners are one such device which you can use to manage foot and toe related problems, especially those regarding positioning and deformities. Toe straighteners are items that will be normally produced from a soft flexible material such as silicone gel. Some are manufactured from a firmer plastic-type material and while you will get a lot more adjustment using them, there is a greater risk for being uncomfortable when compared to silicone gel devices. They are designed to be placed between the toes to assist fix or prevent several foot conditions. They might be used for bunions of the big toe or hallux. Toe straighteners may help straighten the big toe and stop it from angling inward, reducing the strain and discomfort attributable to bunions. They can be used in hammer toes in which they might help straighten up and spread out the toes, stopping them from curling or overlapping, that is frequent in hammer toe conditions. For overlapping toes, the toe straighteners can also be used to manage instances when the toes overlap one another, creating pain and probable skin irritability. With regard to crooked or out of alignment toes, they might be helpful in straightening and aligning toes that have developed a crooked situation as a result of a variety of reasons.

They likewise have a purpose in promoting more effective foot mechanics and prevent and address foot problems that might be associated with or a result of toe misalignment. Some of the disorders range from heel spurs and general foot discomfort that will be aggravated by incorrect toe posture. These toe straighteners achieve good toe spacing and positioning which can help improve the foot’s function, balance, stableness, and all round foot health resulting in the improvement of a number of disorders. It has even recently been advocated that using these toe straighteners could very well reduce foot conditions and promote improved alignment through the body. Toe straighteners are often utilized as non-invasive, traditional treatments for quite a few foot conditions, however, it is important to talk to a medical practitioner ahead of using any device, because individual circumstances can vary, and wrong use might exacerbate some issues.

Posted on

What can cause pain in the ball of the foot?

Pain in the ball of the foot, also known as metatarsalgia, can have various causes. Here are some common factors that can contribute to pain in this area:

  1. Metatarsal stress fractures: These small breaks in the long bones of the foot, known as metatarsals, can result from overuse or repetitive stress on the foot. They often cause localized pain in the ball of the foot.
  2. Morton’s neuroma: This condition involves the thickening of the tissue around the nerve leading to the toes, usually between the third and fourth metatarsal bones. It can cause sharp, burning pain in the ball of the foot, along with a sensation of a lump or a foreign object under the foot.
  3. Metatarsophalangeal joint dysfunction: Dysfunction or inflammation of the joints connecting the metatarsal bones to the toes can lead to pain in the ball of the foot. It may be caused by conditions such as arthritis or excessive pressure on the joints.
  4. Plantar plate tear: The plantar plate is a thick ligament-like structure that supports the metatarsophalangeal joints. When it tears or becomes inflamed, it can result in pain and instability in the ball of the foot.
  5. Sesamoiditis: The sesamoid bones are small bones beneath the first metatarsal joint in the ball of the foot. Overuse or repetitive stress can lead to inflammation or injury to these bones, causing pain.
  6. Capsulitis: The joint capsules surrounding the metatarsophalangeal joints can become inflamed, leading to pain and discomfort in the ball of the foot. It is often caused by excessive pressure or repetitive stress.
  7. Freiberg’s disease: This condition involves the loss of blood flow to the metatarsal head, leading to a collapse of the bone and subsequent pain in the ball of the foot. It is more commonly seen in the second or third metatarsal.
  8. Excessive pressure or high-impact activities: Activities that involve running, jumping, or prolonged standing can place excessive pressure on the ball of the foot, leading to pain and discomfort.

It’s important to consult with a healthcare professional, such as a podiatrist for an accurate diagnosis and appropriate treatment if you are experiencing pain in the ball of your foot or have metatarsalgia. They can evaluate your symptoms, conduct a physical examination, and recommend specific interventions based on the underlying cause.

Posted on

What creams are best for dry skin in the foot?

Giving advice as to the best foot cream can be somewhat difficult as everyone responds differently to the same skin and the response is very variable. What works well for one person with not work well for another, so clinicians have to be someone cautious in making a recommendation.

It is often wise to start with and select a foot cream that is most likely to affect the greater percent of people. The urea creams are often recommended as clinical experience often suggest that a lot more people tend to respond to these creams than other types. What is good about the urea creams is that they are available in different concentrations and they each have different affects. The lower concentrations (less than around 20%) is good to help to increase the moisture content of the skin. The concentrations above 20% tend to be more helpful at getting rid of dry skin, especially if it is not to thick and callused. The concentrations of around 40% are more helpful for the harder, drier and thicker skins.

It can take a bit of trial and error to get it right and you may need to try several brands and types of skin creams to get the better on that suits you. Whatever you do, you have to use the cream. They need to be used daily (maybe twice daily to start with to get on top of the problem). A good clinician will not always recommend just one foot cream. They will recommend a range of options depending on the individual needs.

Posted on

What are the most common toe nails conditions

The toe nails in the feet may have a great deal of different problems that will affect them and become uncomfortable. The toenails are put through a lot of force and load from sneakers and daily activities. The toenails get knocked around a lot and also get objects dropped on them a lot. It is no wonder that there are plenty of conditions that podiatrists treat in their clients with difficulties of the toenails.

The ingrown nail is probably the most recognized painful problem with the toenails. An ingrown toe nails occurs when a edge of the toe nail penetrates the skin and creates an inflammatory reaction. This is often usually due to a rounded structure to the toenail and a inadequate nail clipping technique which leaves a sharp corner. A skilled podiatric physician may easily clear away that offending piece of toenail and provide just about instant relief with this. However, the condition may usually be recurrent, so a minor operation to remove the edge of the toenail should be considered.

Most likely one of the most widespread factors that cause symptoms about the toe nails can be a problem that is technically known as onychophosis. This is where there’s a lot of pressure down the edges of the toe nail that can causes a callus to build within the toenail groove. This callus or onychophosis will become so built up that it will become very painful. This is regularly wrongly identified as an ingrown toenail. This kind of disorder requires the knowledgeable abilities of a podiatrist to very carefully eliminate the callus from the nail groove and also file the toe nail away from the painful area. Long term if the onychophosis happens to be an ongoing problem a minor operative treatment to get rid of the edge of the nail can be done.

Trauma to a toe nail plate by, for example, repeated banging of the toe against the end of the shoe or the one off trauma of, for instance, dropping a heavy object on the foot can bring about a disfigured toenail plate that grows in a deformed shape. The technological phrase with this is onychogryphosis. If the toe nails begins to develop like this, it cannot be resolved. The best way to handle this is often to on a regular basis reduce the nail, probably by a foot doctor or to have the nail permanently removed by minimal surgery.

A different very common problem with the nails is a fungal infection or onychomycosis which can cause the nail plate to take on a white or yellowish colour which could crumble and become distorted. The exact magnitude of deformation of the toe nail and what colour it becomes may be based upon the precise fungi that infects the toenail. Regretably for our feet fungi love darkness and dampness and that is the exact atmosphere that you have got in the feet when it’s in footwear. This particular inhospitable ecosystem definitely makes the therapy troublesome. Often, the therapy will involve regular debridement of the toenail plate and the use of a topical ointment in an attempt to stop the growth of the fungus infection. Other options consist of laser treatments or oral agents. Treatments can last many months and a lot do have a tendency to happen again.

Posted on

Is arch support available for ballet flats?

Ballet flats really are a unique footwear design inspired by the shoes used by ballerinas. By design these shoes have become minimalist. The footwear does almost nothing on the foot biomechanics other than cover the foot and are available in a wide array of enticing designs. Additionally they usually are really snug fitting that will help the footwear remain on the feet. There is nothing fundamentally incorrect with these types of shoes provided that are generally fitted the right way and are also of the correct size for the foot.

The difficulty using these minimalist varieties of footwear is should there be a foot problem that needs some sort of mid-foot support, even on a temporary basis. The key types of issues that this could be important are specifically if you’re standing on your feet for hours on end and the feet and legs get very fatigued. As a consequence of the minimalist nature with the design and also the typically snug fit of the footwear, there is not likely to be much space in the shoes to do much. Clinically, alternatives or solutions could be reduced for those who spend much of your time in this type of footwear. There is virtually no method in which the standard foot supports will almost certainly fit into these types of shoe. Sometimes a cut down foot support can probably easily fit in the footwear. In other cases the problem can be taken care of by changing to another style of shoes which foot supports may be easily utilized in for short time until the issue improves. It is usually wise to see a podiatrist and discuss the options that you have for those who actually do require some sort of support and if it can be fitted in your ballet flats type of shoes.

There’s a very limited quantity of ballet flats that can be purchased that do have got arch support kind patterns built into them. Nonetheless, they are hard to find and might not be suitable for you. You will find the instant arches styles of self adhesive pads which could be adhered within the shoe to provide some kind of support which is often a fine compromise if that is just what ought to be needed to handle your condition. Foot doctors do employ them from time to time if you find hardly any other more suitable workaround that will get foot support in to a ballet flat kind of shoe.

Posted on

Do foot corns have roots?

No they don’t.

Its a common myth that corns on the foot have roots that they grow back from. They really don’t. Corns are caused by too much pressure on an area. Corns are easy to remove by simple debridement, but come back again because that pressure that caused them is still there. How do you get rid of corns? Its simple, you need to remove whatever is causing that excessive pressure where the corn is. That could mean a surgical correction of, for example, a hammer toe. It could mean the use of better fitting footwear, It could mean the use of padding to offload the pressure from the area. Unless that pressure that is causing the corn is removed it will keep coming back. It does not keep coming back because it has a root that was not removed.

If you have a problem with corns on your feet, then see a podiatrist to discuss the best options to get rid of that pressure that is causing them.

Posted on

Do bunion correctors work?

That is a question we get asked a lot and you see being asked online a lot and they have been around for a long time.

Bunion correctors are splints that are supposed to hold the toe in a correct position and so correct the bunion. They are worn at night. There are plenty of before and after photos that allegedly claim they work. Many of them are fake.

The don’t really work that well. Any correction that occurs overnight is going to be undone the next day with the pressure from the shoe, so if they do “correct” anyone’s bunion, its not going to be by much. However, bunion correctors still can be helpful to manage some of the aches that occur inside the joint.

If you do want to use them, then there is nothing wrong with them, just be realistic about your expectations as to what they will achieve.

Posted on

How to Use Podiatry Felt

This is the mainstay of some conservative treatments used by podiatrists to off load painful areas on the foot and toes. The felt is cut to shape so as not to cover the painful area, but be thicker besides and behind the painful area. The painful area could be a corn or callus or something more serious like a foot ulcer. The podiatry felt padding is stuck on the foot was it usually has a self adhesive backing. This video explains how you can use podiatry felt to help self treat a painful area on your foot:

Posted on

Understanding Supination Resistance

This is a concept based on how much force is needed to supinate the foot. The concept is that different feet need different forces to supinate them. This means that different structures will be overloaded if that force is high or low. It also means that different amounts of force are needed from foot orthotics if that force is high or low if the foot orthotic is going to change the position or alignment of the foot or if it changes it too much.

By way of example, if the force to supinate the foot is low, then the peroneal muscles have to work harder, predisposing the tendons to peroneal tendinopathy. If the force supinate the foot is high, then the posterior tibial muscle has to work harder, which might increase the risk for posterior tibial tendonitis. If that force is high, then a more rigid inverted foot orthotic that supplies more force is going to be needed to overcome that force.

This video from PodChatLive on the supination resistance test discussed with all the key researchers on the topic:

There have also been plenty of discussions on supination resistance on Podiatry Arena. The most comprehensive article online is this one: The concept of ‘Supination Resistance’ and this encyclopedic entry on supination resistance.

Posted on

Peroneal Tendonitis in Runners

Peroneal Tendonitis is not that common in runners, but it probably is the most common cause of pain on the outside of the ankle area in runners.

Peroneal Tendonitis

This usually starts of as just an ache either just above or below that lateral malleolus (ankle bone) where the tendon runs past. It will get worse with activity and is helped with rest. The most common cause of the problem is simple overuse – too much load is applied to the peroneal tendons when they have not been given enough time to adapt or get used to the loads. It is also more likely to occur in those with ankle that roll outwards easily (lower supination resistance) as this makes the peroneal muscles work harder resulting in the inflammation of the tendon that is peroneal tendonitis.

The simplest solution to peroneal tendonitis is simply reducing load and putting a lateral wedge in the shoe to make the foot roll inwards so that the peroneal muscles do not have to work so hard. Loading programs and strengthening of the peroneal muscles are also helpful as that can help the tendon adapt to the loads of higher volumes of running.