Are Your Kid's Shoes Making Their Feet Deformed?

Children's Shoes Are Too Small and Causing Deformities, a New Study Finds

A new study of 250 children in Switzerland presented by the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (AAOS) found that a vast majority of young children are wearing shoes that are too small, increasing the risk of foot deformities. "The most striking finding was that more than 90 percent of children's shoes were too small," says Norman Espinosa, MD an orthopaedic surgeon at the University of Zurich. Overly-tight shoes are the leading cause of Hallux Valgus, a condition that occurs when the big toe begins to angle sideways in the direction of the second toe, causing a bump or bunion on the side of the foot.

For more information on juvenile Hallux valgus click here.

I Have a Neuroma.. Do I Need Surgery?

Neuromas can be very Irritating and Painful. A neuroma can prevent you from wanting to walk around and be active, and with summer around the corner who wants that?

Most of the time a neuroma will cause you to feel like you are walking on a pebble. It may cause shooting pain and tingling to the ball of your foot as well as to your toes, you may even experience numbness in your toes. Others might complain that it feels like they are walking on a rolled up sock in their shoes. All of these symptoms can be signs that you are suffering from a neuroma....
So what can we do to get rid of a neuroma??

There are many treatment options for neuromas.

1) Because neuromas are an inflammation and irritation of a nerve commonly from the bones in your feet, an injection into the area of the nerve can be helpful. It will calm down the inflammation and allow the nerve to become less irritated = less pain.

2) Accomodative Padding is another great option, by taking the pressure off the bones that are causing the nerve to become irritated, the nerve is able to relax and heal.

3) Custom Orthotics are another great treatment option. Nobody has a perfect foot and most people really will beefit from a custom device. An orthotic made specifically for your foot will allow a doctor to offload any areas in your foot that may be taking to much pressure.

4) Surgery is always an option once all conservative measures have been exhausted. Most of the time we are able to give patients a lot of relief from the other options listed above.

To learn more about neuromas click here.

Obesity Linked to Earlier Death!

Obesity has been show to shorten your life! New study shows similar effect as smoking on longevity

Obesity causes kidney disease, liver disease and several types of cancer, but the most common way it kills is by causing stroke and, most importantly, heart disease. Obesity causes heart disease by elevating blood pressure, by interfering with blood cholesterol levels, and by bringing on diabetes.

BMI is a calculation that expresses a relationship between height and weight. People are considered underweight if their BMI is less than 18.5, normal weight when the BMI is between 18.5 and 24.9, overweight when BMI is between 25 and 29.9, and obese when BMI is 30 or more, according to the U.S. National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute.

People who are moderately obese with a BMI (body mass index) in the 30 to 35 range reduced their life span by two and four years. For those who are severely obese with BMIs between 40 and 45, their life span was reduced by eight to 10 years. That's very similar to the effects of smoking.

Of course, I would think that this a is a no-brainer! The fatter you are, the more likely you will die from chronic disease. This is common sense, but for all those peolpe in complete denial in the drive through at McDonalds, here is your wake up call!

Complete article is a must read!

Encourage your friends and family to start exercising and decrease their BMI! Add a few years to their life!

State-of-the-Art Treatments For Foot Pain

Let me start with the fact that foot pain is NEVER normal. If your feet or ankles hurt, there is usually a reason. Some common reasons may include poor shoes, infections, injuries or strained or torn tendons or ligaments. Understanding and fixing the cause of the pain, or making adjustments to alleviate the pain over time is often possible. What I want to discuss is a new treatment that allows correction of pain that is not alleviated through standard treatments.

Topaz Radiocoblation/Microdebridement treatment is a minimally invasive surgical procedure utilized to treat chronic foot pain from tendon or ligament abnormalities. For years, chronic pain to tendons or ligaments that didn't resolve with conservative treatments including rest, stretching, bracing, oral or topical medicine or injections often lead to aggressive surgical procedures with long periods of recovery.

Topaz Radiocoblation now provides a minimally invasive procedure that won't compromise the mechanical structures of the foot caused by traditional surgical techniques. Recovery is also quick and easy without the need for splints, casts, walking boots or physical therapy. In fact, a patient will usually return to shoes within 4-5 days, often with significant improvement of pain.

Topaz Radiocoblation is performed either through small incisions or through small "pin holes" (percutaneous) and often allows rapid return to regular shoegear and activities. This procedure utilizes a small wand that produces radiofrequency waves within the tendon or ligament to stimulate new blood vessel formation (neoangiogenesis), migration of growth factors, decreased inflammation, decreased pain and ligamentous or tendinous repair. This procedure is commonly performed on plantar fasciitis, peroneal tendonitis or Achilles tendonitis, and has been shown to be 80-90% effective at resolving pain from these entities.

The effectiveness of this procedure can also be improved through the addition of platelet-rich plasma injected locally. During the procedure, a small amount of blood can be drawn from the patient and concentrated to allow a large combination of proteins, growth factors, platelets and healing cells to be directly injected in treated tendons or ligaments to further speed the recovery process.

Platelet-rich plasma or PRP has been utilized for years to treat wounds and stimulate healing in areas that were previously difficult to heal. By adding this treatment to the already effective Topaz procedure, the probability of healing increases to 90% or above.

Theses results were not possible with previous treatment modalities.Although these treatments are state-of-the-art when it comes to foot pain treatment, they have been used for years by orthopedic surgeons in treating tendons elsewhere. They likewise found good success with these treatments.

So remember, your pain is not normal. You don't have to continue to suffer with foot pain, even when previous conservative treatments have failed. You now have a new technique to alleviate your pain and return you more quickly back to regular activities. You deserve to walk without pain. You deserve the opportunity to continue to enjoy life.