King Tut's Club Feet

When we think about world rulers, the ones who changed history, we usually concentrate on the changes they’ve done rather than think about the human aspects of their lives. Recent CT scans and DNA tests reveal a lot about the great Boy-King of Egypt’s very human life. They found out that he had club feet, Kohler’s disease, and a cleft lip just to name a few, yet he went on to rule the empire of Egypt for 10 years from 1333 B.C. until his death at the age of 19.

It is amazing to see that he was able to rule such a great empire with these ailments despite the physical pain that they cause and also though they caused visual changes in him as well. Club foot is a congenital deformity in which the foot turns inward and downward at birth causing that outer side of the foot to become the area that is walked on. Kohler's disease is a condition, where the navicular bone in the foot undergoes avascular necrosis. Avascular necrosis is a disease resulting from the temporary or permanent loss of the blood supply to the bones. Without blood, the bone tissue dies and causes the bone to collapse. Both of these ailments are very painful and make it extremely difficult to walk.

Often people have a hard time following leaders if they seem physically weak but King Tut was able to pull it off despite being in pain everyday and having to use a cane to walk. It is inspiring to know the lives that people have lead even with foot pain but makes me so thankful that we now have podiatrists and don’t have to live it foot pain!!

Fun fact: Over 130 walking sticks where found in King Tut’s tomb.

Olympic Feet

With the winter Olympics going on right now, it makes me think of all the different sports we are able to participate in. Sports that ask us to run, jump, kick, twist, turn, and glide. Sports that ask for speed and agility that, without the versatility of our feet, would not be possible or at least would look quite a bit different!

The 26 bones and 33 joints in each foot allow us to effortlessly become mobile in many different ways. When I see someone skate their heart out down the length of the ice and stop on a dime, my breath is taken away. Though it may seem like the boot is doing the work, anyone who has ice skated before and had sore feet the next day will tell you otherwise. The complexity of the foot is amazing. And even more amazing than that are the mechanics that make a human foot work properly, the podiatrist.

Though feet are not visible during the winter Olympics, they are still a very important part of the games. A ski or a skate is merely an extension of the foot. Bobsledding wouldn’t be possible without the help of our feet mustering up enough momentum to make the sled go. Even changing the balance and placement of your feet in curling can change your game.

During the 2010 winter Olympics root for team feet! And keep in mind all the amazing things your feet do for you everyday.

Though we are all about feet, we want to recognize those who haven’t given up the games they love because their mode of movement is different than the movement of the original game. We want to recognize how these sports have been modified to work for all kinds of people. For more information about wheelchair and ambulatory sports check out http://www.wsusa.org/.

American Podiatric Medical Association Podiatrists Perform Life-Saving Amputations in Haiti

Above: A team of doctors works to perform foot surgery on a victim of the January 12 earthquake in Haiti.


Bethesda, MD – When a devastating earthquake rocked a vulnerable Haiti on January 12, lives of numerous American podiatrists with ties to the country and its people were rocked, too. For years, American Podiatric Medical Association (APMA) doctors have traveled to the diabetes-plagued nation on a mission to save lower limbs from amputation as a result of the disease. In fact, nearly seven percent of the estimated nine million Haitians have diabetes, and far too many don’t even know they have it. Ironically, APMA doctors, such as Patrick DeHeer, DPM, of Carmel, IN, who set up a diabetes wound care center in Port-au-Prince with the intent of preventing people’s legs, feet, and toes from being amputated, this month found himself back in the devastated city to perform the surgery he tried so hard to avoid—amputations. He did it not because of diabetes, but in order to save lives.

"It is chaos here—terrible injuries, people crushed, compartment syndromes—many of which are ending up in amputations," reported Dr. DeHeer, who served as a wound care director for a field hospital at a United Nations (UN) compound overseen by Project Medishare in Haiti’s capital city. "I just assisted on a below-the-knee amputation with an orthopedic surgeon on a 12-year-old girl. It is overwhelming."

This type of limb removal surgery, such as the one Dr. DeHeer described, has become all too common since the disaster hit. Infections such as gangrene have made amputations imminent without enough antibiotics and proper sterilization. The Pan American Health Organization reports there will be thousands of amputations in Haiti—and nearly half of the people impacted may lose more than one limb. Haiti’s high prevalence of diabetes and lack medicine to properly regulate the disease may only compound the amputation demand, as well as the need for expert podiatric care.

“It’s a tragedy that such an already fragile nation has to deal with such devastation and loss,” said APMA President Ronald D. Jensen, DPM. “As a podiatrist, I know firsthand how tragic it can be for a patient to lose a limb. There is a tremendous amount of help and support that the patient and their family require that is a challenge to provide in the best of circumstances. The people in Haiti will need help for a very long time.”

APMA podiatrists across the country continue to deploy to the shaken country to offer medical assistance. Only time will tell what toll the surge in amputations will have on the plight of the Haitian people.

To read more about APMA podiatrists’ missions to Haiti, visit www.apma.org.

Helping Haitian Feet

It is about three weeks after the 7.0 earthquake hit Haiti. Sadly, the news of this devastating event is fading out of the spot light of our media and out of the minds of those in our country though the effects of this earthquake have hardly vanished from the eyes of the Haitians. Some of us have not forgotten, others of us just need a little reminder to bring us out of our own routine. Perhaps you have been keeping up with the news in your own way; checking blogs, talking to friends, watching videos, doing what you can to not let the Haitians vanish into the rubble that is now their country. Perhaps you have given your time, informed others, or given monetarily to show the Haitians your support. Every little bit helps and giving can be fun especially when you can find ways to give that resonate with things you are passionate about.

Since we are all about feet, we wanted to share some ways with you that will help the feet of the people in Haiti. Through these websites there are several ways that you can find to help protect the Haitians from the debris left by the earthquake.

http://www.soles4souls.org/

http://www.shoes2share.com/

Check them out today!