A Common Problem: Heel Pain

Do you have heel pain? Listen up for some treatment options:

What is Neuropathy?

Dr. Jennifer Feeny, of Shenandoah Podiatry, discusses the reason you have pain in your foot, even though it is numb. Dr. Feeny also discusses the possible causes of neuropathy and treatment options.

Why Do My Feet Smell?

Dr. Jennifer Feeny of Shenandoah Podiatry, discusses the embarrassing, but surprisingly common, problem of foot odor. Watch to learn an odd but effective solution! For more foot and ankle topics, check out our blog at sShenandoahPodiatry.com/blog

Rain, rain go away!

Spring is just around the corner and judging by the last two weeks it’s going to be a wet one. If you don’t already own waterproof footwear, you’re probably considering it now. Many of us opt for the standard rubber boot because they’re inexpensive, keep our feet dry, and come in many different colors. Though this style of boot is widely popular, it does pose some unique concerns for your feet.

Most of these styles provide little to no arch support which means that they can lead to problems much more serious than wet feet. Shop for rain boots that have removable insoles because this will allow you to replace them with more supportive inserts or even your custom orthotics.

Another concern posed by the standard rain boot is fungal infections. Because rubber doesn’t breathe, rain boots provide a warm, moist environment where fungus can flourish if steps aren’t taken to prevent it. One of the best ways to prevent fungal infections is to alternate shoes so that the same pair isn’t worn everyday. If this isn’t possible, at least let them dry out completely between uses. You can also spray Lysol into your boots after each use to kill fungus and other germs.

Whether you’re about to break out your old boots or you’re in the market for new ones, keep these tips in mind for happy, healthy feet.

Your legs are different lengths? No way!

You are at the tailor having your pants altered when the tailor informs you of the discrepancy in your leg length or, if you go to a bad tailor, they may measure one leg only and you notice the difference when you wear your pants for the first time. What is going on? Did the tailor make a mistake or are your legs really two different lengths?

One of the myths that seem to have become fact is that everyone has different length legs. Yes, it may not be exact to the faction of inch (or millimeter), but from a “macro” perspective your legs should be fairly equal. Most people do not ever realize that there is a discrepancy. If the length difference is causing problems, our podiatrists can help.

At Shenandoah Valley Podiatry we can measure the limbs in two different ways. We will take a measurement with our patient lying down; this measures the actual lengths of the bones, without any soft tissue involvement or input from issues such as scoliosis. It is known as the structural limb length. We will also find the functional limb length by taking a measurement while the patient is standing and with input from all structures.

Limb length difference can cause pain and injury in various ways. Most commonly, however, the pain is limited to one side. The pain can be experienced in the feet and ankles, knees, hips, or lower back. Symptoms can be felt in the upper back and neck because the difference in limb length affects the shoulders as well. Regardless of the location of pain, it is caused by the overuse of muscles and soft tissues that are forced to work harder than usual. When there is a difference in limb length, the long limb will try and shorten itself by the foot pronating, while the short limb will try to make itself functionally longer by supinating. This causes an imbalance which leads to the injury.

How can we treat your limb length discrepancy? Sometimes it is as simple as placing a lift under the short limb. Other times, physical therapy is needed to rehabilitate the soft tissue. You have tried both of those? Sometimes you need a custom molded orthotic to best control the abnormal motions. Unlike many other podiatry offices, Dr. Feeny has a personal guarantee that if you are not satisfied with the results you see within 90 days, return your orthotics and we will refund you 100% of the money you paid.

Our patients are often surprised at how quickly we can heal their lower extremity pain with these options. Schedule your appointment today with Dr. Feeny or Dr. Kate. Remember, we are here to keep you going!

Time Wounds All Heels - Literally

When John Lennon said, "I believe that time wounds all heels," I'm pretty sure he was referring to karmic justice and not our feet. But the literal interpretation isn't far from the truth!

Something we have seen patients complain of increasingly in our offices is heel pain - given many years, lots of walking, dancing, running, and general wear and tear, and wearing stylish-but-unsupportive shoes, it's no surprise that people's heels are hurting!

A common cause of heel pain is plantar fasciitis, meaning inflammation of the plantar fascia. The plantar fascia is a thick, broad band of fibrous tissue located at the bottom (plantar) side of the foot. It attaches to the heel as well as all five toes at the ball of the foot. The plantar fascia is not elastic like muscles are, so when we wear shoes with no arch support, our arches start to flatten and the plantar fascia pulls constantly where it is attached to the heel. This overworks the plantar fascia, causing it to become inflamed and irritated.

Given an infinite amount of time and many years of wearing unsupportive shoes, anybody could develop heel pain. If you're having heel pain, don't let your feet suffer anymore! Come see Dr. Feeny or Dr. Kate and they'll give you plenty of options to heal your hurting heels.

For more information, check out our website at http://www.blogger.com/www.shenandoahpodiatry.com.

New Year, New Foot Pain!

If you celebrated the new year with a night of dancing, you might now be having foot pain or simply wondering how you can take better care of your feet next time. Foot injuries caused by dancing are unfortunately common because we often pay little attention to our feet as long as they get us where we need to go. You need not worry, however, because Dr. Feeny and Dr. Kate are here to keep your feet healthy and pain free.

Injury prevention starts long before you hit the dance floor. Let your feet relax for a little while everyday by propping them up. This gives the small muscles in your feet a chance to recuperate from daily activities and will make sure they’re well-rested the next time you take them dancing. Another everyday thing you can do to protect your feet is proper skin care which can help to prevent blisters.

Shortly before dancing, take some time to stretch all the muscles in your feet. This will help to prevent you from pulling or straining your muscles. A good way to make sure that your feet are adequately stretched is to use them to spell out the alphabet in the air. It’s a simple, fun way to warm them up. You’ll also want to pick shoes that are comfortable and that have been broken in. Dancing in new shoes can cause blisters or other injuries so make sure that you walk in them a few times first to break them in. The best way to do this is to wear them for an hour or so the first time and gradually increase the amount of time you wear them.

When dancing, pay attention to your feet and take a break when they start hurting. Pain is your feet’s way of telling you when something is not right. A little bit of pain while dancing can be indicative of a more serious problem if not treated properly. This is especially true if you land on your ankle wrong or a partner with two left feet happens to step on yours.

If you have any blisters, foot, or ankle pain left over from your New Year's dancing, call us today to set up an appointment and we’ll have you back in your dancing shoes in no time.

Obese children are more prone to leg, ankle, and foot injury.

A new pediatric study reveals that obese children are more prone to leg, ankle, and foot injury than other children their age. Dr. Wendy J. Pomerantz of Cincinnati Children’s Hospital in Ohio and several of her colleagues studied the patient records from the emergency room in their hospital from January 2005 to March 2008. They noticed some very interesting trends. About 30% of obese children in their study had suffered from lower extremity injuries verses the 18% of normal weight children. On the other side of the spectrum the study showed that 15% of the normal weight children suffered from head injuries compared to 10% of the obese children. The study showed that over weight children often had a longer recovery time than other children. They also found that ankle sprains where twice as common among obese children as other children their age. Although the researchers didn’t have the information explaining how these children became injured the group hypothesized that obese children are more vulnerable during walking or running while normal weight children have an easier time playing sports that carry the risk of head injury.

Of course parents want to protect their children so these numbers might scare some parents into not letting their children be active. But this is not what the study was meant to do. We want children to be active but we want them to be safe about it. Obese children (just like adults) should ease into exercise and sports instead of jumping right in.

Pomerantz’s steps following this study are to figure out why these numbers are slated this way and try to find some protective measures to help keep children safe.

Let's Go Fly A Kite

What a beautiful weekend for the 12th Annual Blue Ridge Kite Festival! The sky at Green Hill Park in Salem was filled with kites of all sizes and colors. And while I spent most of my time looking up at the sky, it is inevitable that I will look down at what people are wearing on their feet. With the warm weather that day, many were sporting flip-flops. I want to tell those people - BEWARE :) Sprained ankles, heel pain and blisters are just a few of the problems I see in my office as a result of wearing flip-flops. To learn more about better summer foot wear choices - watch my interview with Jean Jadhon.

Dedicated To Your Healthy Feet,

Dr. Jennifer Feeny

For more information visit our website http://www.shenandoahpodiatry.com/

Attention Diabetics

Attention Diabetics, Have you checked your feet recently??

Here is a friendly reminder to check your feet today in case they have been overlooked this past winter. This is an easy exam you can do to see if you need a professional to look at your feet.

Check your feet: for cuts, punctures, irritation, or bruises.
- If you find any of these consult your podiatrist especially if these spots are red, warm or draining.

Check your shoes: make sure you don’t feel any sharp objects in your shoes that would poke your feet.
- If find anything remove it from your shoe and check again.

Check your circulation: push lightly on the tips of your toes that will be pink and reddish in color. The color should change to white when you lift your fingers and then back to pink-red in about 2-3 seconds.

- If the change does not take place right away there might be something affecting your blood flow and you should see your podiatrist asap.

Helpful tip for those with circulation problems… don’t cross your legs when you sit. This will make it even harder for your body to get blood to your feet.

Keep in mind to never put your feet into hot water… only warm water.

Check your feet today!! You never know what you will find.