Metatarsalgia

Metatarsalgia translated means pain in metatarsals or ball of the foot.  In other words it is medicines junk term/diagnosis for pain in the ball of the foot.  It doesn't describe the location or cause of the pain making it more difficult to effectively treat. 

For example if a patient presented with pain in the ball of the foot (metatarsalgia) and radiographs revealed a fractured bone then I would diagnose a broken bone not metatarsalgia.  On the other hand if a patient presented with pain in the foot with no obvious diagnosis after a physical exam/radiographs then I would diagnose metatarsalgia.

If you feel you have any questions or concerns, or you have a foot or ankle concern give us a call at 808-4343!

- Dr. Marshal Gwynn

Nail Polish and Nail Fungus

The other day I wanted to paint my toenails with the at-home shellac kit I received for Christmas. I've been told by both the Podiatrists at the office I have "superficial" nail fungus. This means it's on the surface and shows as white spots (similar looking when you have a calcium deficiency). I stopped myself from applying it to my toenails because I didn't know if the next time I used it on my fingernails the fungus would spread.

At the Blacksburg office, I made sure to ask Dr. Feeny if that is the case. She said with all the chemicals nail polish has it probably wouldn't spread, but my best option would be to pour some of the nail poslih onto a disposable dish, get a disposable brush and apply the polish/shellac this way. Obviously that's way too much of a task with shellac (you have the base coat, color, and top coat) so if I do decide to use one of my favorite polish colors, I'll just use regular nail polish!

Lately for my toenails I've only been applying Dr. Remedy's since it has natural ingredients, helps with the fungus and also strengthsns the nails (and we sell it in the office so it's too really convenient to purchase).