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!

A Sobering Foot Study

As a child, I remember being fascinated that one could change the color of a celery stalk or even a coffee filter simply by putting its tip in colored water. Many of us were exposed to this experiment as children because teachers often use it to show students how plants take in water and nutrients. But what's that got to do with feet?

According to a Danish urban myth, our feet can absorb alcohol in much the same way. The myth proposes that vodka can enter the blood stream through unbroken skin and cause intoxication if one stands in a puddle of it. Three Danish Ph.D. students set out to test this myth's validity by doing just that. In their comically named "PEACE ON EARTH" (Percutaneous Ethanol Absorption Could Evoke Ongoing Nationwide Euphoria And Random Tender Hugs) study, each stood in 700mL of vodka for three hours.  Their behavior and blood alcohol levels were documented every half hour to gauge their absorption. 

Aside from presumed pruning, observed changes were insignificant over the course of the study. Not surprisingly they concluded that we, unlike celery, are incapable of absorbing nutrients through the skin of our feet.

The point of all of this is that our skin is designed to keep out everything from infections to vodka. When our skin is compromised through a cut or an ulcer, it can no longer do its job. Proper foot care and visiting your podiatrist when the need arises will keep your feet healthy - and apparently sober.

If you'd like to read more about the study, visit British Medical Journal: PEACE ON EARTH.

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.

Erythrasma

Erythrasma is a chronic superficial infection of the intertriginous areas of the skin. This is a bacterial infection and can be found between the toes. It commonly occurs between the 3rd and 4th toes.


History/Physical:

This infection usually occurs in areas of body folds that are moist. The infection can be asymptomatic or itching may be associated with the infection.

The infection consists of a well-defined area with brown-red patches commonly found. Scaling may be present, as well as fissuring and maceration. The affected area may resemble athlete's foot.


Causes:
Corynebacterium minutissimum - A bacterium found on the skin


Predisposing factors:

Excessive sweating

Obesity

Diabetes mellitus

Warm climate

Poor hygiene



Differential Diagnosis:

Candidiasis

Contact dermatitis

Psoriasis

Tinea pedis (athlete's foot)



Workup:

Wood light examination - Reveals coral red fluorescence

Gram stain - Reveals gram-positive filamentous rods



Treatment:

Antibiotics - Erythromycin is the drug of choice. Your doctor may prescribe 1-2 weeks of antibiotic therapy.

Your doctor may also prescribe a topical antibiotic to treat this infection.

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.