What Holiday Weight?

Frustrated at those extra holiday pounds? Get on your feet!

"When women over age 40 increased their activity by an average of 3,520 steps (just over 1¾ miles) throughout the day, had a 5 pound weight loss in a year without changing their eating habits, reports a study in the journal Obesity. They also decreased dangerous belly fat by 12%."~ Prevention

Studies show that 30 minutes of brisk walking burns 150 calories (for the average person) and equals about 4,000 steps! Lace up those walking shoes and get moving! Those holiday pounds will be gone before you know it.

*To add steps to your day, try walking around the mall or grocery store before you begin shopping. At work, use a restroom on a different floor. When running errands, park in the furthest spot in the parking lot~ little changes can make a difference. You can also use a fitness tracker such as a fit bit or pedometer for better calculation and a little motivation too! 

Achilles Tendonitis/Bridge Run 2014

The Cooper River Bridge Run is right around the corner (April 5th) and one of the more common issues that I have seen this month is Achilles tendonitis. The Achilles tendon is the largest tendon in the body and undergoes a tremendous amount of stress and strain while running. Many of you since the weather has improved this past weekend are now training on the bridge to prepare for the race. Running uphill and downhill is much different that running on flat surfaces without an incline. If you haven't stretched or trained properly you can injure yourself. Achilles tendonitis is common and can be a nagging injury if not treated properly. We recommend that you need to be evaluated by our foot specialists if you are having any tenderness on the back of the achilles tendon. This could lead to a chronic injury or worse case scenario a partial or complete tear of the achilles tendon. Initially we recommend rest, ice, NSAIDS, updating your running shoes, heel lifts, and night splints. We are able to evaluate if you have a stress fracture or even a tendon tear through our Digital x-ray and diagnostic Ultrasound both at the West Ashley and Mt. Pleasant offices.

If you experiencing any foot pain or achilles tendon issues please make an appointment at either are West Ashley or Mt. Pleasant offices so we can keep you running and prevent chronic injuries of your  feet.

Is heel pain always plantar fasciitis?

It is very important to understand that if you are experiencing heel pain it may not be plantar fasciitis. You may go to your local shoe store and while trying on shoes you may complain of heel pain. If you are told that it is plantar fasciitis this may be an incorrect assumption. We strongly recommend if you are experiencing any type of foot pain for a period of longer than a week than you should be evaluated by our professionals. It is not normal to have foot pain for this period of time and having a correct diagnosis is key to a quick recovery.

It is true that if you have heel pain it is more than likely plantar fasciitis in the acute setting. The problem is if not evaluated properly you could be getting the wrong advice and this may prolong your recovery.

Heel pain can present as different foot conditions such as a heel fracture, bone tumor, nerve injury, arthritic condition, or in a chronic form "Plantar Fasciosis." Imagine you were told by a friend that you have plantar fasciitis and actually had a stress fracture of the heel. You could of been evaluated initially with a digital x-ray at one of our offices and immobilized with a cam walker boot to allow the fracture to heal. Instead you treated yourself for plantar fasciitis and wondered why you were not getting better.

Our practice both at the West Ashley and Mt. Pleasant offices have state of the art diagnostic equipment. We have digital x-ray (20/20 imaging) which allows us to have a crisp, clear, image of the foot in minutes. We also have state of the art diagnostic ultrasound which allows us in the office to look inside your foot and see soft tissue inflammation and more specific anatomy of the foot. Diagnostic Ultrasound allows us to inject if needed cortisone into the fascia to accelerate healing. We have techniques which are virtually painless for our patients.

We know what is like to experience heel pain and other foot ailments. We both are avid runners and understand that our patients want to get back to being active. We believe that it is imperative that each of our patients with heel pain or other foot conditions is first properly diagnosed. We then at Carolina Foot Specialists come up with an aggressive conservative treatment plan to resolve heel and foot pain as quickly as possible. 

We will in future blogs explore Plantar Fasciosis/Plantar fasciitis in more detail and discuss our state of the art conservative and surgical options.

Ingrown Toenails: What to do and what NOT to do

One of the most common foot conditions that we see in our Charleston and Mount Pleasant practice in adults and children are ingrown toenails. An ingrown toenail most commonly affects the big toe, known anatomically as the Hallux. When an ingrown toenail occurs, the nail grows abnormally into the skin and flesh of the toe. This leads to pain and the overgrowth of skin tissue at the side of the nail.

Sometimes the edge of the toenail pierces the skin outside of the nail groove, beginning to act as a foreign body. Sometimes a nail is ingrown not only at the corner of the nail plate, but all the way down. The first signs of either condition are pain and swelling. The area of penetration may bleed or become infected, producing pus.


Causes of an Ingrown Toenail?

The condition is caused by any of several factors. The most common of which is probably improper nail trimming, cutting the nail too much, so that when it begins to grow back it grows out of the “nail groove” directly into the flesh of the toe.

In addition, some people are hereditarily predisposed to developing the condition.


Symptoms of an Ingrown Toenail?

Severe pain, infection, swelling, sometimes pus, are major symptoms of the condition. It is normally obvious with a visual inspection, which will show that the nail is in fact growing into the skin and flesh of the toe, and that an infection is present.

Treatment for Ingrown Toenail?

If you have an ingrown toenail, it is best to see your foot specialists for advice. Any toenail that is bleeding, excreting pus, or swollen should be examined by a doctor. Many people with ingrown toenails delay treatment, or make matters worse by resorting to home remedies that may be more painful than medical attention.

Painless Surgery for an Ingrown Toenail?

If the condition has resulted in permanent overgrowth of the tissue surrounding the nail margin, or in recurring infection, surgery may be required to treat the condition. Surgical treatment varies slightly depending on the particulars of each individual case.

In mild cases, removal of a portion of the tissue at the side of the nail groove may reduce pressure and irritation. In this procedure a wedge of tissue is removed and the healing process allows the groove to reform itself.
Sometimes surgery involves use of a local anesthetic and removal of a portion of the toenail and its root. Patients with recurrent ingrown nails may require the use of a medication known as liquid phenol, which permanently removes lateral portions of the nail matrix

In our practice we use a  topical anesthestic before the injection called Ethly Chloride which freezes the skin to make patient's more comfortable.

Surgery for ingrown toenail is painless and easy to perform in the office setting. Patients should be able to put weight on their feet immediately after surgery but walking is uncomfortable. In most cases, toenails grow normally after surgery without imbedding themselves into the skin.

It is important to carefully follow instructions before and after any surgical procedure in order to have the best results and quicker recovery time. Changing the style of footwear you use is very important such as wearing a wider toe box shoe.

Our practice is proud to introduce a convenient post surgical kit for ingrown toenail surgery after care. The Amerigel Post-Op surgical kit is offered to every patient who has undergone a permanent nail matrixectomy. This wound healing kit allows for quicker healing times, eliminates the need for soaking after nail procedures, and aids in compliance by our patients.

The Amerigel Post-Op Surgical Kit has allowed our patients to obtain an effective wound healing product with all the dressings right at the time of service.

Boston Celtics Rookie Kelly Olynyk Has Plantar Fasciitis

 Kelly Olynyk a first round draft pick of the Boston Celtics has just recently suffered from an acute case of plantar fasciits. We have recently see a large number of cases of plantar fasciits in professional athletes.

Plantar fasciitis is an inflammation of the fibrous band of tissue on the bottom of the foot which is called the plantar fascia. Plantar fasciitis can presents as pain first step out of bed in the morning in the heel. It can also presents during or after athletic activity. The pain is typically a sharp sensation and can also present on the entire length of the sole of the foot. 

In acute cases rest, NSAIDS, custom orthotics, immobilization with a cam walker boot, night splints, and aggressive physical therapy are initial conservative treatments for plantar fasciitis.

Rarely does this procedure involve surgical intervention.

Topaz and PRP injections are some of the newer minimally invasive procedures for chronic cases of plantar fasciitis that have not resolved with conservative measures.

http://sports.yahoo.com/news/report-boston-celtics-rookie-kelly-olynyk-plantar-fasciitis-201900742.html