Healthy Feet Make the Best Dancing Feet

Don’t ignore foot pain on the dance floor. Being ‘light on your feet’ when dancing is not entirely true; dancing the night away can take a toll on feet and ankles. Both professional and amateur dancers can suffer foot injuries that can stop the show, as witnessed this season on the popular reality-television show, Dancing with the Stars.

The most common types of dance-related foot and ankle problems are overuse injuries, which occur due to the repetitive movements in dance. Over 50 percent of dance injuries occur in the foot and ankle. The severity of the damage is determined by a patient’s age, strength and flexibility and the type of shoes worn when dancing.

Other common types of injuries related to dancing can include:

- Stress fractures (hairline breaks in the bone) from repeated jumping and landing.

- Foot neuromas (thickening/irritation of the nerves in the ball of the foot) resulting from repetitive pivoting.

- Shin splints (pain and swelling in the front of the lower legs) which can be aggravated by recurring activities.

- Tendonitis (inflammation of the tendons in the foot) from over exertion.

- Corns, calluses or blisters—all painful skin irritations resulting from repeated rubbing of the skin on the feet.

With dancing being repetitively hard on the lower extremities, how can dancers of any level protect their feet and ankles? The best defense to injury is prevention. Dancers should wear appropriate shoes to properly support their feet and ankles as well as perform dance moves with their individual skill levels in mind.

If you are suffering from foot or ankle pain, call our office at 440-946-5858 or visit our website for additional information, http://www.drrobertrosenstein.com/.

Diabetes and Your Feet

An estimated 23.6 million Americans have diabetes and some 750,000 new cases are diagnosed every year, according to the American Diabetes Association (ADA). The most common form of the disease, Type 2 diabetes, accounts for 90 to 95 percent of the cases and is caused by the body’s resistance to insulin at the cellular level and a relative insulin deficiency. Also known as adult-onset diabetes, the disease is nearing epidemic proportions due to an increased number of older Americans and a greater prevalence of obesity and sedentary lifestyles.

A number of systemic disorders occur from diabetes, including sensory neuropathy, a common complication of the disease in which patients lose nerve sensation. As a result, they lose feeling at the bottom of the feet and are unable to react to pain, pressure and heat. Another complication of diabetes affecting the foot is compromised circulation. Poor circulation to the feet can cause foot ulcers and prevent timely healing of wounds and injuries in the patient with diabetes.

According to published studies, 15 percent of Americans afflicted with diabetes, will develop a serious foot ulcer during their lifetime. Repetitive trauma or pressure that goes unnoticed due to sensory neuropathy can produce calluses that, without proper attention, eventually progress to ulcers. Chronic ulcers can become seriously infected if they are unnoticed or untreated. As a result, some 80,000 foot amputations are performed every year in the U.S. on patients with diabetes.

Early detection of risk factors associated with ulcer formation, therefore, is essential in the overall management of diabetic patients and can significantly reduce the incidence of ulcers and eventual amputation. Prompt and aggressive treatment of foot ulcers can prevent worsening and help accelerate healing. Diligent self care also is a key component for early detection. Diabetic patients should inspect their feet every day, wear shoes that fit properly and minimize pressure, and maintain their blood glucose levels within the desired range. Regular visits to a foot and ankle surgeon for removal of calluses and ingrown toenails provide an opportunity to reinforce self-care behavior and detect new or impending foot problems. Diabetic patients should not try to remove calluses by themselves.

Patients with a long patient history of diabetes may experience change to their foot such as limited joint mobility, muscle atrophy and diminished fat padding that contribute to foot deformities and foot ulcers. For example, diabetes-induced atrophy of the muscles in the foot increases pressure at the tips of the toes and can cause a hammertoe deformity. The resulting constant pressure on the toes makes them susceptible to ulcers.

Off-loading techniques using orthotics and special shoes can help minimize pressure and prevent calluses. The pressure reduction approach also can prevent or minimize the risk of the foot ulcers that result from the abnormal, repetitive pressures caused by the foot deformities that are a complication of diabetes.

Optimal care of chronic foot ulcers also requires supportive home and work environments that allow patients to be compliant with an off-loading treatment regimen. This must be combined with appropriate glucose control through diet and medication, aggressive wound care, adequate treatment of infection, and use of custom-fitted shoe gear and orthotics to prevent reoccurrence of these ulcers.

If you or someone you know has diabetes, please contact our office, 440-946-5858, for consultation.

5 Myths About Foot Care

From bunions to broken toes, I have heard it all.

“Don’t cross your eyes, they’ll stay that way!”Old wives’ tales and myths like that example are fun to laugh at. We believed them as children. “Step on a crack and you’ll break your mother’s back.” But there are other myths that are no laughing matter, especially when they involve your health.

Below are the five most common myths about foot care and the realities behind them:

Myth: Cutting a notch (a “V”) in a toenail will relieve the pain of ingrown toenails.

Reality: When a toenail is ingrown, the nail curves downward and grows into the skin. Cutting a “V” in the toenail does not affect its growth. New nail growth will continue to curve downward. Cutting a “V” may actually cause more problems and is painful in many cases.

Myth: My foot or ankle can’t be broken if I can walk on it.

Reality: It’s entirely possible to walk on a foot or ankle with a broken bone. It depends on your threshold for pain, as well as the severity of the injury. But it’s not a smart idea. Walking with a broken bone can cause further damage. It is crucial to stay off an injured foot until diagnosis by a foot and ankle surgeon. Until then, apply ice and elevate the foot to reduce pain.

Myth: Shoes cause bunions.

Reality: Bunions are most often caused by an inherited faulty mechanical structure of the foot. It is not the bunion itself that is inherited, but certain foot types make a person prone to developing a bunion. While wearing shoes that crowd the toes together can, over time, make bunions more painful, shoes themselves do not cause bunions. Although some treatments can ease the pain of bunions, only surgery can correct the deformity.

Myth: A doctor can’t fix a broken toe.

Reality: Nineteen of the 26 bones in the foot are toe bones. There are things that can be done to make a broken toe heal better and prevent problems later on, such as arthritis or toe deformities. Broken toes that aren’t treated correctly can also make walking and wearing shoes difficult.

Myth: Corns have roots.

Reality: A corn is a small build-up of skin caused by friction. Many corns result from a hammertoe deformity, where the toe knuckle rubs against the shoe. The only way to eliminate these corns is to surgically correct the hammertoe condition. Unlike a callus, a corn has a central core of hard material. But corns do not have roots. Attempting to cut off a corn or applying medicated corn pads can lead to serious infection or even amputation.

If you are someone you know is suffering from one of the conditions listed above please call our office, 440-946-5858, for consultation or visit our website, http://www.drrobertrosenstein.com/, for further information.

Foot Pain Ruining Your Gulf Swing?

The barrier to a perfect golf swing could lie in your big toe, your heel or on the ball of your foot. These are the three most common areas of your foot likely causing pain that can ruin your golf swing. Behind these pain-prone spots can lie stiff joints, stretched-out tissues and even nerve damage. But pain relief is possible and frequently does not require surgery.

Arthritis can cause pain in the joint of your big toe that makes it difficult to follow-through on your golf swing.

Heel pain typically results from an inflammation of the band of tissue that extends from your heel to the ball of your foot. People with this condition compare the pain to someone jabbing a knife in their heel. Heel pain can make it uncomfortable for golfers to maintain a solid stance during crucial portions of their golf swing.

Neuromas are nerves that become thickened, enlarged and painful because they’ve been compressed or irritated. A neuroma in the ball of your foot can cause significant pain as your body transfers its weight from one foot to the other in a golf swing.

Several other painful conditions can also cause instability during your swing. Some athletes and former athletes develop chronic ankle instability from previous ankle sprains that failed to heal properly. Motion-limiting arthritis and Achilles tendonitis can also affect your balance. Ill-fitting golf shoes may cause corns and calluses that make standing uncomfortable. For the majority of golfers and other patients simple treatments such as custom orthotic devices (shoe inserts), stretching exercises, changes to your shoes, medications, braces or steroid injections and physical therapy help to alleviate or eliminate symptoms. However, if these conservative measures fail to provide adequate relief, surgery may be required. Foot pain is not normal. With the treatment options available, a pain-free golf swing is clearly in view. When your feet aren’t in top condition, your golf swing won’t be either. For more information please visit our website, ww.drrobertrosenstein.com and/or call our office, 440-946-5858 to set-up a consultation.