Heel Pain! Make It Stop!!!!!

Have you been experiencing heel pain every morning when you get out of bed? Do you feel like you are 110 years old every morning  when you wake up? You might have Plantar Fasciitis, or more commonly called Heel Pain! In our office we see several patients a week who suffer from this ailment.

Sometimes Plantar Fasciitis can be easily treated and other times other intervention is necessary. When I see a patient for heel pain, it is not uncommon to get an X-ray. I do the X-ray to rule out the stress fracture of the heel. Once this is excluded from my differential, I evaluate the posterior muscle group of the calf and Achilles' tendon.  Many patients get confused on why I evaluate their calf when the bottom of their foot hurts. I explain to all of my heel pain patients that the calf muscle becomes the Achilles' tendon, the largest tendon in your body, that crosses your ankle joint and inserts on the middle third of your heel bone. The plantar fascia attaches to the bottom part of that same bone. When your Achilles' tendon is tight and calf muscles are tight your plantar fascia will be tight!



The reason I go to great lengths to explain to my patients the correlation between the the tight calf and Achilles with tight plantar fascia, is because if I can get them to understand the muscle biomechanics I can get them to understand why stretching is vital part of getting their plantar fasciitis better. I give every patient with plantar fasciitis homework, STRETCHING! It isn't always the complete fix, but a big part of how these patients get better!There are many simple wall stretches and basic runners stretches for the calf, that works great.

Sometimes supporting the arch with a good over the counter orthotic can be helpful, using a doctor prescribed night splint and Rx anti-inflammatory can all be extremely helpful for even some of the worst cases of plantar fasciitis.

If you have been suffering from plantar fasciitis and you are not getting better on your own, you should see your local board certified podiatrist. Podiatrists are the experts on the foot and ankle, with four years of Post Graduate Training and completion of a two or three year surgical training program focused on the lower limb and additional rotations in fields such as vascular surgery, plastic surgery and other medical focuses that enhance their ability to best provide your foot or ankle with the highest quality care!

Thank you for taking the time to read our Blog! If you have any problems with your feet, Dr. Henne or myself, Dr. McGowan would be more than happy to help you get back on your feet again:)
We have offices located in Clermont, Tavares and The Villages, Florida. Or if you want to learn more about other foot and ankle conditions visit us at http://centeranklefootcare.com/id6.html
You can also call for an appointment at 352-242-2502.

Easter Egg Guessing Contest at Center For Ankle and Foot Care

Very simple to enter this one:

 

 

Then Give us your best guess!

 

 

 

or if you are not on FACEBOOK, go to our blog  and leave a comment, your guess on how many eggs you think are in the Jar. Pretty simple:)

Good Luck Guessing!!!!

Treating nail fungus is a team effort!

Many patients are interested in having the State of the Art PinPointe Laser Treatment for their discolored, thickened fungal toenails.  Before anyone jumps into having this procedure done, we sit down and explain to them why, what they do at home, is just as important as the Laser treatment itself. Yes the PinPointe Laser for toenail fungus is an amazing procedure, but patients have to be active in their roll to prevent any reinfection!

How the PinPointe Laser works is simple. This patented laser is specially designed to shine through your toenail and destroy the specific pathogens embedded in and under your nail causing the infection.  Unlike other lasers that are used for skin or pain treatments, the PinPointe™ laser is designed and used for only one purpose; to safely destroy molds and bacteria that cause fungus nail infections (Onychomycosis). If the nails is extremely thick it can take up to three treatments and quite a bit of patience, as it truly takes 9 months to a years for a whole new nail to grow out.

Before the patient has the PinPointe Laser performed a thorough evaluation of the skin and nails is performed. If the patient has a bad case of athlete's foot, they will be given a prescription for a topical anti fungal for the skin. I would see them back after a couple of weeks before I would perform the laser treatment. I explain that success is dependent on the foot being in an environment that is free of fungus. If a patient has the PinPointe Laser procedure performed, what they do from that moment on can play a role in their success rate. Once we have performed this procedure, patients are given instructions on preventive care for the toes.

 

What to Avoid After Having the PinPointe Laser Treatment :

• Any shoes that you have worn before the Laser (especially shoes you have worn without socks)
• Nylons or panty hose
• Going barefoot in environments that could expose you to fungus again
• Pedicures in places that do not AUTOCLAVE instruments and take all precautions to protect you
• Wet moist environmental exposure to feet(ie. constantly having wet shoes) usually occupational hazard

Why it is Important to Avoid these things After The Laser:

• Any shoes that you have worn before the Laser was Performed are basically little incubators for the fungus, putting these shoes back on puts you at risk for reinfection!
• Nylons do not breath, again causing an environment that will be moist and possibly be a red flag for your toes!
• Taking precautions in environments that you are not familiar with is important, if Joe Schmo has fungus and you walk in his house barefoot, you are increasing your chance of reinfection!
• Do not get a Pedicure unless you know: that all instruments are autoclaved, they use liners between each client, that the pedicure chairs are pipeless and tubeless, that they do not reuse any files on anyone and that they do not reuse nail polish from client to client!
• If you are a landscaper, chef or someone whose feet are constantly getting wet at work, you need to change your shoes during the day and even consider spraying your feet with an anti fungal spray during the day while at work!
• 
  There is a shoe sterilizer that we recommend called SteriShoe that you can purchase to sterilize your shoes daily!

If you are interested in learning more about the PinPointe Laser for toenail fungus, feel free to check out our website: http://toenailfungusorlando.com 

Our webpage has all the information you need to make an educated decision if this procedure is right for you. We have an office in Clermont, Tavares and The Villages in Florida. We would love to help you take a step in the right direction to healthy more beautiful toes.