Heel Pain Collingwood

Heel Pain Collingwood: Eliminate Heel Pain Before it Starts!

2011-11-18T14:53:00.000-05:00

Heel Pain Collingwood: Eliminate Heel Pain Before it Starts!: Image by twicepix via Flickr If you are experiencing pain in your heels , you are not alone. Unfortunately, heel pain is a common con...

Eliminate Heel Pain Before it Starts!

2011-11-18T14:52:00.000-05:00

Image by twicepix via Flickr

If you are experiencing pain in your heels, you are not alone. Unfortunately, heel pain is a common condition in adult feet. You can experience heel pain in the front, back, or bottom of the heel.

Think about it, your heel bone is the largest bone in the foot and every time you walk you are putting weight on the heel bone. After awhile it can cause discomfort. But not only can heel pain affect you because of the day to day wear on your feet, but pain can also come from injury while running, jumping, and walking on hard surfaces, along with not wearing the right shoes, or gaining weight.

Treatment options for heel pain will depend upon your needs. One option is adding cushion in your shoes to help absorb shock and elevate the heel to transfer pressure. Another option may be an orthotic, which can help arch support and prevent inflammation.

So how can you avoid heel pain? Well first of all you can buy shoes that will provide enough room for your feet, along with shock absorbent soles, and supportive heel counters. Second, you can warm up by doing stretching exercises before and after running. Third, rest your feet from activity, especially if you are involved in sports. Fourth, if weight is a factor then it’s important to lose the excessive weight that may be causing extra pressure on your heels. And lastly, appropriate footwear is also important for helping with heel pain by making sure that you buy shoes with a firm heel counter, good arch support, and at appropriate heel height.

If you, or someone you know, is experiencing heel pain, please call our office and set up an appointment. We would love the chance to help you move about pain free. Contact us www.abbottfootclinic .ca or call the office at 705.444.9929

Heel Pain – Can it be healed?

2011-05-26T07:13:00.001-04:00

With every step, our feet do the hard work that can lead to heel pain and other discomfort. A mile into a good walk, 60 tons of stress have been placed on each foot—and too much stress will push them over their limits.

The good news? With rest and treatment, a heel can return to its proper function without the pain attached. In some cases, however, when the early signs of heel pain are ignored, symptoms will increase and may cause pain in the ankle as well. Problems continue to compound on one another when pain goes unaddressed. While surgery is rarely necessary to resolve heel pain, attention to such pain at an early stage can omit further discomfort or injury before it’s too late.

What causes heel pain to begin with? Pounding feet on hard surfaces during sports-- or wearing old or non-supportive footwear, can put someone on the fast track to heel pain and the need for medical treatment. If your heel begins to hurt, checking with your doctor right away can prevent unnecessary procedures and will address the issue before it becomes a much larger problem. Your treatment will vary based on the location of your pain, either beneath or behind the heel. For more information, see our April 2011 Newsletter.

It’s easy to shrug off minor aches and pains as they come and go in our bodies, but heel pain—when acknowledged early on, is one discomfort you can live without. If you’re currently experiencing heel discomfort, we’ll be happy to take a look at your feet to suggest a proactive solution. We trust you’ll be glad you did!

Tony Abbott, D.Ch.Registered Chiropodist / Foot Specialist705-444-9929 http://www.AbbottFootClinic.ca

2011-05-19T22:00:00.003-04:00

Achilles Tendonitis Sidelines Tiger Woods

Tiger Woods had to withdraw from the Players Championship last week after re-injuring his left Achilles Tendon. This type of injury can really haunt an athlete and can sometimes end careers if not addressed properly.

To start with let me explain what Achilles Tendonitis is. The Achilles Tendon is the large tendon that connects your calf muscles to the back of the heel. It is basically an overuse syndrome that results in pain, usually about 4 cm above the heel bone. There may be cramping within the calf muscles themselves and stiffness and swelling around the ankle. These symptoms can worsen over time.

As was recommended for Woods, rest, cold water therapy and soft tissue treatment are the main components to managing this condition. Rest is critical – the more that you can rest the area the better. This often involves modifying the activities that you participate in which is frustrating for both professional athletes and weekend warriors alike. Assessing your footwear to ensure it is a good match with your foot structure is very important and temporary heel lifts can be added. This will help reduce the tension on the Achilles tendon during the healing phase. Stretching is a vital part of Achilles tendon injuries to help mobilize the tendon fibers and reduce the chance of scar tissue forming. You must, however be careful not to overdo this and to stop when you start to feel slight discomfort. It is not advisable to stretch through the pain. You may do more harm than good.

So how long will Tiger be out… no one really knows for sure. He will need to rest and let his injuries heal completely and take it week by week.

Achilles tendonitis is basically an overuse injury and pain may be experienced at the insertion into the heel bone or in the mid-portion of the tendon about 4 cm above the heel bone. For more information, see www.abbotfootclinic.ca

Tony Abbott

Achilles Tendonitis --- OUCHHHH!

2009-08-27T10:58:00.002-04:00

The Achilles tendon is the longest and most powerful tendon in the body. It is located in the back of the lower part of the leg, attaches to the heel bone and connects the leg muscles to the foot. The Achilles tendon enables us to walk, run, rise up on our toes, jump etc. The most popular injury the Achilles tendon is susceptible to is Achilles tendonitis. Achilles tendonitis is when the Achilles tendon becomes irritated or overused which causes inflammation. The cause of the inflammation is due to repetitive overstress or over-pronation of the tendon. Symptoms include severe aching or burning pain in the back of the heel and overall discomfort when performing simple activity such as rising up on toes. As far as treating this condition goes, relieving the stress on the Achilles tendon should be the primary focus. Regular ice therapy and active light stretching exercising will help rehabilitate. Proper supportive footwear such as a good running shoe or walking shoe will be most comfortable as a high heel shoe will cause immediate irritation and pain to the injured tendon. An orthotic device is also recommended to provide extra comfort and to help speed up the healing process while maintaining proper alignment, therefore, alleviating the stress on the Achilles tendon. With the use of orthotics, patients usually experience pain relief within a few weeks and complete recovery from the injury generally in 2-3 months.

Ped-Egg-The Good The Bad & The Ugly

2009-06-11T18:34:00.000-04:00

Dry, cracked, callused feet? The majority of us have it whether we choose to admit it or not. The sand paper like skin catches and cause runs in stockings, they look hideous in sandals and they can be very painful when they crack and turn into open sores. So what’s the solution? Well, a new product called the Ped-Egg might seem like a great solution; however, if you do your research and take a good look at the pros and cons of this product, the cons definitely outweigh the pros. The Ped-Egg is said to be a revolutionary foot file. It has over 135 stainless steel micro files that remove calluses and dead skin. The Ped-Egg is in the shape of an egg and therefore it fits comfortably in the palm of your hand. It has a removal base that collects the skin shavings so there is no mess. Sounds great right? Although the Ped-Egg looks and sounds great there are a number of things that people should be aware of. First and foremost, the Ped-Egg should NOT be used by diabetics, people suffering from peripheral neuropathy, poor circulation and/or minimal or complete loss of sensation in your feet. When used incorrectly, i.e. in the incorrect motion, one of the over 135 blades could easily cut the bottom of the foot. If someone with peripheral neuropathy has even the smallest cut on the bottom of their foot, it can easily go unnoticed and may result in serious complications such as ulcers and in extreme cases amputation. People that don’t have any or limited knowledge about how to correctly file the foot unlikely to be able to gage a safe amount of the callus to remove, which can cause bleeding and damage to the feet. Calluses and dry feet are best treated with a variety of creams, recommended by a Chiropodist/Foot Specialist. One cream that I personally use and recommend to patients in my practice is Callex. Callex is an exfoliating ointment for dry cracked feet. It is diabetic-friendly and lightly fragranced with refreshing peppermint oil. With daily use, exfoliation and/or softening may take between 2 and 4 weeks, depending on the amount of dry or thickened skin on your foot.
It is obvious that the possible complications and negative effects this device can have on your feet outweigh the pros. It’s simply not worth the risk. Keep in mind, products that look and sound too good to be true usually are. We only get one set of feet, is it worth the risk? If you have dry feet or calluses its best to visit a Chiropodist and have them properly treated.

Summary of Treatment Options for Plantar Fasciitis

2009-03-01T21:02:00.002-05:00

As an introduction for this blog, I recently found an article about the most common type of heel pain - Plantar Fasciitis. While I feel the article does a pretty good job of explaining Plantar Fasciitis and the array of treatment options that are available, I do not agree with it all of its contents.
Over the next few weeks , I will be going in to more depth about the protocol that I use in my office to successful resolve heel pain using conservative methods. But for now, check the link below for the full article...

http://www.fwdailynews.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=1716:Many-options-available-for-plantar-fasciitis-pain&catid=100:terry-gaff&Itemid=136