Biomechanics and the foot orthosis
In the USA, from the sixties, the earlier designs were based around a popular subject called ‘biomechanics’. This was a pseudo term but became a significant part of the podiatric medicine degree course in the USA. Much of this pseudo-science involved measurements with protractors (tractographs) and in build error ‘eyesight’ assessment which led to assumptions with a predilection for the concept of wedging. The foot orthosis (F.O.), as it was called, tried to separate itself from the older insole and appliance. A google search today will still confuse the terms.
Smelly Feet and the Home Truth
Poor hygiene adds to the build-up of skin squares offering greater bacterial opportunity. However, increased sweating requires increased temperature, exercise and stress affected by medical drugs and chemicals as in foods. Increased sweating may require medical intervention. One condition that is less common is pitted keratolysis; lysis means breaking down.
A career in Podiatric Medicine
Most podiatrists are only too happy to speak to school leavers and students about the profession of podiatry. Contact the practice and ask if you can attend a clinic
Podiatry as a Career
Like a flying carpet from the Arabian Nights of old, I was transformed along a landscape that threw up new opportunities; it was an unchartered journey, unlike today. Like many friends and colleagues, I did not leave school knowing about podiatry. Our career’s office at school failed to mention this, and I was heading for a failed destiny. By chance, I was redirected as many have been.
Foot Cramp is There a Cause?
Salt is not just sodium chloride but calcium, potassium, magnesium. These chemicals are also known as electrolytes which are important for nerve conduction and health muscle function. One myth cramp was to eat a banana because this had potassium, a significant body salt. Athletes had their blood levels measured based on their loss of water in sweat and, hence, salt loss. The findings showed little difference between those who suffered cramp and those that don’t.
What is a foot orthosis?
A podiatric consultation is wise for medical foot problems (diabetes, rheumatoid, psoriatic arthritis, compound arch pain, or deformity). High-performance athletes are best consulting a podiatrist with a sports interest as the market is broad and confusing for laypeople.
Urine Holds the Secrets of Health
In the past, physicians would hold up a sample of urine to the light and declare all manner of diagnoses. As a podiatrist in training, colour became a prodigious indicator of so many aspects of medical assessment – the colour of the lips for oxygen exchange, the skin and blemishes for cancer, the colour of the nail bed for heart and lung as well as kidney disease. In every case, subtle colour changes might have played a part from the yellowing features created by jaundice and hence a sign of liver malfunction to the loss of pigment in black skin – vitiligo. When it came to body waste, it was easy to assume this had nothing to do with the podiatrist…
Which Bones are Most at Risk from Fracture?
When my wife broke a bone in her foot back in October 2021, no one was more surprised than me. During my career, I have been interested in two facts. How people walk on their feet for so long without knowing they have broken a bone. Secondly, the methods we use to make such an assessment can fail, or the diagnosis can be missed. I wanted to introduces broken bones into the discussion about foot health as part of my ongoing pain series. Officially we all know breaks as fractures. Fractures, by dictionary definition (Little Oxford dictionary, 2002), are cracks or breaks which serves my purpose well. A quick check on Wiki and the definition has not changed but our views have.
Fitness centres make health better
Fitness centres are often called gyms, but are they just places to enhance our bodies or can they contribute to our health and wellbeing? I talked to Daley Denning, manager of the LED centre at Seaton, to find out more about his service, career, and training.
Toe shape causing a nerve pain
It would be hard to believe that toe shapes causes a nerve pain. Of course the nerve is not called Morton’s anymore than all cakes are called Kipling, but maybe the shape of a cake could be called Kipling just as a toe shape might be called Morton’s toe.
Footwear can be tricky
As a child of the late fifties, I had my feet measured with loving care. It was an independent shoe outlet called Pomfret’s. As the years went by the father moved on and left it to his son John, a smart forty-something man with tight but neatly creased trousers, and sharp-pointed slip-on shoes. His haircut might have come from the days of Elvis Presley.
Some Things You Need to Know About Bunion Surgery?
When a colleague (HFP) sought this question, she was generous and mentioned her surgeon was busy and thought it an oversight. I am both an ex-patient and a foot surgeon, and I’m afraid I have to disagree. We often confuse nice with good, and all clinicians have a blip – but then don’t we all? So we have a patient leaving the hospital after bunion surgery. No post-operative information is apparent, so what does she do? Call a friend! This, in fact, is Facebook and jolly good it is as there is a heap of friendly advice.
How Does Bunion Surgery Impact Our Lives?
It may seem simple to accept a risk from surgery is low in percentage terms but in this article I explore a new phenomena to may patients and that is actual impact should a perceived low risk actually arise. A number of different complications and problems are discussed and the impact this has should it arise is highlighted with examples and supplementary papers.
Podiatry as an Inspiring Career
The breadth of options following qualification is not only considerable but podiatry is a profession with a job at the end of study. There is something for everyone, mature and young, and it is one profession that does not have a gender issue.
Caught Out with Cancer
Cancer is something which affects any part of the body but being caught out may not always be the doctor’s fault. In this article I am using the abbreviation ‘S.M.ART’ which will be explained at the end. But how could we call be fooled by the story of my father’s sudden death from bowel cancer. Who was to blame?
Time to challenge the flat foot
Flat foot is not necessarily abnormal and yet unwary people are exposed to sales techniques based on the supposition that the arch should be a specific shape. I have a look more closely at the myths surrounding the flat foot and discuss pronation.
The Irritating Little Toe
In this self-help article, the irritating little toe problem is discussed. Usually the problem will settle within a week of self prescribed care. I have chosen this subject as the condition is slightly different from the usual fungal infection affecting the toe. Before panicking and thinking you are unclean read this article from ConsultingFootPain.
Five conditions in feet caused by cancer treatment
e know that certain chemotherapies can affect the feet from preventing us from carrying out normal routines, especially particularly after having surgery for cancer. Some of these side effects exhibited can be painful. Clinicians supporting patients with cancer aim to minimise such complications from therapy.
Factsheets for Patients
ITelling a story is powerful and better expressed than many clinicians can offer. There is a balance between downplaying risks and the impact of having a particular treatment. Today it is the patient who must decide which pathway to travel.
Pain and Prevention of Blisters
The skin, footwear and terrain play major parts in causing blisters in the normal foot without complicated skin problems. Take care of this and you are half way there.
The Magic of the Pelvic Floor
For the most part we are led to believe that many post natal issues are just ‘normal’ or par for the course of being a woman. Heavy periods, incontinence, painful sex, prolapse and suffering the symptoms of the perimenopause are all part of being a woman aren’t they? Much can be overcome by advice and implementing strategies early on.
Skin Cracks & Fissures in Feet
Skin fissures can affect all genders, but footwear design can be an influencing factor. The shoe that causes the most problems is the mule or a shoe design that has no heel counter or strap. This allows the heel to slip but can cause the skin to bulge over the edge of the heel. This extra tissue distortion causes skin the thicken and then crack. Cold and damp weather can affect the skin as much as overuse of these shoe designs.
The Puppet Toe
Zandra’s toe was not dislocated, but untreated hallux valgus (bunion) deformities can cause this problem. The simplest approach is to straighten both the first and second toe together. If the toe problem arises later, as in Zandra’s case, we can deal with the second toe alone. Evidence is poor, so we must look at the broader picture. Do we know when hammer toes start to be notable in the human population?
Do corn plasters work on corns?
Today we know more about the humble corn than we have done in the past, but for many patients, sharp dissection on a cyclical basis is a quick fix, even if it is not permanent. Unlike a callus, however, your approach must be considered more cautiously. Part 1 covers some of the reasons why everyone needs to be aware that a corn may appear simple but may not be.
Hard skin on our feet?
If your foot is not conventional in shape, and you have bone prominences, the chances are these parts of the foot will be exposed to pressure. You may have to measure the largest foot and fit this, then use an insock (filler) to allow the smaller foot a better fit. Most shoe shops carry these insocks. Unlined shoes stretch better than lined shoes; you can push paper or shoe trees into the toe box to stretch the shoe. Professional stretching is less common than once available. Cobblers may offer a service to do this for you, or you can purchase a shoe stretcher for under £20 online.
The Softer Side of Podiatry
When it comes to skin – callus and corns occur in different degrees and can form extremely painful conditions, from splitting skin (fissures) to deeper ulcers, foreign indwelling damage and cysts. The nail bed harbours many problems and requires skill to navigate fleshy tumours and overgrown blood vessels, causing deformity and distortion known as hypergranulation.
Getting the best foot healthcare
This article focuses on getting the best foot care, but you can consider other relevant health concerns. Following some tips, you can check out some of the 70 key articles to support your quest for your foot problem at the bottom of this article.
The Fish Pedicure – good or bad?
CFP decided to look into this topic further and found some interesting facts. Yes, you can become infected from the doctor fish, as they are sometimes called, although the fish as Garra rufa fish and are found in the Middle East, such as Turkey, Syria, Iraq, Iran, the Far East – Indonesia. The Garra rufa belongs to the carp family. In their natural habitat, their suction helps them stick to rocks so they feed on plankton. In a town called Kangal, it was observed that the resident Garra rufa fed spared normal skin but ate psoriatic plaques. Let’s look at risk and potential reasons for scaremongering. Secondly, we need to feature the Garra Rufa fish.
Selling & Misselling Orthoses
At ConsultingFootPain my colleagues and I try to take the mystique out of foot health science and recognise it is easy to confuse patients. For example, pronation is yet another word based around anatomical movement.
Sports magazines and journals, podiatrists and others use the word pronation all the time. However, do we know or understand the importance of the term, which can be used to confuse? In addition, there is another angle to this word and one that is often attributed to flat feet.
Contact dermatitis and plants
Summer certainly attracts more plants and visitor activity than other seasons. Yet, even as I write this article, I feel itchy. We need to know what to avoid and if we are unfortunate to have a contact rash, we should know what to do. One point about the 10 plants I have picked is that many originate outside the UK while others remain in North America. Given the serious concerns with Japanese Knotweed for example, demonstrates that boundaries do not guarantee that you will come across something that has a kick in its leaf, stem or sap. Skin and respiratory problems arise in some but not all.
No Results Found
The page you requested could not be found. Try refining your search, or use the navigation above to locate the post.
No Results Found
The page you requested could not be found. Try refining your search, or use the navigation above to locate the post.
No Results Found
The page you requested could not be found. Try refining your search, or use the navigation above to locate the post.