Regular Articles
The Social-Historian
My starting point was the 1960 state registration Act, and the reason for that was because Gerry Larkin’s examination of ‘chiropody’ had basically run from the 19th century up to 1960. Thus, the sociology of podiatry had already been written up until 1960, but nothing had followed since then. I saw the opportunity, and took it upon myself to be the person to undertake an analysis of the post-1960 profession, and that’s how it happened. There were other brief articles, mainly by the historian Colin Dagnall, which addressed certain features of the profession during those years, but nothing which specifically drew upon the sociology of the professions.
Delayed Big Toe Surgery!
I look at why there is a discrepancy between being admitted to a private hospital through the NHS. In this case we need to get to the ‘heart’ of the problem. Additionally revision surgery and expectations are discussed with Tom in my conclusion.
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.
Threats to Rafael Nadal’s Future?
For you or I, who are low key in our activity, relative to athletes in peak condition, this condition may settle and you can live with the condition adequately. However, the types of forces Nadal creates with tennis foot and ankle contact on the court are akin to the problems beset by Andy Murray with his hip joint. Murray’s hip was more amenable to surgery than Nadal’s foot will be. The reason athletes can push themselves is their competitive streak, motivation, and extreme fitness, long training and ethics to be better than everyone else – this allows them to compensate for the type of problems the regular person would give up on a long time ago.
Musings about corns and callus
My favourite story comes from space
Scott and Don had been in space for 300 and 365 days respectively. Their blogs recorded interesting experiences. Because astronauts are not walking around on the ground under the force of gravity they don’t have to wear shoes in space.
“The calluses on your feet in space will eventually fall off so, the bottoms of your feet become very soft like newborn baby feet. But the top of my feet develop rough alligator skin because I use the top of my feet to get around here on space station when using foot rails.” Scott Kelly
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.
A dying healthcare system
Consultants split their time between the NHS and the independent sector, although some remain loyal to the NHS alone. Surgeons often make up their salary in this system, taking away an essential NHS resource – experienced professionals. This was the deal that Bevan had to negotiate. It is true that junior consultants have found it harder to follow their senior colleagues into the independent sector but eventually they trim back their hours if they want to work this sector.
Arthritis and the big toe
I confess I am not keen on the word arthritis as it conjures up a disease of the worst kind. So let us use the phrase ‘arthrosis’ because the term means a condition associated with deterioration of any joint, not just the big toe. Severe forms of arthrosis come under a wonderful term – the arthritides (arth-rit-eedees), which sounds like a member of Jason and the Argonauts crew in Greek mythology. Rheumatoid arthritis and gout are two such conditions which are highly destructive. Already you can see Latin and Greek in our language. Medical people love to make everything sound complicated and a bit of old language helps!
Morton’s Nerve Pain
Nerves can recover but often start off because there is local inflammation. The symptoms of what we call neuritis can shoot back up the foot, are often short lived and occur when the foot is compressed initially. Most of the population consult someone between the ages of 40-60. However, there are some who experience the condition as early as 20-30. If caught young then recover can be encouraging. In 1995 Gordon Bennett looked at 115 patients and followed them for 2 years. Thirty-nine percent did well with insoles and footwear alterations. In other words altered their footwear.
What age is best for bunion surgery?
Wouldn’t it be nice to read something that told you exactly what age and when to have your bunion operated? This is but a taster to make you consider your options carefully. There are other links from ConsultingFootPain