FOOT PAIN- “oh my aching feet”

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We all know when our feet hurt. It affects our mobility, our ability to do exercise, our social activities and impacts on our quality of life.

Sources of pain are many and varied, but are in the main treatable and preventable.

Causes of pain include:

  • Heel pain or ‘plantar fasciitis’
  • Joint pain from arthritis
  • Injuries such as sprains, fractures or soft tissue damage
  • Achilles’ tendon pain which is the tendon which connects your calves to your feet
  • Shin splints which is pain along the shinbone
  • Nerve pain which can be felt as numbness, tingling or unusual sensation in your feet or legs
  • Blood vessel blockage from vascular disease
  • Sever’s disease which is primarily in young and physically active people
  • Callus, corns, warts, fungal infections or other skin conditions
  • Ingrown nails, Thickened and damaged nails
  • Structural differences such as bunions, flat feet, high arched feet

PREVENTION:

Looking after our general health includes looking after our feet, so suitable footwear whether at home or running in a marathon is important. Developing good foot hygiene practices prevents skin conditions such as tinea and fungal nail disease. If you have diabetes, it is recommended to have regular foot checks from a podiatrist to uncover any risks or complications to your foot health.

TREATMENT:

A visit to Better Health Practice to see your podiatrist will include steps to diagnose the problem. Treatment of pain is varied, ranging from strapping, stretching and strengthening for injuries, biomechanical issues may be resolved with orthoses and footwear advice. Callus and corns are removed, nails are reduced thus effectively dealing with any pain caused by them. Advice on further prevention is given.

So whatever the pain in your feet, we can give you relief today. Call the clinic on (02) 9518 0722

Are your children experiencing heel pain?

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Background

Heel pain in children may be commonly known as Sever’s disease or Calcaneal Apophysitis. Way back in 1912, James Warren Sever an orthopedic doctor was the first person to describe the condition. Doctor Severs decided to name the condition after his last name. So keep in mind Sever’s disease is not a sinister disease, rather just the name commonly used to describe heel pain in children.

What is Children’s heel pain? (Sever’s disease)

Children may develop Calcaneal Apophysitis which is caused by irritation to the heel growth plate. The irritation may be due to an increased level in sporting activities, an increase in body weight or starting a new activity. Also the irritations can arise due to the foot muscles that connect to the bottom of the heel and Achilles tendon (the big fibrous cord on the back of your heel) as they pull against the heel when walking.

Growth spurts in both girls and boys start between the ages 8-14 years old. Usually by the age of 15, the growth plate has fused, hardened and your child symptoms will cease. 

Symptoms

  • Pain in the morning
  • Redness at the heels
  • During activities
  • After activities/sports
  • Limping

With these symptoms of heel pain it may prevent your child from wanting to play sport, be active or even move. Children may also toe walk so they can try to reduce pressure on their heels.

Diagnosis

Here at better health podiatry we can assist with diagnosis of your child’s heel pain.

We may request imaging if we suspect a fracture or other more serious condition. Imaging such as an xray is usually not required since there is no difference between children with and without heel Calcaneal apophysitis on imaging.

  • Arrow pointing at the growth plate
    Image A) Xray of a 9 year old where the growth plate has not fused
Image B) The red arrow points at a fused growth plate. Patient age 15.

Treatment

Luckily Calcaneal apophysitis easies over time without treatment. Our podiatrists can assist with further offloading strategies for your child to be continually active during sporting activities if symptoms do persist.

If your child is experiencing heel pain one easy management option that they can start off with is massaging the back of the leg with moisturiser for 10 minutes. Also using a wheat heat pack before and after activities may assist to sooth pain.

If you child experiencing heel pain come in for an assessment and we will get to the root of the cause. For further information call (02) 9518 0722

Richard Ching
Podiatrist

Sports Injuries of the Lower Limb in Children and Adolescents By David Wong – Podiatrist

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Differences between Child and Adult Sports Injuries

The young sportsperson is not a smaller version of an adult. Treating children, teenagers, and adolescents for sports related injuries requires expert knowledge about the patient’s development. Children’s bones, muscles, tendons, and ligaments are still developing, making them more susceptible to injury. Read more

Why should we worry about our Kids Feet? David Wong – Podiatrist

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As parents, we worry about our children’s eyes, teeth and other parts of our anatomy. We teach them washing, grooming and brushing their hair. But what do you do about your children’s feet? Their feet are still developing and have to carry their whole body’s weight for a lifespan. Their feet will walk thousands and thousands of kilometers in their lifetime! Read more

Fungal Nails – Why Laser is Safer and More effective than the other treatments for nail fungus

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proximal-subungual-onychomycosis-225851At Better Health, part of our mission statement is to find effective and innovative treatment options that can be used as an alternative to treatments such as medications, which can have terrible, unwanted side effects. It is important to remember that any oral medication that you ingest has to be metabolized by your liver. I have found that treating toenail fungus with laser is an effective, safe and successful way of eliminating the fungus in toenails.

Fungal infections of the toenails can be difficult to treat. The infection causes discoloured, ugly toenails that are often unsightly. Many of my patients describe it as embarrassing and ugly. Read more

Laser Therapy for Fungal Nails – Simply the best solution out there………….

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proximal-subungual-onychomycosis-225851Nearly 15% of Australians suffer from fungal nail disease. It is a fungal infection similar to Tinea pedis that lives on and under the nail bed and nail. These nails, can be hard to be trimmed as it commonly presents as a thickened brittle nail. The nail may turn yellow, brown or white depending on the colony of fungus affecting the nail. Read more

Extracorporeal Shockwave Therapy for Achilles Tendonitis, Heel and Arch Pain

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What is extracorporeal shockwave therapy?

Shock wave therapy uses pressure waves to treat various musculoskeletal conditions. It is a non-invasive method to treat chronic soft tissue conditions such as Heel and Arch pain.  High-energy acoustic waves (shock waves) deliver a mechanical force to the body’s tissues. Read more

Fungal Nail – Why Laser is safest and most effective

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Fungal nail infection of the toenail (onychomycosis) is a difficult to treat condition. The infection causes discolored, ugly toe nails that can be very unsightly. The treatment is challenging because the beasties live in the nail bed (the part that we can’t see, beneath the skin). Topical therapies are largely ineffective because they don’t penetrate into the nail bed, and the period of treatment is generally so long that poor compliance in using the topical treatment. Read more

New Laser treatment for onychomycosis

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laserAbout 15-25% of us suffer from some kind of fungal nail infection or Onychomycosis which is its proper name. A typical first sign is a white or yellow spot under the tip of the nail. As it spreads the nail becomes more discoloured. It may also thicken and develop a distorted shape and the edges may become brittle and deteriorate. Read more