FAQs

There are a couple of potential causes for numb middle toes, including conditions like neuromas and neuropathy.

Neuromas are nerve tissues that become thickened and enlarged due to external pressure. This pressure can come from various, normally-occurring tissues, but it is also sometimes caused by abnormal growths or tumors as well. A neuroma left untreated can become a permanent problem.

Whereas neuromas are caused by external factors, neuropathy is a condition wherein nerves become damaged and either cause faulty signals (which can lead to burning or tingling pain) or numbness. The condition is often associated with diabetes, but there are other causes, including vitamin deficiency, exposure to toxins, infections, and certain autoimmune disorders.

Many runners are familiar with black toenails. While they can look alarming, most often they are not too painful and resolve on their own. It is usually okay to run with a black toenail, as long as you are wearing proper-fitting shoes with adequate room in the toe box and thin, moisture-wicking socks.

This injury (also called a subungual hematoma) develops from repetitive trauma or pressure on the toenail from rubbing against tight socks or bumping the front of your shoe. The capillaries and blood vessels under the nail break and blood pools under the nail, causing discoloration. The old nail will most likely fall off over time and a new, healthy nail will grow back in.

There are times though when the build-up of fluid under the nail causes intense pressure and pain. Then we would encourage you to take a break from running and come in so Dr. David Haddad can safely drain the fluid, relieve the pressure, treat the toenail to ward off infection and help prevent it from reoccurring.

The athlete’s foot is a common fungal infection that can cause redness, scaling skin, itching, dryness, and blisters. It is caused by a fungus that grows in a dark, warm, and humid environment, and it usually begins between your toes. You are at risk if you frequently have sweaty feet and wear damp socks or tight-fitting shoes. How long an athlete’s foot lasts depends on what you do about it.

This fungal infection is contagious and can last for months or even longer if it is not treated properly. The fungus can be passed on through towels, clothing, and bedsheets, so you can keep getting re-infected. The fungus also thrives in environments such as public showers, pools, and changing rooms. Going barefoot in these areas can increase your risk of re-exposure. Without treatment, the infection may spread to your feet, toenails, hands, and groin, and the symptoms can worsen. With prompt treatment, the infection usually clears up in a couple of weeks.

Toes that curl down are often an indication of either a muscular imbalance or a nerve issue. There are three related, yet different, conditions where this happens – hammertoe, mallet toe, and claw toe.

• Hammertoe – Often affects the second toe and the digit bends at the middle joint down toward the floor.
• Mallet toe – Much like hammertoe, this happens with the second toe, but the key distinction is that the bend happens in the joint closest to the tip of the toe.
• Claw toe – This condition often affects all four smaller toes concurrently and the toes bend up at the first joint—the metatarsophalangeal joint at the base of the foot—and down at the other two joints.

This often happens when there is a difference in strength between the muscles on the top of the toes versus the ones on the bottom. This situation pulls the toe into its bent shape.

If your athletic shoes are too tight, running could make ingrown toenails worse. In fact, your footgear may have been what started your issues in the first place. The problem is caused when extra pressure squishes your toes together. If you don’t trim your toenails straight across, they might poke into the soft skin around it and make it red and inflamed. When you run, your nail could pierce the soft skin and aggravate the area, opening it up to infection.

To prevent this, make sure you have enough room in the front of your shoes. Make sure they are laced properly to keep your foot from sliding forward in the shoe, too. If you already have the condition, try soaking your feet in warm water and putting a piece of the cotton ball underneath the affected nail. 

We don’t often give much thought to our toes, but if you see toenail discoloration, this is a symptom that warrants your attention. There are several reasons for discolored nails. Most commonly, signs of white, yellow, or green often indicate a fungal infection. Yellow toenails, however, can also be indicative of diabetes, a weakened immune system, yellow nail syndrome, and chronic leg swelling (lymphedema). Changes in color can be symptomatic of liver, kidney, heart, or lung conditions, while red or black nails often happen as a result of trauma—the color due to blood pooling under the nail.

Care for an ingrown toenail at home is easy. Before you start, make sure you have a towel, cotton ball, bandage, and antiseptic ointment ready.

Soak your feet in warm water first. Add Epsom salts or an antibacterial soap if desired. Stay in the bath for 15 to 20 minutes to completely immerse and soften the ingrown toenail. Loosen up the area by massaging your toe underwater. Towel off once you’re done.

While your foot is still soft, gently lift up the corner of the ingrown toenail and try to put a small amount of cotton underneath to separate the nail from the skin. If the area is infected, apply an antiseptic medication. Then, wrap a bandage around it. Don’t try to clip the infected nail yet, because you could make the problem worse.

There are many different conditions that can affect the health of the skin on your feet, including psoriasis. This is a common skin condition that affects the life cycle of skin cells. More specifically, it causes skin cells to build up at a rapid rate, which leads to scaling and itchy, red patches that can be painful.

Psoriasis treatment is centered on stopping skin cells from growing so quickly—the cause of inflammation and plaque formation—and smoothing skin by removing scales.

Home care for psoriasis entails a combination of daily bathing, moisturizing, and getting the right amount of sunlight. It is important to do these in the correct way, so be sure to consult our office for specific tips.

Professional treatment for psoriasis can include topical medications, ultraviolet light therapy, and oral or injected medications. The specific treatment, or combination of treatments, will depend on your condition and situation.

You might not be aware of this, but your foot goes through an inward roll with every step you take. This roll starts with the strike of your heel and continues all the way through the final push from your toes. We call this biomechanical process pronation.

The rolling motion is important in ensuring that forces are equitably distributed across the foot. In fact, it is a critical element for proper shock absorption.

It is important to understand that certain issues can develop when a foot pronates either excessively (overpronation) or not enough (supination). This is compared to a normal rolling motion of approximately fifteen percent. Overpronation is linked to flatfoot, whereas supination is related to cavus foot (high foot arches).

If you have a bump on your baby toe, on the outside edge right where it meets the foot, then you have a condition known as a bunionette. This is a similar condition to a normal bunion, but it happens on the other side of the foot.

The bump is caused by a structural issue where the first bone in the toe starts pointing inwards towards the other toes. At the same time, the bone in your foot that leads up to the toe angles outwards. The two bones create a “sideways v” shape. It can help to think of that bump on your baby toe as the tip of the “v” and it will stick out further if those bones continue moving out of their intended alignments.

There are various causes of this condition, but the most common is footwear that has narrow toe boxes, like those found in stilettos, pumps, and other high-heeled shoes. As such, these are more likely to be found in women than men.

If you have had a blister develop on your foot before, you can relate to the discomfort even a small one can cause. A blister can be painful, make it difficult to wear shoes, and is vulnerable to infection if not treated properly. Luckily, there are easy and effective ways to prevent blisters.

If you are a runner, heading out on a long hike, or want to stop a blister that is healing from coming back, there are some helpful steps you can take. First, friction can increase when your feet are hot and sweaty, so do your best to make sure your feet are always clean, cool, and dry. Second, shoes need to be comfortable from the start–do not buy them if they need to be “broken in.” Buy shoes with a thumb’s width of space between the shoe and the end of your toes. Socks made of synthetic materials will wick moisture and reduce friction on your feet. Small pads or moleskin on pressure points will protect areas against friction as well.

Ankle sprains are common sports injuries, yet not many people are familiar with what happens when an ankle is sprained. To help you understand this injury, let’s start by looking at the anatomy of the ankle.

This anatomical structure consists of several bones—specifically, the lower leg bones (tibia and fibula), the ankle bone (talus), and the heel bone (calcaneus)—connected by various ligaments. The lower leg bones sit upon the ankle bone, which sits upon the heel bone.

There are two ankle joints – the “true” ankle joint and the subtalar joint. The true ankle joint is located where the leg bones connect to the talus. The subtalar joint is formed where the talus connects to the calcaneus.

An ankle sprain occurs when a twisting force on the foot or lower leg causes ligaments to extend beyond their intended range. This leads to swelling, bruising, ankle instability, and pain.

Yes, warts are contagious. These unsightly growths are typically harmless and will ultimately go away on their own, but they can easily be passed along from person to person. There are a couple of ways in which this happens and it is important to know them so you can stay wart-free or prevent infecting someone else.

Warts are caused by a virus known as human papillomavirus (HPV) and can be contracted when certain strains of HPV enter your body. Given that viruses are microscopic organisms, it only takes a tiny cut, scrape, or abrasion to provide an entrance. In addition to contracting HPV directly—often in warm, damp environments—touching someone else’s wart can cause one to form on your own body.

Corns and calluses are similar skin issues—both are thickened patches of skin that have developed for protective purposes—but they have unique distinctions. Specifically, they often vary in their appearance and where they can be found.

A corn is raised, often in a conical shape, and has a center that differs in consistency—either harder or softer—than the surrounding skin. They are frequently located in areas that do not bear weight, like between toes and on the tops of feet. Calluses are flat and typically found on weight-bearing areas.

Both of these skin patches are generally harmless, but they can pose a risk to those who live with diabetes. Either can ultimately turn into a foot ulcer, and that becomes a dangerous situation for a diabetic individual. If you find either of these conditions, schedule an appointment with Dr. Haddad so he can provide the proper treatment to keep you safe.

Ankle sprains are so commonplace they may not seem like a big deal, but the reality is that returning to activity before complete ankle sprain recovery can potentially lead to increased injury risk and more severe issues in the future, like chronic ankle instability.

Whereas they are often categorized with sports injuries (for good reason), it is certainly possible to sprain an ankle when performing even routine tasks like going upstairs or walking on uneven ground.

Your best path for avoiding ankle instability is to take time for complete ankle sprain recovery. If you are tempted to resume physical activity, remind yourself that it can put you at risk for future ankle sprains and instability.

Ankle sprains are some of the most common foot and ankle problems humans experience, but this doesn’t mean they should be taken for granted. Make sure you take the time to heal completely before resuming high-impact activities. 

Allergic reactions are responses by your body’s immune system to some sort of trigger. Many people are familiar with animal or food allergies but do not realize that food allergies exist until they begin to feel the symptoms of this particular problem.

Contact dermatitis of the feet occurs when direct contact is made with substances like detergents, certain fabrics, latex, solvents, or poisonous plants. These irritants can all invoke allergies of the skin and lead to reactions that are uncomfortable or even painful.

Angioedema is a skin disorder resulting in welts that are itchy and possibly painful. This condition is triggered by such substances as animal dander, insect bites, eggs, shellfish, berries, and pollen.

If you suffer from heel pain, and there are millions of Americans who do, you will likely be relieved to know there are ways to effectively address it. When it comes to treatment options for heel pain, some of the more effective ones include:

• Stretching. A couple of key connective tissues anchor to the heel bone. When these tissues—the Achilles tendon and plantar fascia—face excessive tension, heel pain can develop. Stretching your lower limbs can help with this.
• Medication. One of the best benefits of certain medications is not actually pain relief, but rather anti-inflammatory properties.
• Footwear choices. Shoes with ample cushioning in the heel and strong arch support can improve conditions that cause heel pain.
• Rest. In many cases, heel pain comes as the result of overuse. Accordingly, taking time away from high-impact activities or, even better, cross-training with low-impact activities will help.

To start with, it is important to note that bunions are progressive conditions, which means that they will not get better without the use of surgery. That said, relief of symptoms can often be found through the use of nonsurgical methods. We may recommend bunion surgery to patients who:

• Experience severe pain from the toe deformity and cannot find relief via other methods.
• Face restricted or limited activities on account of the bunion.
• Are unable to straighten or bend their big toe.

There are definitely cases where we recommend surgical procedures, but many patients can find the relief they need through conservative measures. Our bunion treatment will typically start with conservative care. If surgery is recommended, you can take comfort in the fact that Richardson Podiatry Associates has the trained personnel, equipment, and environment for successful procedures.

If his or her feet point outwards, your child has a condition we refer to as “out-toeing.” This tends to be less common than in-toeing and is more likely to have long-term issues, but it actually can have similar origins.

While in-toeing can happen either due to internal tibial torsion or femoral anteversion, out-toeing can be caused by external tibial torsion or femoral retroversion. Basically, in-toeing happens if the lower or upper leg bones twist inward, and this problem is the opposite.

In some cases, the condition develops on account of your infant’s fetal position during gestation. For other children, it can be a symptom of an underlying neurological problem. There are also instances where it is related to an existing flatfoot condition.

Custom orthotics vs. store-bought shoe inserts: What’s the difference? Custom orthotics are prescribed by a podiatrist and are uniquely shaped to your foot, while shoe inserts are a generic, over-the-counter pair that isn’t as customized. When we design additional support in the form of an orthotic, we can treat and prevent problems like plantar fasciitis, diabetic foot ulcers, and bunions. Inserts might relieve some minor pain problems, but they won’t be as effective. Orthotics cost more than shoe inserts from the drug store, but they will last a lot longer.

There are many things you can do at home to prevent foot problems, including:

• Clip your toenails straight across (not rounded) and even with the edge of your toes (not too short) to reduce your risk of ingrown toenails.
• Ask for help when carrying heavy objects, so they don’t accidentally fall on your feet.
• Moisturize your feet after showering or bathing, and before going to bed, to prevent dry skin and cracked heels.
• Stretch your lower limbs, especially your Achilles tendons and calf muscles, to prevent heel pain from conditions like plantar fasciitis and Achilles tendinitis.
• Keep your feet and toes dry to lower your risk of developing fungal toenails. If you don’t have diabetes, consider walking barefoot at home to keep them dry.
• Don’t share towels, socks, or other objects with a family member who has a fungal infection, athlete’s foot, or a plantar wart.

Can neuropathy be cured? Well, there are several types of neuropathy and each can bring its own set of symptoms. At the root is nerve damage, which can impair your ability to move, talk, breathe, and feel the heat, cold, or pain, depending on which type you have. We are well acquainted with neuropathy of the feet, which is a common symptom for those with diabetes.

Tingling, numbness, or even complete loss of sensation can happen when nerves become damaged due to high levels of glucose in the blood. Unfortunately, neuropathy is not a condition that can be cured. Damaged nerves cannot be reversed to become healthy once again. However, there’s a lot that you can do to prevent the damage from becoming worse. It is important to seek treatment at the onset of any numbness or loss of sensation in your feet. Dr. David Haddad can help you manage your condition with a variety of conservative treatment methods and prevention strategies.

Swelling in your feet or ankles is a condition known as edema, and it can be particularly common if you are pregnant, have recently undergone surgery, or were sitting in one place for an extended period of time (like on a long plane ride). The swelling happens when fluids build up in body tissues.

To reduce swelling in feet from edema, start with some home remedies, including:

• Elevate the affected limb(s) above heart level.
• Move around so your muscles will pump excess fluid back to your heart.
• Massage the area using firm, but not overly hard, pressure in the direction of your heart.
• Wear compression stockings.
• Reduce salt intake to prevent fluid retention.

If home remedies do not provide the desired relief, then it is time for professional care.

Gait analysis is a tool of sorts that we use to evaluate the biomechanical process (your gait) you use when you walk or run. The purpose of gait analysis is to understand how the structure of your feet and ankles relates to the way you are actually using them. There are various bits of information we can gather from this analysis, including your pronation style.

Pronation is a natural process wherein the feet roll inwards with every step. There is a normal range, generally considered to be around fifteen percent. Overpronation, often associated with flat feet, is a roll greater than that fifteen percent. Supination (under-pronation) usually happens with high arches and is an excessive outward rolling motion.

When you experience pain or discomfort from walking or running and aren’t sure what is going on, you may benefit from coming into our Richardson, TX office to have a gait analysis performed.

Heel spurs form over the course of many months in a process where calcium deposits build up on the underside of the calcaneus (heel bone). The pain that accompanies this condition is a result of strains on the ligaments and muscles in the foot, repeated tearing of the membrane covering the calcaneus, and overstretching of the plantar fascia. This condition is particularly common for athletes who perform a lot of running and jumping activities.

Common risk factors for the condition include gait abnormalities, poor-fitting or worn-out shoes, and excess weight. As a result, wearing shoes that fit well, losing weight, and stretching all help to prevent the painful spurs from forming.

When it feels like you are walking on marble or have a pebble in your shoe that isn’t there, you are likely suffering from a condition known as metatarsalgia. Pain in your feet can be caused by intense physical activity, poorly-fitting shoes, excess weight, stress fractures, and sometimes even an inherited foot structure.

The primary symptom of metatarsalgia is forefoot pain that has no apparent source. The pain can be described as aching, burning, or sharp and will typically worsen when you walk, stand, or flex your feet, but then subside with rest. In addition to pain or the sensation of a foreign object is under the foot, numbness and tingling are other symptoms that may accompany the condition.

Whether you have a small ankle sprain from stepping in a pothole or a severe twist where you can’t stand up, your injury needs prompt treatment so that you can avoid chronic pain in the future. The first step of at-home care for a sprained ankle is the RICE method, which stands for rest, ice, compression, and elevation.

Immediately after your injury, rest the ankle. If you need to get up, use crutches. Don’t place weight on the ankle until you know the extent of your injuries. If you try to walk it off, you risk re-injury, instability, and arthritis.

Before you ice, wrap your ankle in a compression bandage. This is going to immobilize the injured area and act as a barrier between the ice pack and your skin.

Elevate your foot—above the heart is best—and ice the area for 10 to 20 minutes to reduce pain and swelling. Take it off for 10 minutes and repeat.

Bunions form when you put uneven pressure on the tendons and joints in your feet. The big toe may not be able to handle the stress and, as a result, may start to form a painful, bony bump at the joint. Look around you: bunion causes could run in your family. Your foot type, often passed down from your parents, can make bunion formation more likely. Additionally, some congenital foot conditions are present when a baby is born and can lead to a bunion later in life.

Family history isn’t the only factor. You may be more likely to get a bunion if you’re a woman. This is primarily due to shoe choices, which hasten the progression of this deformity. Women tend to wear high heels, pointy shoes, tight-fitting footwear, or poorly fitted flats. Diseases such as arthritis and traumatic injuries may change your walk and put more pressure on areas of the foot that aren’t used to the stress.

If you treat heel pain the minute you start to notice it, you could save yourself a lot of time and almost guarantee a speedy recovery. The initial treatment options for plantar fasciitis are to limit or stop the activities causing your heel pain. Rest the affected area and avoid walking long distances or running on hard surfaces like concrete. You might want to consider taking an oral anti-inflammatory medication to further reduce your inflammation and pain. Icing your foot for five to 10 minutes at a time will also help reduce redness and swelling in the area.

Keeping your ligaments flexible can strengthen the damaged tissue. Warm up the heel with some stretches several times a day. To keep the pain away, wear shoes with good arch support and enough cushion for your heels. 

Leg cramps can happen for several different reasons. Legs that cramp during exercise may be a sign that the muscles are receiving inadequate blood flow, often because of a narrowing of the blood vessels. This type of cramping will often go away once you stop exerting yourself, but may gradually grow worse over time as the blood vessels continue to narrow. Other potential causes of cramps include a compressed nerve, side effects of certain medications, dehydration, and mineral deficiency.

If your legs are cramping regularly, that often means there is an underlying problem that needs to be addressed. 

Clubfoot is a congenital foot condition in which the feet are turned down and in so the bottom of the footpoints in or up. Clubfoot treatment begins soon after birth so that the child gains a functional foot with normal mobility.

It involves manipulation and casting using the Ponseti method to correct the abnormality. The casting is repeated every 1-2 weeks for 2-4 months. After this period, if the feet still need help getting into normal positioning, surgery may be required. It usually involves lengthening or releasing ligaments and tendons and/or repositioning the bones of the ankle. Braces or splints are needed after either method to protect the feet and keep them in the correct position. If started right away, most children respond very well to these forms of treatment and have no long-term pain or side effects.

Some of the more common causes of a toenail turning black are centered on physical trauma. When a toe experiences trauma, either through repetitive motion or a single event, the nailbed can become bruised or blood can begin to pool between the nail and its bed (which is known as a subungual hematoma). Black toenails are frequently experienced by runners who train long distances.

Darkened nails could also be an indication of a fungal infection. In rare cases, the dark coloration is the indication of malignant melanoma. Although this is not common, it can be quite serious and is a good reason to always have discolored nails evaluated.

Most subungual hematomas do not require much with regard to treatment. However, the condition can cause discomfort, so you may want to have the pool of blood safely drained.

Yes, custom orthotics can help with high arch pain. If you have high, rigid foot arches, physical forces on your feet are not distributed in an optimal manner. This is especially true during the gait cycle (when you walk).

Orthotics can be crafted to provide additional arch support and modify any biomechanical abnormalities that take place while you walk. Both of these are instrumental in helping to relieve the pain that can come with the cavus foot (high foot arches).

When your high arches are causing pain and taking away your ability to perform favorite activities, Richardson Podiatry Associates can help. Our treatment plan will be customized to your unique situation and we may prescribe a pair of custom orthotic devices to provide the relief you need.

Orthotics are customized medical devices intended to treat a variety of medical conditions that can lead to pain and discomfort. These are different than the over-the-counter inserts that can be purchased in retail stores and should only be used for extra cushioning or arch support. Whereas those inserts are not able to assist with medical issues, there are a variety of conditions orthotics treat—when created by our office for your specific needs.

Medical inserts can be an effective, essential component of treating a wide range of conditions, including metatarsalgia, Achilles tendonitis, plantar fasciitis, bunions and bunionettes, tarsal tunnel syndrome, flat feet, hallux rigidus, corns and calluses, cavus foot, Morton’s neuroma, and hammertoes, claw toes, or mallet toes.

“One of the successful treatments for plantar fasciitis is the use of custom fitted orthotics. Here at Richardson Podiatry Center, I will do a gait analysis to see if the mechanics of your gait contribute to the overstressing of the plantar fascia. We find that most people are asymmetrical, and that means that one foot performs or functions differently than the other foot. Most plantar fasciitis patients only have pain in one foot. We find the reason for that is that your gait is not symmetrical. The use of orthotics will correct certain biomechanical problems that contribute to your plantar fasciitis. Once we fit you for the custom fitted orthotics and we go through a break-in period, you will see an improvement that will not only get rid of your morning pain, but will also help you with any type of knee, hip, or back problems.

People take between 2,000-3,000 steps per day on a daily basis. If you have plantar fasciitis, in order to treat your plantar fasciitis, that ligament has to be supported so there is no flattening of your arch, which stretches the injured plantar fascial ligament. What orthotics will do is provide you with support in your arch that prevents that stretching of the injured fascial ligament. This is crucial in the healing of your injury.

If you go through with stretching and taking anti-inflammatory medication, that alone will not heal your plantar fasciitis problem. You have to immobilize the plantar fascial ligament. We do this with a custom-fitted orthotic. It is quite easily done. 

Whether or not you need treatment for flat feet depends on what kind of activities you perform and enjoy. Low arches do not typically cause pain on their own. They can create issues, though, when you pronate excessively while running on account of the condition. Pronation is a natural biomechanical process that your body performs to help your feet absorb the forces that come from striking the ground while you run.

Excessive pronation (overpronation) is a condition that will likely require treatment. Fortunately, treatment is often conservative in nature. An effective way of correcting the biomechanical abnormality caused by flat feet is the use of orthotics. These medical inserts support the arches in your feet and provide stability while you run, thereby alleviating the pain you may have been experiencing in your feet, ankles, knees, and hips.

Yes, athlete’s foot is contagious. This particular condition—which is marked by an itching, burning sensation that begins between the toes—is a common fungal infection. The fungus that causes the issue often resides in warm, damp locations like gym showers and locker rooms and pool decks. An individual who has the fungal infection can transfer it to a surface or item (towels, socks, etc.) and then another individual can become infected.

Another way the condition spreads is from body part to another on the same individual. If someone scratches an infected foot and then touches the other foot, it is possible for the fungus to be transferred and create issues on the new foot.

Athlete’s foot is contagious and irritating, but the good news is that it is also quite treatable. Many cases can be handled at home with the use of over-the-counter antifungal products. For severe fungal infections, professional treatment may be required.

Are bunions treatable? Yes. Are bunions treatable without surgery? Yes and no.

We will always use non-surgical options first. They will ease the pain but cannot make your bunion smaller or prevent it from growing. Conservative actions could include taking painkillers, putting bunion pads on the area, icing your toe, and wearing proper shoes with enough room to accommodate the bump on your foot. We can give you custom orthotics to support your feet better and ease your discomfort.

Surgery will be suggested only if noninvasive treatments have not relieved your pain. It will correct the alignment of your toe and may take away your bump altogether. However, you need to consider your age, health, lifestyle, and severity of your bunions. The surgery could limit the mobility of your toe and keep you from activities you were able to complete before the procedure.

When you or a loved one suffers from stiff joints that cause discomfort or pain, it can be difficult to move around and perform normal, daily tasks. It might seem as though exercise will only make things worse. On the contrary, one of the top treatment methods is to exercise with arthritis.

To use an exercise program as arthritis treatment, stop by our office. We can assess your current condition, recommend specific exercises, and help you establish goals. In all likelihood, we will recommend some combination of walking, water workouts, and resistance training.

After talking with us, you may need to pick up a new pair of walking shoes and/or clothes to exercise in.

It is important to begin your workout program at a light level and slowly progress in intensity and duration. This will give your muscles time to strengthen and avoid overworking affected joints. Easing into physical activity is always the best policy.

Athlete’s foot is a common fungal infection that is often treated rather effectively with the use of over-the-counter sprays and powders, but it is better to avoid the condition in the first place. Fortunately, there are some easy steps you can take to prevent an athlete’s foot.

The first is to keep your feet dry. This means taking measures like ensuring that your feet are completely dry before putting on socks and wearing shoes that are constructed from breathable materials. Feet sweat a lot during the course of the day, so moisture-wicking socks is another tool that can help you reduce your risk of this fungal infection.

Many cases are contracted when walking in warm, damp environments. The fungus responsible for athlete’s foot thrives in such places, so be sure to protect your feet by wearing sandals or shower shoes when walking in gym locker rooms, showering areas, and on indoor pool decks.

If the structure of your feet is faulty, or an injury or deformity arises and affects how your feet function, orthotics are a way to protect them. We use orthotics to alleviate pain and excess strain and pressure on your feet, which in turn can also reduce the strain on your ankles, knees, hips, and lower back.

How do orthotics work? An orthotic, which is most often custom-molded to your foot, slip inside your shoe and is designed to either control an abnormal motion (functional) or provide extra cushioning and support (accommodative). An orthotic can stabilize the foot and limit how much it can move while standing or walking, it can help distribute weight evenly across the foot so that no one area is bearing more weight than it should, and it can cushion sensitive areas of the foot. This type of insert is beneficial for treating conditions such as plantar fasciitis, metatarsalgia, bunions, bursitis, tendonitis, shin splints, diabetic foot ulcers, and heel pain.

As a general rule, you should replace running shoes every 300-500 miles, but this constitutes quite a range and you need to factor in other considerations as well.

If you opt to wear “minimalist” shoes—models falling between traditional and barefoot running shoes—the range is closer to 200-400 miles. The same holds true for racing flats. These shoes are constructed from less material and considered not to be as durable as other ones.

In addition to a mileage range, which at least provides a starting point, it is important to study your footwear and listen to your body. A key indicator of wear and tear on running shoes is the outsole. The rubber outsole makes contact with the ground and its tread wears away over time.

A less visible indicator of worn-out running shoes is the feeling of “flatness” from the midsole as it breaks down. This means the footwear doesn’t have the same “bounce” it previously had.

Diabetics need to wear shoes at all times. You could get burned on hot sand or pavement, sustain a puncture wound, or get a cut or scrape from an object on the ground. You may not even notice you have a minor injury until later on when it could be at high risk for infection and could then turn into a non-healing wound. Steer clear of these serious, sometimes life-threatening situations by always keeping your feet covered.

Shoes are vital for diabetics because of poor circulation and neuropathy, two common conditions associated with the disease. Neuropathy leads to a loss of feeling, leaving you unable to feel heat, pain, or cold. Poor circulation means that there is not as much blood flow to your feet, which can greatly impact the healing of an injury. For these two reasons, it is imperative that you never go barefoot if you have diabetes.

Given their common affiliation with women’s footwear, it is natural to wonder if that protrusion you notice at the base of your son or daughter’s big toe is really a bunion. In all likelihood, that is exactly what you are observing, since children can develop these juvenile bunions.

Although it is not as commonly seen in kids as it is in women, a bunion may develop on account of issues with an inherited foot structure. Early treatment for this condition is preferred, to reduce the risk of the bunion increasing and becoming a greater issue. Additionally, that bony bump may cause pain and we would like to relieve your son or daughter of that possibility.

Fortunately, even though kids can get this particular deformity, the good news is that many cases are effectively treated with conservative methods. Whether this is the case, or your son or daughter requires bunion surgery to correct a condition that causes severe pain or lack of mobility, Richardson Podiatry Associates can help. 

There are a few specific foot conditions for which children, in particular, are at risk. Sever’s disease is a painful disorder that occurs in the growth plate of the heel where the Achilles tendon and the plantar fascia attach to the bone. It is a common reason for heel pain in children around the ages of 9-13 whose growth plate has not yet matured and fused to the heel bone.

While this is a condition that can occur in any child, there are aggravating factors of which to be aware.  By eliminating these, you are more likely to prevent the problem from developing. One such factor is repeated stress from high-impact activities. So if your child is in track, basketball, gymnastics, or soccer, ensure they have proper footwear and do not allow them to overdo it. Plenty of rest amidst a sports season is important too. Obesity contributes to stress on the heel so addressing any health concerns will reduce your risk for this disorder. Finally, in addition to protecting their feet with proper footwear and monitoring activity level, consider orthotics to correct high arches or flat feet which can play a part in Sever’s disease as well.

When you have diabetes, you are more susceptible to foot problems. As a result, it is vital for you to frequently check on, and provide extra care for, your diabetic feet. This condition may entail nerve damage which means that you could not even notice injuries or ulcers that occur on your feet. To make matters worse, poor circulation associated with the disease inhibits the healing process, so unnoticed wounds have more time to become dangerously infected. Even something as small as a scratch can turn into a major complication, including amputation. The best way to avoid serious issues is to catch problems early. That’s why checking diabetic feet daily is an essential part of managing your disease.

There are three different styles of foot arches: high, low, and normal. The various arch types can play a role in developing certain ailments, so it helps to know which one you have. Here’s a simple test:

1. Fill the bottom of a shallow pan with a thin layer of water.
2. Place the pan on the ground.
3. Place a paper shopping bag or sheet of heavy paper on the ground.
4. Get the bottoms of your feet wet by stepping into the pan of water.
5. Take normal steps onto the bag or paper.
6. Examine the results. If you can see roughly half of the width of your foot in the middle part, you have a normal arch. If you see an entire footprint, you have a low arch. If you only see the front and heel, with perhaps a thin line bridging them, your arches are high.

Melanoma is the deadliest form of skin cancer and it can spread quickly, making it imperative to be caught and treated as early as possible. Knowing the warning signs and how to check for skin cancer is your best form of protection.

First, make a point to do a whole-body examination at least once a month, more often if your doctor recommends so. If you are unable to look at certain areas, enlist a friend or family member to help. It is not often that people take the time to examine their feet. For this reason, when melanoma is found on feet it is often at an aggressive stage. Keep in mind the ABCDEs of melanoma: Asymmetry (one half looks different), Borders (irregular or scalloped), Color (has different shades), Diameter (greater than the size of a pencil eraser), and Evolving (the spot looks different or is changing).

At this time, the actual cause of psoriasis isn’t entirely clear, but the condition is widely thought to be an immune system problem targeting T cells in the body. T cells are white blood cells that fight off foreign substances and protect the body from bacteria and viruses. With psoriasis, T cells begin attacking healthy skin cells by mistake, almost as if they are trying to fight an infection or heal a wound.

While what causes psoriasis isn’t exactly known, there are certain triggers that can worsen the condition, including stress, cold weather, smoking, injury to the skin (bug bites, sunburn, cuts, scrapes), infections, heavy alcohol consumption, and even certain medications.

Often associated with football, turf toe is a condition where your big toe, after being jammed into artificial turf or a grass playing surface, bends beyond its normal limits. The actual injury takes place to the ligaments found at the joint where the toe meets the foot. As a result of the hyperextension, the ligaments become stretched or even torn.

In spite of the football association, there are actually a variety of causes of turf toe and the condition can be seen in athletes from other such sports and physical activities as soccer, basketball, and ballet. Dancing may be a stark contrast to football, but ballet dancers are susceptible to injury due to the importance of the big toe for their craft.

When you or a loved one believe to have sustained this toe injury, schedule an appointment with Richardson Podiatry Associates for a proper diagnosis and effective treatment plan.

There are a few potential reasons you may be experiencing ball of foot pain. Here are some of the most common:

Metatarsalgia – Also known as a stone bruise, this is a condition that leads to inflammation and pain in the ball of your foot. It can be caused by high-impact activity or poor-fitting footwear.

Morton’s neuroma – This particular neuroma is most frequently developed between the base of the third and fourth toes. When the thickened tissue presses against a nerve, it causes burning, sharp pain in the forefoot.

Sesamoiditis – Sesamoids are tiny bones that do not connect in a traditional fashion to other bones. There are two located on the underside of the foot, right by the base of the big toe. When they irritate the surrounding soft tissue and cause inflammation and pain, it’s known as sesamoiditis.

While conservative treatment can help most foot and ankle conditions, there are a couple of types of ankle injuries that might need surgery for optimal healing. The main one is arthritis, with osteoarthritis being a primary concern. This condition may need to be addressed with ankle fusion or replacement procedures, depending on the nature and severity of a patient’s specific case.

Ankle fractures that are severe or unstable can require surgery. This definitely applies to open fractures (where the bone has broken through the skin). A broken ankle that is stable will likely only need nonsurgical treatment.

Achilles tendon disorders are also injuries that may need surgical procedures when conservative care does not provide ample relief, but these surgeries are rarely required.

If you have a condition that is causing an unpleasant foot odor, you will be pleased to learn that there are a variety of home remedies for smelly feet. Further, there are various methods you can use at home to make your shoes smell fresher, too.

Some items and mixtures you can use to fight odor on your feet include the following: good old soap and water, deodorants, rubbing alcohol, green tea, lavender oil, Epsom salts, oatmeal, apple cider vinegar.

To freshen up a pair of shoes, you can try using dryer sheets, rubbing alcohol, cat litter, or even simply washing them and letting them dry completely.

If you find that home remedies are not helping to take care of your foot odor problem, then you can try over-the-counter products obtained from the store or pharmacy. 

A roll of the ankle can happen to anyone—a small slip off of a curb or a collision in a sports game can leave you with searing pain. Even a little twist or turn can be very painful, but you may not know how much damage has occurred. An ankle sprain stretches the ligaments surrounding the joint beyond its limits. There are several degrees of stretching or tearing, but the symptoms are similar, just in different degrees.

Most often, a telling sign that a sprain has happened is the presence of pain and then swelling. When capillaries are broken, the leaking blood contributes to the inflammation. The increase in the blood may also cause the area to feel warm, and your ankle may feel tender to the touch. You may also feel tenderness when you try to move or walk. Lastly, bruising is another symptom but it is not always present even if a sprain has occurred.

Moisture is a heel fissure’s worst enemy. Prevent heel fissures by hydrating yourself in every way possible! Drinking water will bolster healing from the inside out, covering every nook and cranny of your skin. For your room, make sure you install a humidifier to permeate the air with moisture.

Now, let’s talk feet. When you’re in the shower, exfoliate those dead skin cells with a pumice stone. Since your skin absorbs moisture better when it’s moist, put some lotion on your feet right when you get out.

Use a very thick lotion, body butter, or salve on your feet before bed. To seal in the moisture, slip on socks before you hop under the covers. This will provide an intensive overnight recovery session to get rid of any little cracks in your skin.

A bone in your foot or ankle can break in several ways, whether it’s a fall, direct blow, twisting injury, crushing injury, or stress and overuse fracture. Some breaks are severe and immediately noticeable. Other injuries, like stress fractures, can cause discomfort without a patient even realizing they’ve encountered an actual break. Healing broken bones is important to avoid problems in the future.

The process for healing fractures depends on which bone is broken and the severity of the injury. When a bone is broken, it goes through three stages during the healing process: inflammation, bone production, and bone remodeling. The final stage can go on for several months as the bone slowly returns to its original shape.

Healing will be different for each individual as other factors such as age, underlying medical conditions, and even nutrition are at play. For the most part, it generally takes a minimum of 6 to 8 weeks for a break to heal to the point where it can bear weight.

Tarsal tunnel syndrome is not a particularly common foot issue, but patients who have it can experience pain, burning, and tingling sensations. In some cases, the syndrome can cause numbness. The problem arises in an anatomical feature found in the inside of the ankle known as the tarsal tunnel. This is a narrow space outside the ankle, covered with a ligament, where nerves, tendons, and blood vessels pass through from legs to feet.

When there is compression on the posterior nerve (found in the tarsal tunnel), it can produce the symptoms mentioned. This compression can happen as the result of injury, cysts, bone spurs, swollen tendons, or varicose veins. Individuals with flat feet tend to be at greater risk.

If you experience heel pain or burning or tingling symptoms in the ankle area, it is possible that you have developed this condition. 

Exercise is beneficial for anyone wanting to stay in good health, but when it comes to exercise and diabetes, it needs to be an even more important part of your lifestyle. Exercise will affect your diabetes in a lot of good ways. First, aerobic and strength training can improve the way your body functions and can actually improve your ability to handle and control your blood sugar levels. It helps with circulation and increases your muscle strength, too. As you become more physically conditioned, your sensitivity to insulin also increases, not just during exercise, but long term.

It is important to monitor your blood sugar levels before, during, and after exercise so you can learn how your body reacts and address any problems along the way. It is also important to choose activities that are safe and do not put your lower extremities at risk for injury, especially if you have neuropathy and reduced circulation.

When it comes to home treatment for a foot cyst, the first thing you need to know is that you should not attempt to drain it on your own. Scratching, squeezing, puncturing, or lancing a cyst on your foot can lead to a variety of issues. You might push an existing infection deeper into your body or cause severe bleeding. Additionally, you will likely irritate or inflame the cyst, making it more painful.

Actions you can take include cleaning the area with antibacterial soap, applying warm washcloths to increase circulation, and applying a bandage if the cyst begins to drain on its own.

Until the age of 3, children have not started developing their foot arches and they all have flat feet, so no treatment is necessary. After that, there are two different forms of flat feet—flexible and rigid. Depending on your child’s specific situation, flat feet treatment may be necessary.

Flexible flat feet is a condition where the child does not have an arch when standing, but once he or she sits or stands on tiptoe, the arch appears. This condition is often painless and children will typically outgrow it.

Rigid flat feet simply mean that an arch does not appear at all and his or her feet will be rigid or inflexible. With rigid flat feet, the odds are greater that your child will experience discomfort or pain and require treatment.

Preventing shin splints from happening in the first place is better than having to treat them. Fortunately, there are a variety of steps that can be taken to keep this condition from causing you pain and discomfort. Start by taking a look at your workout plan (you do have one, right?) and making sure that you are varying your exercises. Cross-training is fantastic for improving your overall health, but it will also decrease your risk of injury by not using the same muscles over and over. Make sure your shoes fit properly and provide good support. Warm up and then stretch (in that order) before exercising. Use strength training to build up leg muscles, especially in your calves. Avoid running on uneven terrain. Most importantly, do not exercise through the pain when you think you are developing shin splints.

Recovery from an Achilles tendon rupture will depend a bit, naturally, on the patient and the severity of the injury. When casting is used to immobilize the affected tendon, there will be several weeks of exercises used to regain mobility and strengthen the tissue. Gait training exercises may be performed for two to three months following initial treatment.

Return to normal activities often happens around four to six months after treatment. This can vary based on desired activity levels and a patient’s adherence to post-operative instructions.

Your recovery from a rupture begins with proper treatment for the condition. You can find the care you need for these injuries at Richardson Podiatry Associates.

Foot pain is not normal and any pain that affects your child’s walking and activity level for more than a few days should be looked at. Below are some common conditions your child may face.

If their toenail is red, inflamed, and/or infected, it is likely an ingrown toenail that needs treatment. The nail has curved downward and is growing into the surrounding skin. This can be very painful. A bump on the bottom of the foot may be a plantar wart that can spread and cause difficulty walking if left untreated. If your child’s foot lacks an arch, it is called flatfoot, and this condition may need intervention if he or she complains of foot pain or cramping in their feet or legs.  Finally, repetitive stress from high-impact sports could lead to Sever’s disease, an injury to the growth plate at the back of the heel. Seek treatment should your child complain of heel pain.

Is your heel pain bad in the morning and then gets better after you walk around? This is the trademark symptom of plantar fasciitis. This condition occurs with damage to the plantar fascia, which runs along the arch, connecting the heel to other bones in the foot. The tissue becomes inflamed and thickens, which causes pain. When you’ve been resting for a long period of time, the tissue swells and gets tight. The pain you feel in the morning is the pressure of your foot stretching out that swollen area.

Rest is a big factor in your recovery. Avoid walking or standing for long periods of time and try icing the area for five to 10 minutes. We may recommend anti-inflammatory medication to relieve immediate pain. You should stretch while you rest your heel because this keeps your tissues warmed up, increases your flexibility, and heads off the pain.

One of the more common issues experienced by runners of all experience levels is shin splints. This condition develops when the bone tissue, muscles, and tendons along the tibia (shin bone) are overworked from physical activity. This causes pain and tenderness, so many individuals wonder how they can get rid of shin splints.

Shin splint treatment can often be handled with at-home care, especially using conservative treatment options such as rest, ice, and pain relievers. Rest doesn’t have to be “complete inactivity” and can mean swapping out running for low-impact activities. Icing the affected area four to eight times a day for 15 to 20 minutes per session will help relieve pain and swelling. Be sure to contact our office for recommendations when it comes to over-the-counter pain relievers.

Where the Achilles tendon and the plantar fascia attach to the heel bone is a growth center that is vulnerable during a child’s growing years. Until it fuses to the heel bone, repeated strain or excessive tension on this area could lead to significant heel pain and discomfort.

If your child is around the age of 8-15, is involved in sports that require a lot of running and jumping (such as gymnastics, basketball, baseball, football, or track), and has pain at the back of the heel bone, it is possible Sever’s disease is to blame. Having a pronated foot, high arches, flat feet, and obesity are other contributing factors for this condition. If your child experiences redness, swelling, difficulty walking, heel pain in the morning, and pain if you squeeze the heel on both sides, contact Dr. David Haddad for a complete evaluation to determine if the injury is due to Sever’s disease.

There are two very common and serious complications that can affect a person with diabetes: nerve damage and poor circulation. Also called neuropathy and peripheral arterial disease, these two conditions require wearing shoes so your feet will always be protected.

Nerve damage inhibits your ability to feel the heat, pain, and cold. This means that if you are barefoot, you are at risk for stepping on a sharp object or sustaining a cut, scrape or burn without knowing it. Poor circulation can then slow down the healing process, and a small problem could turn into a serious infection or worse. The sidewalk to your mailbox, the grass in your backyard, and even the carpet in your own house can pose a danger to bare feet. Kick your shoes off while relaxing on the couch, but if you are going to walk anywhere, protect your feet in a supportive pair of shoes.

Footwear choices can play a major role in the health and wellbeing of your feet. Pumps and stilettos might be stylish, but you need to be aware of the potential dangers of wearing high heels.

When you wear high heels on a frequent basis, you increase your risk of medical issues like ankle sprains, fractures, bunions, hammertoes, stress fractures, plantar fasciitis, Achilles tendinitis, and ligament damage. While footwear choices might not actually cause toe deformities like bunions and hammertoes, they can certainly make them worse.

There are two biomechanical problems with high heels – the elevated position of the heel and the excess pressure on the front of the foot. With the heel being so high, the calf muscle and Achilles tendon are shortened and tightened, which increases their risk of injury. Also, the amount of weight placed on the front of the foot can contribute to toe joint imbalance.

We understand that the pain from arthritis can have a huge impact on your activity level and even your quality of life. While it tends to get worse with age, there are some effective ways to reduce your joint pain and prevent further inflammation.

If you are carrying extra weight, this is adding pressure on your joints, so weight loss is one way to reduce pain. Second, while you may not always feel up to it, exercise is very beneficial, as it keeps joints flexible and strengthens the muscles surrounding your joints. An ice pack can bring relief and reduce inflammation, and at the end of the day, a moist heating pad will help keep your joints loose. You can also combat pain and stiffness with omega-3 fatty acids such as fish oil supplements and gamma-linolenic acid. Lastly, avoid smoking and ask your doctor which over-the-counter pain medications may be of benefit to ease your discomfort as well.

• Edema – Feet and ankles can become swollen from excess fluids.
• Bigger feet – The body releases a hormone known as relaxin, which causes ligaments, including those in your feet, to loosen. Foot growth can also be attributed to the extra weight they are now carrying.
• Fallen arches – In addition to contributing to foot growth, extra weight can also cause foot arches to collapse.
• Plantar fasciitis – This overuse injury that causes heel pain is common for all adults, putting extra stress on the plantar fascia increases the risk during pregnancy.
• Muscle cramps – Pregnancy leads to more frequent muscle cramping, especially at night during the second trimester.

There are many varieties of skin lesions, but we generally mean “an abnormal change in tissue or organ that results from injury or disease.” When people hear the word “lesion,” they are likely to think of growth on the skin and this is reasonable. Skin is technically an organ, so abnormal growth certainly meets the criteria.

Skin lesions are either benign (harmless) or malignant (harmful) in nature. The harmless versions include warts, calluses, corns, and foot ulcers. Malignant lesions are often cancerous.

The term “harmless” does have a major condition attached to it, however. Individuals who have diabetes need to consider any lesion—even one that seems harmless like a callus—to be serious. If you live with this condition, you need to be aware of anything out of the ordinary that happens to your body and seek immediate medical care.

There are several different conditions that could potentially explain your big toe pain, like a fracture or gout, but we’ll focus here on sesamoiditis. Sesamoids are bones that stand alone and are not connected to other bones (like kneecaps, which do not attach to the leg bones, but rather to the patellar and quadriceps tendons).

There are sesamoid bones in the feet, located on the undersides, near your big toes. If you have recently started a workout program, suddenly ramped up the intensity of physical activity, sustained a turf toe injury, or simply have high arches, a sesamoid bone (or the soft tissue connecting to it) may have become injured. This can cause pain in the big toe, especially when you push off the ground while walking or running.

When you have diabetes, you simply can’t throw caution to the wind. The condition requires a strong discipline to maintain a healthy diet, which will keep your glucose levels under control and help you avoid the serious complications that can arise with bad eating. With diabetes, foods to avoid can be found in most parts of the food pyramid. Here’s a list:

Avoid white flour, processed grains, sugary cereals, fried foods, canned vegetables with lots of added sodium, vegetables with lots of butter or cheese sauces, canned fruit with heavy syrup, sweetened jams, fruit juice drinks, and the consuming of cheese on a regular basis. None of these food items will add nourishment to your diet—only problems.

Diabetes is a condition that requires diligent effort to keep blood glucose levels under control. When this fails to happen, your health can suffer. Two common conditions associated with the disease are neuropathy and poor circulation. It is the combination of these two factors that can make diabetic ulcers heal slowly, yet progress quickly.

Neuropathy, or nerve damage, can make it difficult for you to feel pain on the bottom of your foot, so you are at risk for continuing to walk on an open sore. This can cause a minor cut or scrape to turn into a non-healing ulcer, or an existing ulcer to worsen. In addition, when sugar levels remain high, blood vessels can become damaged and narrow, resulting in poor circulation. This means that important oxygen and nutrients do not get to a wound quickly, slowing the healing process.

If you have a wound in need of treatment, seek help immediately.