HEY BABY! How Pregnancy Affects Feet

Image via WikipediaRadical changes occur in a woman’s body during pregnancy, especially toward the end. Other than the obvious “bump,” there are subtle changes that begin early on. By the end of the third trimester the body is altogether different with regards to gravitational forces and weight bearing. These changes can result in some common complaints and foot problems, two of which will be addressed here.

Weight gain during pregnancy is inevitable. That may not be significant by itself, but the change in weight distribution and the extra pounds can lead to flattening of the feet. This can cause the feet to roll (over-pronation) slightly, placing increased strain and pressure on the heel and ball areas of the feet. The lengthy tissues that run from heel to front of foot can then become inflamed and painful. It is important that this condition be treated, to alleviate pain and prevent more serious complications that may have a more far reaching effect.

Treatment can vary based on severity of symptoms and would range from a simple common sense approach to a more individualized program. Properly fit shoes are key. Forego the fashionista in yourself, at least for the duration of your pregnancy. Orthotics may be indicated.

The second most often voiced complaint is swelling of the feet and ankles known as Edema. Edema occurs when fluid relocates and pools in the body. The resulting swelling becomes problematic. An easy approach that can reduce swelling and pain includes well fit shoes, non-restrictive socks or stockings, foot elevation and easy to do special foot exercises that heighten circulation. Other practical suggestions include limiting salt intake and drinking lots of water. Unilateral swelling would be the norm. Asymmetrical symptoms could be indicative of a more serious problem, and may require you to see your health care professional.

If you have any questions, please contact us at Upstate Footcare, and we’d be happy to answer your questions!

Sources:
http://bunionbusters.com/footcare/pregnancy
http://mommyfeet.com

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Chronic Ankle Instability - The Reason You Keep Twisting Your Ankle

Image via WikipediaHave you ever sprained or twisted your ankle?  If you have you know how much it hurts.  I don’t know any adult who has never sprained their ankle.  But why after the first ankle sprain does it get easier and easier to sprain your ankles? 

The answer could very well be Chronic Ankle Instability.  Chronic Ankle Instability is a condition that plagues many athletes who have sprained their ankles in the past, or a couple of times.  The problem occurs when the ankle doesn’t heal completely after a sprain.  The muscles and ligaments are weakened or even torn so that your foot can not even keep you balanced while you’re standing.  If your foot constantly slips out from under you, making your foot roll onto it’s side, you probably have this ankle problem. 

There are ways to build up the muscle and ligaments again in your ankle.  If you can build them up, you won’t have to have surgery performed on your ankle to tighten the ligament.  If your ligament is torn, chances are you will need to have surgery to fix or replace the torn ligament.  To correct the problem without surgery, you’ll need to go through physical therapy, wear an ankle brace at least during times when you are active, and maybe have to take anti-inflammatory medicine to keep the swelling down, allowing your body’s healing processes to get into the injury and work at fixing it.  Also, the more rest you give the ankle the better.  By being active all the time, you run the risk of injuring the ankle again and again.  If you’ve had Chronic Ankle Instability for a while, you know that it doesn’t take much at all to sprain your ankle again.

If you have sprained your ankle, you need to have it looked at by a doctor.  If you need a podiatrist, contact Upstate Footcare to schedule an appointment with Dr. Hans Blaakman.  He’ll help you to enjoy all you love to do again!

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Swimming and Your Feet - Watch Out for Dangers!

Image via WikipediaWhether you’ve been a swimmer for years or have just recently started to learn, you know that your feet play a very important role.  Since we’re not fish or some other type of water dwelling creature, we don’t have fins, obviously, so the closest thing we have to fins is our feet.  So you want to make sure that you take extra care of your feet at all times, especially in the swimming pool. 

So what dangers lurk in the swimming pool or rec centers that swimmers go to every day?  Some are obvious while others are hidden from our eyes.  The first tip is to make sure that you swim in a pool that is cleaned regularly.  This goes beyond just swimming in dirt and grime, but if you swim in lakes or pools that aren’t monitored closely, you might end up cutting your foot on something at the bottom of the water.  Remember that even though you might not see anything from the surface of the water, that doesn’t mean there isn’t a glass bottle or glass shard laying in wait.  If the pool is maintained regularly and there’s a strict no glass rule, you should be fine.

Another danger is one that you can’t see with you eyes.  It is the danger lurking in the areas around the pool, in the locker room and especially in the shower.  This danger is Athletes Foot.  It might not seem like that big of a deal, but if you have Athletes Foot and don’t get it properly treated, it can stay underneath your skin and thrive for years and years, even if you don’t notice it at times. 

If you have athletes foot or have any other kind of foot injury, you should see a podiatrist so they can help you fix the problem.  Schedule an appointment with Upstate Footcare so you can get the foot problem fixed asap!

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To Treadmill or Not to Treadmill

Image via WikipediaWith tons of people resolving to exercise more this year, one thing becomes more popular every year is running.  But one debate that comes to mind is what is better: to run on a treadmill or to capture running outside?

Running on a treadmill can be a great experience.  You won’t have to face the cold weather outside, especially if you like to run early in the morning or late at night.  You can change the difficulty to whatever you’re comfortable with, or you can challenge yourself to push harder.  Since you’re running on a machine, it’ll absorb some of the shock on your feet, thus helping prevent pain and injury.  By watching your favorite television program, the time might the time seem to go faster because you’re not focusing so much on working out.  The downfalls of running on a treadmill are the cost, the space it takes up, you don’t get fresh air, and you might have to fight with people at the gym to get a spot.

Running outside in the fresh air, seeing the sights and hearing the noises is truly something special.  You can’t get that from a treadmill.  If you’re training for a 5k or any type of race that’s outside, you need to train outside.  Outside you face random challenges that you can’t control, which challenges you to push further and harder than you could on a treadmill.  The downside is that you will have to face the weather and obstacles that will hinder your workout.

The choice is up to you, or you could always ride the fence and do both.  Saving the treadmill when you don’t want to face the weather or obstacles of everyday life.  Either way, make sure to do all you can to avoid injury so that you can enjoy your running habit.  Contact Upstate Footcare if you have a sports injury in your feet or ankles today to set up an appointment so that you can take measures to heal and get back to running!

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Cold Feet - Could it be More Then Just the Temperature?

Image via WikipediaDo you always have cold feet?  It’s not just women that always have cold feet, men can have them too, and no I’m not talking about “cold feet” before a wedding. But if your feet are constantly cold all the time, it could be from more than the fact that you are just cold.  It could actually be due to the fact that you have a condition that causes poor blood flow to your legs and/or feet.  But what conditions are there that cause this?

Well you could be suffering from Raynaud’s phenomenon, which is a sensitivity to cold temperatures.  What happens is that when you come in contact with cold temperatures, it causes your blood vessels to spasm, thus resulting in poor blood flow.  It could be that you have a heart condition that keeps blood from flowing perfectly throughout your body.  You might actually have a blockage in your arteries, which can be very serious because blockages are what cause heart attacks.  This is why, if you have constant cold feet, you need to see a podiatrist to see if the condition is serious or not.  It could be that you are on some type of medication that is actually causing the poor blood flow, like medication for high blood pressure can do.  Even migraine and cold medications can cause cold feet.  So it could be as serious as a blockage in your arteries, or it could be those cold pills you have been taking.

If you constantly have cold feet, you need to get them checked out.  If you do have  a blockage in your arteries and you catch it early, you might save yourself a heart attack, literally.  If you are in need of a podiatrist, Dr. Hans Blaakman would love to be that podiatrist.  He is the owner of Upstate Footcare.  We have two offices, one in Gaffney, SC and one in Duncan, SC.  Check out our website at www.upstatefootcare.com and request an appointment to get your feet checked out asap.

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EPAT - What do it do?

Image via WikipediaWhen going to the podiatrist office, you might hear the term “EPAT” thrown around.  What is “EPAT” exactly?  It stands for “Extracorporeal Pulse Activation Technology.”  See why it’s shortened down to EPAT?  The EPAT therapy was introduced to Upstate Footcare by Dr. Hans Blaakman and it’s designed to treat a number of different foot and lower leg issues. 

The way the EPAT system works is to promote your natural healing processes by stimulating chemical processes to get your blood circulating in the area you are experiencing pain.  This allows the blood to get new blood cells into the area as well as remove things that might be causing the pain from those areas.  This system was created because a number of people were still experiencing pain after a number of treatments did not prove effective.  By promoting the bodies natural healing processes, it is safer than surgery and the results are faster, without the long recovery period.  If you are familiar with Shockwave Therapy, EPAT uses the same technology but does not require anesthesia.

The great thing about the EPAT system is that it is relatively inexpensive.  In fact, if you have a Health Savings Account or a Medical IRA, you can have your costs covered one hundred percent!  You should check with your medical insurance to see if they cover this or not.  It will only take four sessions in four weeks, meaning one session every week for four weeks.

If you have heel pain or achilles tendonitis or another pain in your feet or ankles, EPAT therapy could be the best option for you, especially if nothing else has worked to rid you of the pain.  If you are interested, you should contact Upstate Footcare so that you can schedule an appointment to discuss the EPAT process with Dr. Blaakman so that you can start to get rid of that pain as soon as possible.

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Skiing and Snowboarding - Be Ready!

Image via WikipediaImage via WikipediaAs we come to the skiing and snowboarding season, if you enjoy these sports, one thing you need to make sure of is that you are actually ready to hit the slopes.  How does one prepare themselves for skiing or snowboarding if they can’t actually go skiing or snowboarding?  Well it’s simple.  First of all, don’t wait till the opening of the slopes to get your muscles in shape.  Now I don’t mean that you have to be a body builder in order to enjoy these sports, but your muscles do need to be kept up. 

Now skiing and snowboarding use a lot of the muscles of the whole body (if you don’t believe that, you haven’t skied or snowboarded), but the main muscles you need to focus on are the legs, hips, the stomach and for skiers, the arms too.  So make sure to get those muscles warmed up and ready at least a couple weeks before you go.  If you don’t get your muscles ready, you won’t last very long on the slopes, which you have spent a lot of money on, and you’ll pay for it in soreness later too. 

With your feet in skiing and snowboarding, because they are protected inside the hard ski boots or the softer snowboard boots, you might think that you don’t need to keep them fit.  I’m sorry, but you’re mistaken.  Now granted if you are walking a lot or running to keep in shape, your feet will be better prepared to take on the hills, but you should make it a habit to stretch your feet and ankles just to keep them loose and less prone to injury. 

Lastly, if you end up going and haven’t kept in shape, after you crawl off the mountain, you’ll definitely benefit from soaking in the hot tub at the lodge for a while.  It will help relax and loosen stiff and sore muscles that you will have.  If you have any questions, give Upstate Footcare a call or contact us via the web.

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