Tag Archives: foot doctor

Diabetes, Foot care, Foot Doctor, Podiatrist

Neuropathy Of The Feet

Leave a comment
Neuropathy Of The Feet

 

What is neuropathy?

 

The word neuropathy is derived from 2 Greek words and it simply means pathology of the nerve, or the losing of your feelings in the nerves of your feet.  Every year many patients who have diabetes develop neuropathy, and this may cause problems with their feet. 

 

The symptoms of diabetic neuropathy are many, and among the most common is a feeling of numbness across the foot, and sometimes pain that comes and goes for no apparent reasons.  In the patient with diabetes, the numbness starts with the toes and then proceeds toward the rest of the foot. 

 

The Foot Doctor ( Podiatrist ) plays a vital role in dealing with this condition.  The person with diabetes should be evaluated by the Foot Doctor who will perform a few simple tests on the patient to determine if the patient has neuropathy.  The Foot Doctor then notifies the primary care doctor and then schedules the patient for quarterly visits for routine foot care. 

 

The purpose of this is to examine the patient’s feet for any sores, and to careful cut the nails and trim any corn or calluses. The patient with neuropathy is unable to feel any sores, cuts, and may trim the nails to the point of bleeding.  The patient cannot sense things as well as someone without neuropathy.

 

Patients with diabetes who develops neuropathy usually seeks out “cures” for this condition.  The patient may seek over the counter remedies that may work.  They may seek prescription medication to combat this problem or topical creams.  One of the newer treatment option is the use of laser therapy but this is not yet a proven treatment plan.

Diabetes, Foot care, Foot Care Specialist, Foot Doctor, Foot Doctor Anthony Chionis, Podiatrist

The Gout, A Painful Foot Condition.

Leave a comment

What is The Gout?

Gout is simply a big pain in the foot!  The Gout is a disease that is affecting more people lately, and I would like to discuss this disease as it pertains to podiatry.  Many patients walk in to the office on a daily basis with the following statement: “Oh Doctor, I have the gout!”

Gout is a very simple disease in terms of what it is precisely.  Your body will produce uric acid. The problem will start if your body either has an over production of uric acid or the under secretion of uric acid. The Foot Doctor  does not treat the systemic aspect of gout but rather the attack that occurs in the foot.

Gout affects about one in a 100 people and is much more common in men over 60.  Some developing factors of gout include obesity, high alcohol intake, high intake of rich foods, some high blood pressure medicine, kidney decease, diabetes, and genetic predisposition.

How Does Gout Affect The Foot?

Gout affects the big toe over 50 percent of the time and causes the toe to become very inflamed and painful.  The big toe becomes very red and hot.  The patient usually enters the office in severe pain and mostly with the same complaint of being unable to sleep due to the pain. Sometimes the patient has difficulties in walking due to the intensity of pain in the big toe. The Foot Doctor will start treatment immediately with a strong anti-inflammatory medicine and an injection into the big toe area.

The Foot Doctor will also order the patient to have a blood test in order to assess the uric acid level.  The patient’s Medical Doctor will then be advised and they will treat the patient systemically.  There are numerous medications that the medical doctor may prescribe and treat the patient with accordingly. Gout can be destructive of all your joints throughout your body and can disable you if left untreated.

Why So Much Pain With Gout?

Why is there so much pain involved with a gouty attack? The uric acid that is high in the blood will crystallize out at cooler temperatures.  When a patient sleeps, the lower part of the body receives less blood than the upper part.  Thus the foot cools down, and the crystals form in the joints.  The crystals usually attach to the  big toe  joint and the body reacts to the crystals and responds with a severe inflammatory reaction. Ouch, that hurts!

This is what the Foot Doctor treats. The Foot Doctor examines the patient in order to rule out other possibilities such as infection, fractures, or many other foot conditions that may look like an acute gouty attack.  You should see a Foot Care Specialist if the gout conditions is present before its develops into something worse and much more painful.

Foot care, Foot Care Specialist, Foot Doctor, Foot Doctor Anthony Chionis, Podiatrist, Uncategorized

Spurs, Bunions, Flat Feet Foot Care.

Leave a comment

Spurs And Flat Feet

Some patients are born or develop problems with their feet that can become serious if left untreated.  Fortunately many of these problems can be relieved with Orthoses. Orthoses (or as they are commonly known as shoe insoles)  will accommodate and cushion the foot of the patient who needs them.  Orthoses can be used to alleviate the pain of heel spurs and flat feet.  They may also be used to cushion painful calluses or bunion deformities.  They may be uses in patients with flat feet to help raise the arch and decrease the pain associated with flat feet. 

Orthoses also play a key role in helping young patients from developing serious problems as they get older.The younger patient may use insoles to correct in-toeing.  They may help give the younger patient an arch or increase the shape of their arch.  They may help the young patient with various foot problems such as heel pain or toe pain.  The insole may help arrest future foot problems such as bunions or hammer toes.  If left untreated, this condition will affect the way the patient will walk as they grow older.

Orthoses In Older Patients

The Foot Doctor may prescribe Orthoses (shoe insoles) to help the older patient treat pain in heel spurs, foot arch, and the forefoot.  The insole is usually  the length of the entire shoe and may have various sections of padding or cushioning  to deal with the patient’s foot issue.   The orthoses or insoles are as necessary to a person with foot problems as eyeglasses are to a person that needs them. The Foot Doctor usually takes an impression of the patient’s feet and sends it to a specialized lab that makes them to fit properly thus alleviating pain, discomfort, and future problems.  Foot Care Specialist Doctor Anthony Chionis can examine you for an impression and send them to a lab for proper fitting.

Treating Painful Bunions

Bunions are a term nearly every person has either heard or suffers from on a daily basis.  So what is a bunion?  A bunion is a painful hallux valgus deformity. What is that exactly? The big toe has two bones and the second bone that connects the toe to the foot is the proximal phalanx. 
 
The proximal phalanx forms a joint with first metatarsal and that joint is critical in normal walking.  If that joint lacks the necessary range or ability to move, then the muscles and tendons start to function incorrectly. When the muscle misfires or pulls the first metatarsal in the wrong way, then the bone starts to move to the side.  When the bone moves, it starts to rotate and drifts over to the side.
This patient complained about their painful bunion located on their right foot. This bunion can be treated by shoe gear changes,modifications,orthoses and last resort surgery.
This patient complained about a painful bunion on their right foot. This bunion can be treated by shoe gear changes, modifications,orthoses and last resort surgery.
 
Bunions are treated in a variety of ways.  The most conservative way to treat a bunion is with shoe changes.  Usually the patient is advised by the Foot Doctor to have their feet measured and to purchase  the correct shoe size and width.  It is usually recommended that the patient with a bunion wear a shoe with a square or rounded toe box, and must have the required depth for the foot to maneuver properly. The next step is usually various physical therapy treatment exercises or treatments such as ultra sound , contrast baths, and injections.  The last step before surgery is almost always insoles.  If you have the beginning of this condition, you should call Foot Care Specialist Doctor Anthony Chionis for an examination, he will guide you to the proper treating for painful bunions.
 
If you are suffering from any of the above conditions, you will need a foot care specialist.  Why not call Foot  Doctor Anthony Chionis – Podiatrist at one of his locations for free consultation by phone or email him at www.doctorchionis@aol.com.
Diabetes, Foot care, Foot Care Specialist, Foot Doctor, Foot Doctor Anthony Chionis, Podiatrist

Diabetes And Foot Care.

Aside 1 Comment
Diabetic Foot Care
Foot Doctor checking toe from a diabetes patient.
Foot Doctor checking toe from a diabetes patient experiencing discomfort.
Do people with diabetes require foot care?  The answer is yes.  A person with diabetes needs an evaluation from a Foot Doctor at least every three to six months. The foot doctor examines the patient with diabetes and looks at 4 key areas—the circulation of the foot, the neurological condition of the foot, the musculus oskeletal condition of the foot and the dermatological condition of the foot. The patient’s foot must have good blood circulation to avoid complications such as amputation.  Some of the signs would be hair loss of the foot, numbness of the foot and toes, and difficultly walking.  For this reason it is important for a diabetes patient to visit a Foot Doctor – Podiatrist.
Neurological and Musculoskeletal Condition
Foot Doctor treating a toe from a diabetes patient.
Foot Doctor treating a toe from a diabetes patient in pain with a tube foam to elevate toe discomfort.

 

The Foot Doctor checks the pedal pulses of the person with diabetes and looks at certain key points of the foot.  The Foot Doctor looks at simple things in order to assess vascular status, and then examines the neurological system of the foot.  The person with diabetes that has blood flow problems usually develops dry skin.  They may also have thin or shiny skin.  They usually start to lose hair from their toes or legs.  They also may develop thickened nails that are hard to maintain. The nails may be crumbly, misshaped or ingrown.Then the Foot Doctor examines the muscle function of all of the major muscle groups of the foot and determines if there is muscle pathology.  The Foot Doctor then examines the skeletal structure of the foot for various deformities such as hammer toes, hallux valgus, bunion and bunionettes. 
 
The person with diabetes that develops neurological problems may develop many symptoms.  The first sign is usually numbness or tingling of the toes.  They also may have extreme burning sensations especially when sleeping that awakens them.  They may develop sores or cuts on their feet and do not recall any trauma.  They must always be on the lookout for problems due to micro trauma.  These skeletal deformities may become sites of irritation and possible ulcerations in the future.

This is the result of having arthritis of the big toe and the loss of sensation to the foot. This often occurs in people that have diabetes with loss of sensation. The medical doctor recommends that patients with diabetes go to the foot specialist to avoid situations like this from occurring.
Dermatological Condition
The foot doctor also must take extra care when dealing with dermatological conditions that often affect the person with diabetes.  Onychomycosis or fungal nails may pose a very serious risk to the person with diabetes.  The person with diabetes also is at high risk for tinea pedis and possible super infection of the foot. The patient with diabetes developing infections may also have an increased healing time.  They may develop a cut or sore that takes a long time to heal.   The ingrown nail on the person with diabetes may develop into cellulitis (skin infection) that spreads to the rest of their foot.  Majority of people with diabetes are usually admitted to hospitals with foot infections. So we can conclude that a Foot Care Specialist (Podiatrist) assess the foot care of a person with diabetes like no other doctor. 

Decreased Nerve Sensation

This picture will show the effects of nerve damage from diabetes on the patients foot. The patient has decreased nerve sensation and didn’t feel the nail being loose from the nail bed. The nail kept catching on the shoe gear and tore off the bed. The patient didn’t feel the nail being torn off from the nail bed.
 
If you are suffering from any of the above conditions, you will need a foot care specialist.  Why not call Foot  Doctor Anthony Chionis – Podiatrist at one of his locations for free consultation by phone or email him at www.doctorchionis@aol.com.