HOLIDAY TOE TIPS FOR HOLIDAY PARTIES

HOLIDAY TIPS FOR YOUR TOES

Get ready for your holiday parties and “may you stand, walk and dance happily ever after “. In order for you to dance your way through the holidays more comfortably, check out these helpful toe tips to keep your feet in good spirits. For those of you who are wearing killer heels, muscle spasms and cramping in your arches can be an unwelcomed visitor. These problems are the result of abnormal pronation which is the excessive collapsing of the arch during walking or standing. Experiencing pain in the ball of your feet is another problem that can occur when standing or dancing for long periods of time while partying. This is caused by wearing high heels that are usually 2 or 3 inches high. Wearing high heels will naturally throw your foot forward and the balls of your feet get jammed into the floor of the shoe. The fat pad in the balls of your feet can shift and expose the heads of the metatarsal bones to increased pressure. Another common foot problem that can occur when wearing high heels that have pointed toes is pain on the sides and tips of the great toe nails. This can be the beginning of an ingrown toe nail. Ouch! So make sure you are careful when selecting your party shoes.
Party Solutions
There are simple solutions available to solve your feet or toes ills and woes. Wearing over the counter arch supports like Instant Aches ®, soft cushioned insoles or custom made orthotics in your high heels should help remedy the arch cramps, muscle spasms and ball of the foot pain. Custom made orthotics are usually made by Podiatrists or other medical doctors who are foot specialists. Cutting your nails carefully and using an emery board to file the rough edges is a great way to eliminate potential toe nail pain.
‘Tis the season to be comfortable when dancing and partying during the holidays!

Shoes, Your Best Friend or the Enemy?

Ladies, now that it is Fall and the weather is beginning to change, so is your shoe wardrobe. A new season has arrived. Closed shoes and boots, here I come! So how long can your feet survive in closed shoes before they are kicked off under a dinner table? That is the million dollar question? Sometimes, shoes can be categorized by the length of time one can wear them, five, fifteen, thirty or sixty minutes. Women spend thousands of dollars each year on the latest or hottest designer shoes at their favorite shoe stores whether they are comfortable or not. Buying shoes is not always about comfort, it is more about what shoes go with what outfit. However, once in the closet these shoes become the enemy. They can cause blisters, unknown bumps on toes or the back of the heel bone (pump bumps), arch cramps, skin irritations (corns and calluses) and pain, “Ouch”! Fortunately, not all shoes cause these types of foot problems, just the ones that usually go with most outfits!

Gone are the days in most areas of the country where women can get away with wearing open sandals, slides, flip flops or backless heels every day and dine in comfort unless you live in warm weather climates. The reason why it should be an endless summer for your feet is because sandals, slides, flip flops and backless heels are more comfortable to wear. They accommodate many of the different lumps and bumps that feet have. Strappy sandals are great for women who have foot problems such as bunions or hammertoes (crooked toes). Bunions and hammertoes develop because of unstable foot biomechanics (abnormal pronation) which weakens the muscular structure around first metatarsal and lesser metatarsal joints.

Bunions are a bony prominence on the side of the great toe (head of the first metatarsal bone) that can be very painful in closed shoes. They develop because of a muscle imbalance around the great toe joint. The soft tissue surrounding the great toe joint weakens and the arch collapses causing bunions to form. Hammertoes are bumps on the top of the 2nd through 5th toes and rub the top or side of the shoe. They are also caused by a muscle imbalance in the feet. The long plantar flexor tendons on the bottom of the foot that attach to the ends of the toes are stronger than the long extensor tendons which run along the top of the foot and attach to the ends of the toes. This imbalance causes the toes to bend downward causing hammertoes to form. Pump bumps (retrocalcaneal exostosis) are bone spurs that forms on the back of the heel bone due to excess motion of the rear foot in the shoe. Women with narrow heels are predisposed to this condition. During the gait cycle shearing forces or friction can occur along the back of the heel bone when you are walking in closed shoes. This can ultimately lead to developing bone deposits in the back of the heel.

Foot problems can be genetically predetermined. Looking at your grandparents and parents feet can give you a tremendous amount of insight in why those lumps and bumps have appeared. When your foot hits the ground all the joints and muscles in your feet have to adjust to the forces created by your walking. Therefore, your feet can slide in shoes causing friction, developing corns and blisters on the tops or ends of your toes or thick calluses on the balls of your feet. It is the movement of bones rubbing against each other or against one of the shoe surfaces like, in closed shoes. Strappy sandals can fit around the bunion and hammertoe deformities and not irritate it. Closed shoes are less accommodating and potentially cause more problems.

Solutions: To extend the length of time you can wear your shoes because of a lump here and a bump there look for closed shoes made of soft leather. The leather would mold around bony prominences in the foot and not irritate the skin. Another way to create more room in a shoe is taking it to a shoe repair shop to have them stretch that part of the shoe that causes the irritation. Doctoring up shoes has been going on for years and years. Putting insoles in a shoe, moleskin around toes, heel protectors along the lining of the back of the shoe or a metatarsal pad in the front of the shoe to take up room is helpful especially if you have narrow bony feet. Custom made orthotics or over the counter foot products like Instant Arches® are very helpful in providing support, comfort and often times prevent foot slippage. Preventing sliding in shoes will reduce friction minimizing corn and callus development. The internet is now a great source to find new products on the market to help solve these problems as well. If you need professional help consult a podiatrist in your area.
So, for those women who live in cold weather climates, summer is only 10 months away.

OMG...Has my shoe size changed or did my feet grow...?

Ladies, can pregnancy change your shoe size? Can pregnancy cause your feet to grow?

These are two common questions that patients always ask me during their pregnancy. The answers are, pregnancy can change your shoe size and your feet can change, becoming longer.

The reason is, a hormone called Relaxin, which is released into your blood stream during your pregnancy. The ovaries produce the hormone Relaxin during pregnancy. Its function is to cause pelvic and cervical expansion by loosening the ligament attachments in the joint between the pubic bones in the front of the pelvis and the joints between the sacrum and the pelvis in the back, allowing the fetus to travel through the birth canal. It also inhibits muscular contractions of the uterus and prevents the otherwise natural abortion of the fetus, stimulates the growth of the glands in the breasts which are responsible for milk production and increases the amount of water in the uterus. The hormone Relaxin is only found in pregnant women and remains in their body for only 24 hours after the child is born.

So the big question is what does the hormone Relaxin has to do with feet and will it affect every pregnant woman? The bones and joints in the feet are connected together by ligaments. Therefore, when Relaxin is released during pregnancy it can also target the ligaments in the feet causing them to relax and elongate. Relaxin affects the weight-bearing joints in the feet (joints in the mid-foot or arch area) and some women’s feet will change in width as well as length. When these joints are affected the ligament attachments weaken and the arch can flatten causing the foot to get longer. Not all women’s feet change size during their pregnancy but for the ones whose feet do it can become pretty frustrating. The change is permanent and your feet will not revert back to its original size, therefore, causing havoc in pregnant women’s shoe wardrobes.

During your pregnancy if you feel that additional arch support is needed because your feet get tired from standing and carrying a little extra weight, look into over the counter arch supports such as Instant Archesâ or custom made orthotics. These types of foot products can help support your feet and make you more comfortable when walking and standing. The arch supports will not prevent any of the changes in your feet due to the hormone Relaxin. For those women who have experienced a change in their shoe size after their pregnancy try taking your shoes to a shoe repair shop to have them stretched.

If all else falls, then it’s off to the shoe store!

WOW...Roll away your foot pain and body fatigue!

Many people suffer from heel, ball of the foot, ankle and other lower extremity muscle aches and pains. These problems over time can add up to a decrease in physical activity and excessive weight gain because it hurts too much to exercise or you’re a little stiff to put your best foot forward. Luckily for the exerciser, science has created a new type of shoe technology which is now available to help eliminate those annoying and nagging roadblocks that cause us to postpone exercise.

Shoes not only cover and protect your feet from the outside environment they also reduce the impact shock your entire body encounters with each step. We cannot always predict the type of surfaces we walk, stand or exercise on such as concrete, grass, dirt or asphalt. However, controlling your shoe wear is a very easy thing to do. New shoe technology has made exercising more fun. There are now shoes designed for both men and women with a rocker bottom outersole. The benefits of these types of shoes are many; they reduce the impact shock in the joints of your feet, ankles and knees as well as improving posture when walking. For those of you who have pain in the balls of your feet when you stand or walk this type of shoe should help relieve your symptoms. The rocker bottom outersole also reduces heel pain because it transfers your weight away from your heel. They also strengthen the muscles in your legs and buttocks, decreases body fatigue when standing for long periods of time and improves blood flow in your legs because your lower leg muscles are constantly firing causing increased circulation.

The two shoes that currently have this special rocker bottom technology are Shape-ups who are manufactured by Skechers and MBT shoes. These types of shoes are compatible with custom made orthotics or any over the counter arch support such as Instant Archesâ. So when you roll away during day, your foot pain and body fatigue may go away!

Do your feet need relief?

Perhaps you would like to apply heat to your feet, or something cool to your feet? Well, a podiatrist that I know and has treated me for years, has developed a new product called Cool Soles. Actually, these soles can be cool or heated. You put them in the freezer or in your microwave, and then using straps that come with the soles, you apply them to your feet. They cost about $25 and can be ordered directly from the Dr. Rosenberg Cool Soles website at www.coolsoles.com and each package includes a sole for the right foot and the left foot and the straps for application. www.youtube.com\alanbestbuys

"OMG"...My heels hurt and I have ugly toenails!

Summer feet..., Cracked heels, Nail fungus or plain old dirt!
It is summer time and flip – flops, sandals or open toed shoes are the footwear of choice. That means our feet are vulnerable to toe nail fungus or is it dirt disease and cracked calloused heels.... Let’s see.Nail fungus known as Onychomycosis can turn your toenails into a thick, yellow, flaky and painful mess. Fungus nails sometimes start out with just the corner of your toenail involved. The nail plate usually appears yellow or discolored in the tip of one your toenails first and then can later spread to other toenails. Fungus nails can detach from the nail plate making it possible for the nail to rip off if it gets caught in a sock or jammed into the leg of a table or bedpost. Once the nail plate is slightly detached from the nail bed dirt can get underneath the nail and cause the nail to have a dark appearance and turn black.

The question is, what is this mysterious material underneath the toenail, a fungus or dirt. Dirt can get underneath the clear nail plate and cause a dark spot to appear, confusing you to think “OMG” I have fungus! So check out your nails carefully and you can decide for yourself what those dreaded dark spots are underneath your toenails. If the nail doses not appear either yellow, thick (having a dry chalky flaky substance present underneath the nail plate) or disfigured it probably is not a fungal nail. Visiting your podiatrist or Dermatologist is the first step in identifying and getting rid of your problem. There are over the counter topical solutions available as well as prescription oral medications that can be helpful in treating the nail fungus problem.Another problem that can occur during the summer months are cracked thick painful callous around the heels of your feet. This can also be a problem that will drive you too a podiatrist or dermatologist. They can fissure and open up making walking difficult. Walking barefoot or wearing flip- flops and backless sandals causes them because of friction (continual rubbing of the skin on a hard surface) around the rim of the heel. Another reason for having fissured or cracked heels is dry skin. If this skin problem is not treated properly the skin could get infected. A few easy ways to treat this problem is by purchasing a foot cream with 40 % Urea. Urea will soften and moisturize the skin breaking down the thick callous formation. Another way to treat the problem is to use an abrasive file to smooth the tissue. Using abrasive files such as diamond files or even nail files are easy ways to smooth that thick tuff callous on your feet.So, take care of your feet during these hot summer days and your feet will take care of you!

SHOES..."How to choose what to use"

“If the shoe fits wear it and when the foot hits the ground, everything changes”! These are two important facts you need to know when you are buying athletic shoes to stay fit. There are many types of athletic surfaces available to workout on, depending on your activity. Tennis players play on hard, clay and grass courts. Runners run on asphalt streets, concrete sidewalks, dirt, grass, on a track and hard or soft sand at the beach. Basketball player’s play on hardwood and concrete courts. However, whatever sports activity you participate in, if your foot is not properly supported on these different types of surfaces and in the right type of shoe, your foot biomechanics will be thrown off. Ouch! Our feet begin to compensate during a run, a game of tennis or up and down the basketball court. This could cause poor foot placement during your stride. A shoe that provides stability and proper foot support, when running, will help eliminate potential lower leg and foot injuries. Remember some feet are very unstable and no matter what shoe you are wearing your feet will need additional support to control that problem. Running in the right athletic shoes will make exercising easier. The shoe should have enough room in the toe box so your toes will not get crowded when running which could lead to blisters and other foot irritations. There should be at least a thumbs width between the longest toe on your foot and the end of the toe box. Again if the shoe is comfortable, cushioned and feels supportive it should help avoid any type of potential foot injury. The right shoe will be more comfortable and more stable for your foot. It will allow your foot to function better because your foot is stable. Stable feet in stable shoes do not brake down as fast as unstable feet in any shoe.

Overuse injuries are the most common type of foot injuries that walk into a doctor’s office. They occur more often in people who have unstable feet because the arch collapses during their activities. This will result in foot fatigue, cramping arches, plantar fasciitis and tendonitis. They are less likely to happen with people who have stable feet and a better foot structure. Wearing the right shoe reduces the susceptibility of foot injuries. The shoe should have a ridged heel counter to prevent the heel from sliding, a solid midsole and outersole to reduce the impact load on the feet and shock to the body. Initially, stable, supportive and durable shoes will most likely keep a person who has foot problems or unstable feet injury free until the shoes begins to brake down. Professionally made orthotics, as well as over the counter prefabricated orthotics, or instant arches are other options available to help keep your feet supported in your athletic shoes.

Doing the research and finding the best shoe for your foot will prevent potential foot injuries from occurring during exercise and keep your feet happy and out of the doctors offices!