I LOVE Kitten Heels

As a woman, a female podiatrist and the American Podiatric Medical Association's expert on shoes, especially women's shoes - I must say that I do NOT agree with the statements made  here in Yahoo this morning about Kitten Heels!  I think they are the perfect alternative to heels for women who want or need to feel dressed up.  The height is perfect and the usually skinny heel is not an issue with sidewalk cracks!  All women know what to avoid walking over when wearing skinny heals - especially in the city where there are all kinds of grate coverings.  I also do not agree that shoes cause bunions, even shoes that pitch the foot forward as stated in this article.  They can aggravate bunions, but its foot type that generally causes bunions.  I encourage patients to wear Kitten Heels every day in my practice due to their modest heel height!

Emergency Padding!!

So...........

A few months ago I was interviewed for an article on emergency padding for blisters.  At the time, I spoke of coban which is a self adhesive bandage that works great on toes and controls friction to stops irritation.  Of course, it was pointed out that most  people don't carry around a small section of coban (I do) and I spoke of how you can modify a Band-Aid to protect a blister without adding too much bulk to the blister itself.

Well............

I was in a similar situation this past weekend
when the boots that were so comfortable on my last trip ended up being NOT so comfortable on this past trip!  I felt as if I was developing blisters at both my heels and the balls of my feet.  Cobain would not work in this situation!

So I tried to figure out what to do for the following day and then I remembered that I had panty shields with me!
It was perfect.

They provided the perfect amount of friction control and didn't add too much bulk in my shoes.  The adhesive was strong enough that they stayed in place and it was quite a successful!  I was totally comfortable all day long. 

SNOW!! More Dangerous than Ice!

Most people  think of ice when they think of the dangers of winter.  While our office receives emergency calls due to slips and falls from the ice all winter long,  we see even more foot problems that become symptomatic from walking on snow!

 

While walking the uneven surface of snow laden sidewalks, drives and alleys, many existing problems worsen.  Many people feel that they are more protected wearing snow boots but in reality snow boots give a false sense of security because most snow boots don't provide any ankle stability.  And the continued fashion of Uggs and similar boots cause people with all foot types to have problems in the winter!

 

 If you find yourself feeling unstable while walking on the uneven snowy surfaces or have pain on the outside of the foot just below the ankle bone, you may be experiencing an inflammatory problem called Sinus Tarsi Syndrome (STS).  STS is very common in people with more flexible feet and is often misdiagnosed as an ankle sprain.  If you have fallen or sprained an ankle and the emergency room treatment or that provided by your primary doctor doesn't seem to help, it is very possible you have STS.  STS can be caused by an injury but just as frequently can be caused by a foot that has excessive motion.  Flexible flat feet are feet that lose their arch height when you bear weigh.  STS is probably one of the most common misdiagnosed causes of pain to the foot or ankle because the joint involved, the sinus tarsi, is very close to the ankle and it is often confused by a doctor who does not specialize in the foot and ankle.

 

To diagnose STS, the joint is isolated and injected with local anesthesia to confirm that at the pain is coming fro that joint.  Since treatment for STS consists of injections of cortisone into the sinus tarsi, it is added to the initial diagnostic injection.   STS, in its early form, is an inflammatory problem and responds quite well to one or a few of cortisone shots.  Treatment also consists of controlling the flexible foot type and the excess motion by using custom orthotics or the placement of a stent within the sinus tarsi to block the excessive motion.

 

However, as time goes on and the problem is ignored, the tissue within the joint becomes thickened and almost like scar tissue and may not respond as well to the injections. If the injections fail to help, we will often order an MRI to confirm the diagnosis and to evaluate the tissue within the joint.  Surgery, either arthroscopic cleaning of the joint or opening the joint to clean out the thickened tissue.  The surgery is not very invasive and allows return to work and activities quickly.

 

Like many foot problems, the key is to treating the problem early before the problem becomes chronic.  Remember - foot pain is never normal!!