Keep Your Feet Feeling Young

When it comes to basketball, the risk of spraining an ankle is constant. Quick breaks, starts, stops, pivots, and, of course, jumps. Whenever an ankle is sprained, there is always ligament damage. The time out of the game will depend on the extent of the damage. You’d expect that a sprain resulting from a jump would result in more damage from simply rolling the ankle. All we know is that McGrady’s ankle was sprained in practice.

The Rockets announced that McGrady was a game-day decision to play tonight’s game, which leads me to believe it’s not so severe. Hopefully T-Mac will be back soon and stay healthy along with Yao and Artest to make this a great season.

Babies, both infants and toddlers, have unique issues when it comes to their feet and footwear. An infant’s feet is essentially developmental in nature. The baby lifts up his feet and looks at these crazy things in front of his face. He explores his feet and toes and wonders what they may do. He moves them around and wonders who is making them do that.

As the baby progresses to crawling, they become more functional, to propel him across the floor. He then proceeds to pull himself up and, for the first time, bears weight on them. Then come those wonderful first steps. It’s amazing that all this occurs in about the first year of life!

In order for a baby to be able to get a grasp of the weightbearing process, it’s important that he has full sensation to their feet. A baby needs to feel the pressures in his feet, known as proprioception, to learn how to balance. Shoes with a real sole do not allow the baby to properly feel his feet. I’m not talking about booties or socks, but those really cute, tiny, Converse All-Stars.

You can take the smartest person…let’s say a pediatrician (who really knows better)…tell them that their infant should not be wearing shoes yet and their response would invariably be “I know…but they’re so cute!” or “I know…but they match his outfit!” I’m all for cute baby’s and all, but let’s not effect the kid’s development!

Also, babies are rapidly growing creatures. A sock or soft bootie allows the foot to expand and grow as it should while allowing the baby to feel the ground. Keep those patent leather black Mary-Janes off of the girls! Keep those baby Nike’s off of the boys!

Once the baby starts to take some steps, it’s okay to put a shoe on him. When you do, make sure that you put on one with a flexible sole. Rigid soles are not appropriate for a new developing foot!

One thing is for certain. Once your child starts to walk, if you find that he sits down often, complains that their feet hurt, or would rather crawl then walk, they might be experiencing a true problem with their feet or ankles. If this is the case, be sure to visit your podiatrist to check them out!

For more information about pediatric foot problems, including an informative video, visit our website.

The Houston Marathon was run this past Sunday. It has the reputation of being one of the faster marathons out there, largely because of our usually comfortable January weather and a mostly flat course. Congratulations to all who completed the marathon. To those who are still hurting at this point…time to come into the office!!!

Order Neuremedy Here!!!

For years, people suffering with peripheral neuropathy have been told that there’s nothing that can be done for them, other than taking medication to manage the discomfort. Peripheral neuropathy is a syndrome in which nerves are damaged and results in a numbness or pain in the lower extremity.

There are definite causes of neuropathy that can be found. For instance, it is a common occurrence with diabetes. The process that causes neuropathy in diabetics is the diminished capacity of the small vessels in the extremity. You can read more about diabetic neuropathy, its causes and treatment in an earlier post here.

Recent studies have shown that many people suffering from peripheral neuropathy have low plasma levels of the essential nutrient thiamine (vitamin B1). Thiamine is necessary for proper nerve function. Food alone is not sufficient to elevate the levels of the nutrient. In my practice, I’ve been using Neuremedy, which has a bioactive form of thiamine called benfotiamine. Benfotiamine has been used since the early 1960′s to successfully treat tens of thousands of people suffering from peripheral neuropathy in Asia and Europe. Neuremedy does not have any adverse effects and does not interact with any medication.

Many of my patients, who have been previously told that there’s nothing that can be done for them, have found improvement with taking Neuremedy. While it does not work for everyone, I have been impressed with the results so far.

If you’d like to purchase Neuremedy, visit your podiatrist or click here to order online.
For more information about Neuremedy, visit our website.

Dr. Andrew Schneider
www.tanglewoodfootspecialists.com

If you’re a sports lover like myself, you’re hearing more and more that athletes are out with a “high ankle sprain.” You especially hear about this in basketball and football where you have lots of feet being planted on the ground and pivoting. So what’s the difference between a high ankle sprain and your average, run of the mill ankle sprain?

A traditional ankle sprain, or twisted ankle, most commonly involves damage to the ligaments that connect the bones in the legs, the tibia and fibula, to the bones in the foot. This type of injury will cause swelling on the outside of the ankle, and often bruising will be seen. The best initial treatment for this is applying the “RICE” principle: Rest, Ice, Compression, and Elevation. Taking anti-inflammatory medication can also help. If the pain is not significantly better in the first 24-36 hours, you should visit your podiatrist.

A high ankle sprain is an injury to the ligaments that connect the two bones in the legs, the tibia and fibula. They’re called “high” ankle sprains because the injury occurs above the ankle level in the lower leg. These injuries are tougher to diagnose because the symptoms are usually more dull than their more traditional components and present with little or no swelling. Treatment for a high ankle sprain also includes the “RICE” principle. If the pain does not improve quickly, visit your podiatrist. Some sports figures who have had high ankle sprains include Tom Brady of the New England Patriots, Terrell Owens of the Dallas Cowboys, and Dirk Nowitzki of the Dallas Mavericks.

For those who habitually sprain their ankles, exercising with an ankle brace is important. The more one sprains the ankle, the easier and more likely future sprains are to occur. A wide array of ankle braces and supports can be found in our store.

For more information, visit our website.

I recently read a blog post (you can check it out here) focusing on Victoria Beckham’s (aka Posh Spice of Spice Girls fame) bunions. The claim was that she was tired of the bunions and didn’t want surgery because of her inability to wear high heels after surgery. She wore a simple night splint and the bunion disappeared in a short period of time.

A bunion is often perceived as a bony growth on the side of the foot. It is, however, the bone behind the big toe shifting out towards the side of the foot. The surgical correction usually involves breaking that bone, shifting it over, and securing it with a screw or pin. While there are bunion deformities that are due to soft tissue contracture, it is the minority.

I often use bunion splints as postoperative aids. I have not had the experience of a bunion be “cured” simply from a device such as this (for an example of a night splint, click here). It can, however, help with some of the deformity and resulting pain.

As for Ms. Beckham, the pictures shown on the site are hardly evidence that the bunion has disappeared. For her sake, however, I hope she chooses her shoes more sensibly so the bunion does not worsen. Otherwise, surgery may end up being her only option.

If you’d like to learn more about bunions, their cause, and treatment, including an informative video, visit our website.