Category: Resources
Jan
20

How to Prevent and Control Blisters on Your Feet

How to Prevent and Control Blisters on Your Feet

Like most folks, you’ve likely had at least one experience with blisters on your feet. It probably happened when you started wearing a new pair of shoes or insisted on wearing footwear that never fit correctly and irritated your skin every time you wore them.

No matter how or why you developed a foot blister, you know that they can be painful and debilitating. They can make every step an excruciating ordeal, they’re prone to infection, and they are unattractive. As with any health issue, the best cure for foot blisters is to prevent them from developing in the first place.

Blister Prevention

The key to preventing blisters is to prevent the chafing that leads to their development. Here are three ways you can keep chafing to a minimum and reduce the chances of getting a foot blister

  • Wear good socks and shoes. Protection equals prevention. Choose nylon or moisture-wicking socks and wear two pairs if needed. Equally important, make sure your shoes fit correctly and are neither too loose or too tight
  • Use soft bandages. For areas like your ankle that are starting to chafe, securely apply an adhesive moleskin or other soft bandage.
  • Apply powder or petroleum jelly to chafing areas. These products can help reduce friction when your skin rubs together with your footwear.

Blister Control

If, despite all your preventative efforts, you are hobbled with a painful foot blister, you’ll want that blister to heal up as soon as possible. Here are three ways to control the problem that will help get you back on comfortable feet:

  • “Tent” the blister. Put a bandage over your blister to reduce the chances of infection and reduce irritation from shoes or socks. But be careful not to suffocate the blister; it needs air to heal properly. Allow the blister breath while still protecting it by “tenting” the bandage over the blister. Apply the bandage’s adhesive parts closer together than you usually would so that its cushion forms a protective tent over the wound. When you are at home with your shoes off, take the dressing off, apply some antibacterial ointment and let the blister breathe even more.
  • Apply green tea. Green tea’s anti-oxidant qualities make it much more than a soothing beverage. Green tea can reduce inflammation and put an extra charge into the body’s healing powers. To treat a blister, don’t drink the tea, but instead apply it directly to the blister itself. Brew three bags of green tea in boiling water, add a teaspoon of baking soda, let the brew cool, and soak your blister in it. If the blister is an area too difficult to soak, instead soak some gauze in the brew and then apply the dressing to the blister.
  • Don’t mess with it. Don’t pick at your blister or you increase your risk of infection. Instead, let the blister pop on its own or use a sterilized sewing needle to open the blister near its lowest part so the fluid can drain. Cover it with antibiotic ointment and a bandage so it can safely heal.

Call the Hollywood, Florida Foot and Ankle Specialists at JAWSpodiatry

If you have a chronic problem with blisters or have a blister that has become infected, we can help. The experienced and skilled podiatrists at JAWSpodiatry in Hollywood, Florida are a growing team of exceptional medical professionals who offer the highest degree of care in a welcoming, comfortable environment. Please contact us today at (954) 922-7333 to schedule a consultation.

Jan
13

A Simple Guide to Plantar Warts

A Simple Guide to Plantar Warts

Warts are an unattractive, annoying, and embarrassing development no matter where they appear on your body. But when warts show up on the bottom of your feet – called plantar warts – all the pressure you put on them when standing or walking can make warts downright painful and make every step an uncomfortable experience. While plantar warts can sometimes clear up on their own, many cases require professional treatment to resolve fully. The good news is that we can help you get rid of plantar warts quickly, safely, and painlessly at JAWSpodiatry.

What Causes Plantar Warts?

Like all warts, plantar warts grow on the soles or bottom of your feet because of a virus that works its way through the skin through tiny cuts or scrapes – primarily the human papillomavirus (HPV). As with other contagious foot conditions like athlete’s foot, plantar warts are often spread through wet environments and surfaces like swimming pools, locker rooms, and showers.

Plantar warts appear like small, bumpy growths that sometimes have tiny black dots on the surface. A callus may build up over the wart as well.

Treatment for Plantar Warts

Over-the-counter remedies for plantar warts, such as topical treatments with salicylic acid in the form of ointments, gels, or lotions, only work about 50% of the time. When these efforts don’t work, a great option is cryotherapy performed by an experienced podiatrist.

Safe, effective, painless, and non-invasive, cryotherapy involves applying extreme cold to the targeted tissue to resolve troublesome foot issues like plantar warts.

Cryotherapy treatment freezes and kills the tissue to destroy warts. Because the liquid we use is extremely cold, we sometimes also apply a numbing agent to keep our patients more comfortable. We then use a probe, spray, or cotton swab to administer the freezing application. The whole treatment lasts just a few minutes.

To ensure that the warts are destroyed and incapable of spreading, we require every patient to come in for a follow-up appointment. Most of the time, cryotherapy by itself is enough to eliminate the warts entirely. In cases of recurrence, we also offer laser wart removal treatments for our patients.

JAWSpodiatry: Hollywood, Florida Foot and Ankle Specialists

The skilled and experienced podiatrists at JAWSpodiatry in Hollywood, Florida can help you get back on your feet when problems like plantar warts arise. We are a growing group of exceptional professionals who offer the highest degree of care in a welcoming, comfortable environment.

To learn more about cryotherapy or other treatments for plantar warts, or to schedule a cryotherapy consultation, please contact JAWSpodiatry at 954-922-7333. We look forward to meeting you.

Jan
06

How to Prevent Foot Cramps

How to Prevent Foot Cramps

A foot cramp may not be a serious medical condition, but it can be seriously painful while it lasts. If you’ve ever had one – and you probably have – you know that even the shortest cramp can knock you off your feet or wake you up in the middle of the night. While you can never fully ensure that your feet won’t develop a cramp ever again, there are certainly things you can do to reduce the likelihood of these annoying and uncomfortable occurrences.

What Is A Foot Cramp?

Out of nowhere, a muscle in your foot may suddenly squeeze and lose its ability to relax. That is a foot cramp. You can get a cramp because of exercise or overuse, but cramps can also happen while you’re sitting down or in bed fast asleep.

A cramp can manifest itself as a mild tic or as an intense and painful spasm that causes a lot of pain for several seconds or several minutes.

What to Do When a Foot Cramp Strikes

When you feel that foot cramp pain, the first (and only) thing you want is for the pain to stop ASAP. To do so, put weight on your cramped foot or lift your foot and toes and pull them up toward your nose. Gently rub your muscle as you stretch it and put some ice on the area while you massage it.

How to Reduce The Chance of Developing a Foot Cramp

The best thing you can do to avoid foot cramps is to stretch regularly, especially if you exercise regularly as well. Stretch before and after every workout and, if you tend to develop cramps at night, stretch before you go to bed.  

Stretching your feet is quick and easy. Here’s what to do:

  • Rest your left ankle on your right knee
  • With your left hand, gently flex your left foot by pulling back on the toes just hard enough to feel the stretch in the arch of your foot
  • Point the toes on your left foot point as far as you can. Rotate the motion of pointing with pulling back on the toes
  • Do the foregoing 10 to 20 times and repeat the process with your other foot.

JAWSpodiatry: Your Hollywood, Florida Foot and Ankle Specialists

At JAWSpodiatry, we use the most advanced and non-invasive techniques to reduce pain and speed recovery for individuals suffering from foot and ankle problems. If you’d like to learn more about the innovative and effective treatments we provide or how we can help you with your foot and ankle issues, please call us today at (954) 922-7333 or contact us online to schedule a consultation.

Dec
30

Ozone / Prolozone Therapy for Heel Pain: Uses & Benefits

Ozone / Prolozone Therapy for Heel Pain: Uses & Benefits

Over the past decade, medicine has made exciting advancements in regenerative injection therapies. These minimally invasive, non-surgical approaches harness the body’s own natural healing processes to relieve pain, repair tissue, and restore function.

One of the regenerative therapies we offer at JAWSpodiatry leverages the body’s need for oxygen to repair and heal damaged joints and tissues. Specifically, prolozone therapy allows us to inject ozone, a naturally occurring, highly reactive molecule consisting of three atoms of oxygen, into damaged ligaments. At JAWSpodiatry, we use this innovative approach to address a range of foot, ankle, and heel pain issues.

What is Prolozone?

The name prolozone is derived from the Latin word “prolix,” which means to proliferate, regenerate, and rebuild. It is so named because it proliferates, regenerates, and rebuilds new cartilage and ligament tissue in areas where they have become damaged or weak.

Ozone is, in effect, a naturally occuring, supercharged form of oxygen. Where oxygen is comprised of two attached molecules – O2 – ozone adds one additional molecule – O3. When we inject ozone into the damaged foot and ankle area, the single molecule of oxygen splits from the other two molecules creating high levels of regular oxygen plus single oxygen molecules in the tissue.

How Does Polozone Help Heal Foot and Ankle Injuries?

Our bodies need oxygen in our bloodstream for a whole range of reasons. This includes healing after we have suffered injury or trauma to ligaments, the “rubber bands” that hold the bones, joints, and intervertebral discs together. When ligaments become weak either due to injury or simply the passage of time, they don’t do their job as well. In turn, this leads to pain in the bones, discs, and joints that the ligament is supposed to hold together. 

These weakened or damaged tissues typically have low oxygen levels and decreased blood flow which limits the degree and progression of healing. Prolozone therapy works by increasing oxygen to the area around these damaged connective tissues.

When we increase oxygen levels and blood flow through prolozone treatments, critical cells rapidly grow and lead to the natural healing of painful foot, ankle, and knee injuries. Not only does prolozone therapy deliver optimized oxygen flow to help speed necessary nutrients to the painful area, but it also stimulates fibroblastic and chondroblastic cellular activity, further enhancing the repair cycle by increasing available oxygen and nutrients to the newly formed tissue.

What to Expect During Prozolone Treatment

When you arrive at our comfortable offices, one of our skilled podiatrists will thoroughly examine the area causing you pain. We sometimes use local anesthesia to ease any discomfort, though the minimally invasive treatment is largely pain-free. To maximize healing and improve outcomes, most patients usually require multiple sessions.

In some cases, we use ozone in combination with other regenerative procedures such as platelet-rich plasma (PRP). Since ozone must be made and used quickly, we produce the healing molecules just before performing the treatment.

While traditional approaches treat the symptoms of foot and ankle pain, regenerative procedures like prolozone therapy treat the underlying cause of pain and promote true, enduring healing. 

Call JAWSpodiatry Today to Learn More About Ozone / Prolozone Therapy  

If you’d like to learn more about how ozone / prolozone therapy may offer a solution to your foot and ankle problems, call JAWSpodiatry today at (954) 922-7333 or contact us online to schedule a consultation.

Dec
23

Hallux Limitus: Definition, Symptoms, Causes, and Treatment

Hallux Limitus: Definition, Symptoms, Causes, and Treatment

Any arthritic condition can make life difficult and painful. When that arthritis affects your big toe, a condition called hallux limitus, the impact on your mobility and quality of life can be profound.

The hallux is the joint that connects the big toe to the foot. The primary effect of hallux limitus is limiting the flexibility of this joint, which in turn makes it difficult to bend the big toe. While this inflexibility may not seem like a big deal, it can lead to severe pain, mainly when walking. Making matters worse, progression of the condition can lead to bone spurs and ultimately make the joint completely rigid, a condition known as hallux rigidus.

Symptoms of Hallux Limitus

Starting out mild, the symptoms of hallux limitus gradually worsen over time. Among those symptoms are:

  • Pain at the top of the joint that gets worse when walking or engaging in other activities that bend the hallux
  • Difficulty flexing your big toe
  • Tingling or numbness in and around your toe
  • A bony lump appearing on the top of your big toe joint
  • a callus under the joint due to increased pressure
  • knee, hip, or lower back pain of the condition causes you to change your stride.

Causes of Hallux Limitus

There are several reasons why hallux limitus develops, some of which have to do with a genetic predisposition for the condition while others are the result of lifestyle and activities. The causes of hallux limitus include: 

  • An elevated or unusually long metatarsal joint or first metatarsal bone
  • Injuries and trauma, such as toe sprains, a broken toe, or severely stubbing your toe
  • Overuse caused by activities that involve putting repeated pressure on your toes
  • Ill-fitting footwear or high heels that put added stress on the toe joint
  • A family history of hallux limitus

Treatment for Hallux Limitus

The good news is that conservative treatment approaches are often sufficient to resolve the pain, discomfort, and progression of hallux limitus. These include:

  • Wearing properly fitting shoes that don’t put undue pressure on your big toe and the hallux
  • Wearing shoes with a rigid sole
  • Avoiding shoes with heels higher than one inch
  • Reducing pressure on the joint with a soft gel pad
  • Over-the-counter or custom orthotics
  • Over-the-counter anti-inflammatory medications such as ibuprofen or aspirin
  • Icing the joint two or three times a day for 15 minutes

If these approaches do not provide the desired relief, your podiatrist may recommend corticosteroid injections. For extreme cases or those that have progressed to hallux rigidus, surgery may be necessary.  However, advances in minimally invasive surgery (MIS) often allow us to treat the condition without the pain, discomfort, recovery time, and other unwelcome aspects of traditional surgery.

The dedicated foot and ankle specialists at JAWSpodiatry pride themselves on being pioneers in the field of minimally invasive foot and ankle surgical techniques.

Our Dr. Abraham Wagner is the founder of the Minimally Invasive Foot and Ankle Surgical Institute (MIFAS). He is specially and extensively trained in MIS procedures and continues to lead the efforts to make these innovative treatments more available for those suffering from foot and ankle problems.

Call JAWSpodiatry Today For Relief From Foot and Ankle Pain

At JAWSpodiatry in Hollywood, Florida, we utilize the most advanced and non-invasive techniques to reduce pain and speed recovery for individuals suffering from foot and ankle problems. Please call us today at (954) 922-7333 or contact us online to schedule a consultation. We look forward to the opportunity to help you.

Dec
16

What is Percutaneous Plantar Fasciotomy?

What is Percutaneous Plantar Fasciotomy?

Any time you’re on your feet, your heels take a beating. As strong and resilient as your heels are and need to be to bear the heavy burden of supporting your entire body, all those steps and all that work can take its toll, especially as the years (and miles) pile up. Plantar fasciitis, damage to the heel tissue that results from ongoing and substantial pressure, is perhaps the most common source of heel pain among our patients, causing persistent inflammation and stiffness at the sole of the foot.

At the Advanced Heel Pain Centers of South Florida, part of JAWSpodiatry, we can usually resolve most cases of plantar fasciitis with conservative treatments such as exercises, heel inserts, anti-inflammatory medications, and icing. But when those approaches do not provide relief for recalcitrant plantar fasciitis, we may recommend more aggressive options. This includes a safe, minimally invasive, and effective procedure called a percutaneous plantar fasciotomy.

Percutaneous plantar fasciotomy involves releasing a small portion of the plantar fascia just beyond its origin as it comes off the heel bone. This is usually the area where the tissue has abnormally thickened, tightened, calcified, and scarred; the pathology which in whole or in part causes the patient’s ongoing pain.

We perform the procedure under local anesthesia in our comfortable and welcoming office-based surgical suite. The incision we make is less than 2mm in length, about the size of a keyhole. We are careful not to completely disrupt the entire plantar fascia, which is an essential structure for arch stability. For optimal results, we usually combine the procedure with either stem-cell or platelet-rich plasma injection therapy.

As a minimally invasive procedure, percutaneous plantar fasciotomy offers many advantages and comes without the patient challenges associated with traditional surgeries. In addition to reduced discomfort and recovery time, the benefits of this procedure include:

  • Local anesthesia instead of general anesthesia
  • Lower infection risk
  • Barely visible scarring
  • Minimal blood loss
  • Shorter surgery time
  • Undergoing the procedure in our state-of-the-art, in-office surgical suite rather than a conventional outpatient or hospital setting.

Ready to Get Rid Heel Pain? Schedule an Appointment With The Advanced Heel Pain Centers of South Florida Today

No one should have to live with heel pain and discomfort – and you don’t need to. If you are experiencing heel pain or other symptoms that may indicate that you have plantar fasciitis, please reach out to the Advanced Heel Pain Centers of South Florida today. We offer a range of advanced and effective surgical and non-surgical procedures to treat heel problems, and our podiatrists provide exceptional patient care that can get you back on your feet quickly. Please call us today at (954) 922-7333 or contact us online to schedule a consultation.

Dec
09

Metatarsalgia: Symptoms, Causes, Diagnosis, Treatment

Your heels aren’t the only part of your feet that take a beating every time you walk, jog, run, jump, or engage in other high-impact activities. The balls of your feet do just as much work as your heel and hit the ground just as hard. And just as overuse can lead to heel pain and other issues, it can also cause pain, inflammation, and sensitivity in the balls of the feet. This common condition, called metatarsalgia, is particularly prevalent in athletes but can affect anyone who spends any significant amount of time on their feet.

Symptoms of Metatarsalgia

As the name of the condition implies, metatarsalgia most commonly manifests itself as pain and swelling at the end of one or several metatarsal bones which connect your toes to the rest of your foot. Typically, the pain and discomfort become more intense over time and are most acute when standing, walking, running, especially on hard, unforgiving surfaces. Sometimes, the pain may be shooting and sharp, while other individuals suffering from metatarsalgia may experience numbness or a tingling feeling in their toes.

Causes of Metatarsalgia

Metatarsalgia can develop for any number of reasons, but it is most often associated with intense physical training and high-impact activities and sports. Other causes include:

  • Prominent metatarsal heads
  • Tight toe extensors
  • Weak toe flexors
  • Obesity
  • Hammertoe deformity
  • Hypermobile first foot bone
  • Tight Achilles tendon
  • Poorly fitting footwear that doesn’t provide enough support and padding or have a narrow toe-box
  • Stress fractures
  • Morton’s neuroma, noncancerous growth of fibrous tissue around a nerve that usually develops between the heads of the third and fourth metatarsal

Diagnosis and Treatment

The good news is that metatarsalgia can usually be treated simply without the need for surgery. Once your podiatrist has examined you, including x-rays if needed, and determined that this condition is the cause of your pain and discomfort, the answer may be as easy as resting, icing, or changing footwear. Your podiatrist may recommend metatarsal pads and other custom orthotic devices, and over-the-counter anti-inflammatory pain relievers like ibuprofen or aspirin can help relieve pain and reduce swelling

Foot Pain Slowing You Down? Call Us Today!

If you are dealing with pain, swelling, or other issues with your feet, the experienced and caring podiatrists at JAWSpodiatry can help. Located in Hollywood, Florida, we employ the most advanced and non-invasive techniques to reduce foot and ankle pain and speed recovery. Please call us today at (954) 922-7333 or contact us online to schedule a consultation.

Nov
25

Achilles Tendon Pain: Causes, Treatments & Prevention

Achilles Tendon Pain: Causes, Treatments & Prevention

With every step you take, your Achilles tendon takes a beating. If you’re a runner or walk a lot, in particular, all of the weight and force of your body that keeps coming down on your Achilles can add up. Damage to the Achilles tendon from overuse and strain can lead to excruciating and debilitating pain and significantly impact your quality of life. Fortunately, this condition, called Achilles tendonitis, can be treated effectively and there are things you can do to minimize the pain and discomfort it causes

Achilles Tendonitis: The Cause of Your Pain

The largest tendon in the body, your Achilles tendon connects the back of your lower calf muscles to your foot along the back side of your ankle and provides the needed power to push off when you run or walk.

People who develop Achilles tendonitis, also called Achilles tendinothapy, usually do so because of overuse and a corresponding failure to give the tendon much needed time to recover after all the strain it experiences. Other factors that can exacerbate the condition include poorly fitting footwear, soft running surfaces, or running or walking uphill for extended periods.

Achilles tendon damage is also associated with poor range of motion in the ankles, excessive pronation, and weak calf muscles. And, as with so many other conditions, we become much more prone to damaging the fibers in the tendon as we get older.

Symptoms of Achilles Tendonitis

Common Achilles tendonitis symptoms include:

  • Pain and stiffness in the tendon when you wake up
  • Pain and discomfort along the tendon or back of the heel that gets more intense with continuing activity
  • Severe tendon pain on the day after you exercise strenuously
  • Thickening of the tendon
  • Bone spurs (insertional tendinitis)
  • Pervasive swelling that gets worse throughout the day with activity

Treating Achilles Tendonitis

Fortunately, most cases of Achilles tendonitis can be treated simply and effectively. To reduce swelling and pain and help your tendons recover from trauma and overuse, consider these useful tips from RunnersConnect magazine:

  • Eccentric heel drops
  • Ice your tendons after each time you run
  • Heat your tendons with warm water or a heating pack before each run
  • Contrast bath during the day – take two small buckets/trash cans and fill one with hot (hot bath temp) water and the other with ice water (cold enough so some ice still doesn’t melt) and put your whole leg (up to the calf) in the cold. Hold for 5 minutes and then switch to the hot for 5 minutes. Repeat 2 or 3 times, ending with cold. This helps rush blood in and out of the area, which facilitates healing
  • Avoid anti-inflammatory medications like Advil or ibuprofen
  • Avoid excessive stretching – only very light, easy stretching until healed
  • Massage your calves with a foam roller
  • Switch to more supportive or traditional running shoes (higher heels) during your runs and while walking around until your pain is completely gone, and avoid flats and high heels
  • Perform ankle strengthening and mobility exercises.

More severe and acute Achilles injuries may require professional treatment. Your podiatrist may recommend prescription steroid injections such as cortisone, and if your pain persists for more than six months after exhausting all non-surgical options, exercises, surgery may be the best option to fully repair the tendon.

Achilles Tendon Pain? Call Us Today!

If you are dealing with pain, swelling, or other issues with your Achilles tendon, the experienced and caring podiatrists at JAWSpodiatry can help. Located in Hollywood, Florida, we employ the most advanced and non-invasive techniques to reduce foot and ankle pain and speed recovery. Please call us today at (954) 922-7333 or contact us online to schedule a consultation.

Questions? Contact our office today: (954) 922-7333