Items filtered by date: October 2017

At Superior Foot & Ankle Center we find that many patients do not fully realize the role the podiatrist can play in your foot and overall health. Our purpose is to provide acute and preventive care to your entire lower extremity (from the tips of your toes up to your knees). We have a wealth of treatment options available including pain relief, multiple therapies, custom orthotics, exercise and surgery to correct and improve foot discomfort associated with both age and activities, including sports injuries. In addition, in many cases the foot doctor is able to diagnose a larger, systemic issue from symptoms in your feet and can then collaborate with other health care professionals to care for the disorder.

Use the following as a guideline if you’re trying to decide if you should call the podiatrist:

1. You experience sudden or increasing pain; chronic pain seems to be getting more severe or more frequent
2. You notice abnormalities in your feet: swelling, changes in shape or size, bruising, lumps,
3. Other non-painful symptoms: tingling, burning, itching, pins and needles, numbness
4. Changes in skin (color, redness, scaling, flaking, sores, blisters, cracking) or toenails (discoloration, thickening, crumbling, peeling)
5. Possible signs of infection: pus or discharge, redness or red streaks, tenderness, heat, fever
6. You have any symptoms and have diabetes or other conditions that suppress the immune or circulatory systems—even the most minor symptoms can become major medical threats to these patients

If you said yes to any of the above symptoms or signs, contact our Long Beach office for an appointment by calling: 562-420-9800. Our foot and ankle surgeons, Dr. Victoria Foley and Dr. Constance Omelas will do a complete examination and help get to the bottom of your foot pain so that you can get back to the active lifestyle you love. Regardless of whether your foot disorder is common, such as athlete’s foot or an ingrown toenail or a more complex condition, starting treatment sooner rather than later will enable the foot doctor to use the least invasive methods and ensure the quickest cure.

The joints in your feet—and there are 33 of them in each foot, by the way—are what allow your bones to glide over one another enabling you to do essential activities like walking, jumping and running. As we age, the cartilage in our joints can naturally start to breakdown resulting in bone rubbing on bone and causing painful conditions such as arthritis to develop. This week we celebrate Bone and Joint Health Awareness Week and at Superior Foot & Ankle Care Center we want patients to take a proactive approach to the health of their joints because of the big impact it has on your feet and the rest of your body.

Preventing Joint Problems

Although it’s true that the conditions that affect our joints, such as gout, arthritis and osteoporosis are not completely preventable, there are steps that patients can take at any age that will help ensure joint health now and in the future.

Be Active—physical activity actually helps protect your joints in a few ways. First, exercising regularly or participating in a sport helps build and maintain muscle which supports your joints. Exercise also helps you stay flexible—with joints, the saying “use it or lose it” definitely applies. Another benefit of being active is it can help you lose or maintain a healthy weight. Being overweight puts significant strain on the joints of your feet and other lower extremities, causing them to deteriorate faster.

Eat Purposefully—your diet also plays a big role in maintaining a normal weight. Fortunately, many of the aspects of a well balanced diet also improve joint health: avoiding sugars, processed foods, fried foods and refined flours can also reduce inflammation. Some studies show that there are some foods that fight inflammation. These include: berries, cherries, certain nuts and fish and leafy greens like kale and bok choy.

Guard Against Injuries—if you take a survey of adults with arthritis, many people will attest to the fact that a site injured in youth (knee, ankle, foot) later became a site where arthritis developed. Always wear protective gear for sports and warm up and stretch before exercise.

If you do sustain an injury, contact our Long Beach office right away by calling: 562-420-9800 so our foot and ankle surgeons, Dr. Victoria Foley and Dr. Constance Omelas can examine your foot or ankle. Prompt treatment and complete rehabilitation are two ways to guard against future joint injury and disease.

At Superior Foot & Ankle Care Center many patients come to us with ankle pain and discomfort saying, “But I didn’t twist my ankle or fall—I don’t know why it hurts.”  Chronic ankle problems can include the following symptoms:

• Stiffness
• Pain or soreness
• Feeling of instability—like the ankle is going to “give way”
• Swelling

These may be signs of osteochondritis, chronic lateral ankle pain, “weak ankles” or another chronic ankle condition.

What’s Behind the Pain?

Most often, chronic ankle problems affect patients who have had one or more ankle sprain injuries in the past, leaving them with scar tissue or nerve damage in the ankle. In many cases ankle sprains are either not treated promptly or rehabilitated fully, leaving the patient more likely to experience repeated sprains or ongoing ankle pain and discomfort. Other common sources of chronic ankle pain include: arthritis or other condition that causes joint inflammation or an undiagnosed ankle fracture.

Getting Relief

The first step is to have one of our podiatrists, Dr. Victoria Foley and Dr. Constance Omelas evaluate your ankle. The foot doctor will want to get a detailed medical history and will be particularly interested in knowing about any previous ankle injuries or problems. X-rays or other imaging studies may be made to get a more complete idea of the condition of your ankle.

Once the podiatrist has diagnosed your chronic ankle problem a treatment plan that best suits your condition and lifestyle can be developed. Treatment options may include one or more of the following:

• Anti-inflammatory or steroidal medications to relieve swelling and relieve pain
• Immobilizing the ankle to allow healing
• Physical therapy to improve range of motion and strengthen supporting muscles
• Ankle braces or supports

If you are suffering with ongoing ankle pain, stiffness or weak ankles, don’t assume nothing can be done about it. Make an appointment at our Long Beach office today by calling: 562-420-9800 and find out how you can get relief and resume the active lifestyle that you love.