Hey, I could really use a Little Support

Podiatrist treating foot (Photo credit: Wikipedia)Do you suffer pain in the arch of your foot? Knee pain? Lower back pain? Have you raced off to the pharmacy to purchase the latest in arch supports from the foot department, only to come up short in the desired results department? What is real arch support and how does it help us?

Arch supports are inserts (off the shelf) or orthotics (prescribed by your podiatrist) that fit the arch of your foot to lend it support and prevent the stretching and small tears in the plantar fascia.  The plantar fascia is the ligament that runs the length of the foot. When stressed, this area becomes painful and inflamed. The most discomfort is apparent in the morning after a night’s rest. The ligament has contracted, and the first few steps in the morning can be painful as the ligament eases.

You are most apt to experience pain if you:

    •    Are overweight

    •    Spend long periods of time running walking or standing on hard surfaces

    •    If your feet roll inward

    •    Your calf muscles and tendons are too tight

How can you regain some comfort without breaking the bank? Consider a few things you can do at home to ease the pain.

    •    Ice the area for 20 minutes in the morning. If you have one of these neat rolling pins that allows you to put ice water in it. Put that under the arch of your foot and roll it back and forth. If not, do an application of cold first, then do the same type of rolling exercise using a rubber ball or tennis ball.

    •    Rise up on toes as far as possible, hold for 5 seconds, and lower. Repeat 10 times on each foot.

    •    Place the ball of your foot on wall at hip height. Lean forward until you feel the stretch in your foot, but do not cause added pain. Hold stretch for 5 seconds, release and repeat 10 times on each foot.

You can try arch supports from your pharmacy, but they may not always be reliable. The combination of the exercises and arch support may be enough to give you relief, but if not, call Dr. Teichman for an appointment. Get the kind of support you really need.

References:
http://www.livestrong.com/article/335195-exercises-for-sore-feet/
http://www.footminders.com/arch-pain-treatment-foot-arch-pain-with-orthotic-insoles.html

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Physical Therapy and Running

Image by roger_mommaerts via FlickrIf you have ever had a sports injury, you’ve probably have gone through some physical therapy.  Podiatrists, like many doctors who deal with injuries, work very closely with physical therapists.  As with any injury to the body, physical therapists work with people who have a range of injuries to their feet and ankles. 

Doing physical therapy will often help pain and swelling to subside, allowing the injury to heal faster, better and with less stress to you since the pain level will be reduced.  Physical therapists strive to also help you restore or increase the range of motion to the injured part of the foot.  That way the joints will not stiffen up, preventing a full recovery from the injury.  Another way a physical therapist helps with an injury to the foot or ankle is to help you rebuild and strengthen muscle around the injury and make sure that the foot and ankle line up properly.  With all that they do for an injury, as long as a patient follows their directions and does their physical therapy, that injury will soon be a thing of the past.

Physical therapy isn’t just for sports injuries though.  There is physical therapy for many other foot problems too.  Problems like plantar fasciitis, bunions, and Achilles issues all respond well to physical therapy.  So if you have a foot issue, contact your podiatrist and ask them to recommend what type of physical therapy you need to help relieve your pain and fix the problem.

If you need a podiatrist, Dr. Adam Teichman at East Penn Foot & Ankle Associates would like to be your podiatrist.  Contact us on our website (www.eastpennfoot.com).  If you are in need of a physical therapist, Dr. Teichman recommends Robbins Rehabilitation.  He has partnered with Robbins and has found that they are extremely reliable and will help you get over your injury and back to health.  Check out Robbins difference of why you should choose them.

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