Do You Have Hard Skin on the Bottom of your Foot?

Calluses are caused by the increased pressure on the bottom of your foot. This can occur as the result of having a deformity that is on your foot that causes you to have pressure points on your foot while walking. Calluses will build up over time as a form of protection. However, your body is not that smart, because as the calluses are building up they are putting pressure on the underlying structures of your foot. This can end up causing you a great deal of pain while you are walking.

There are two different kinds of calluses. There are calluses that are just regular ones we are all used to, but there are ones that have a core in the middle of them. The ones with the cores are the most painful. There are several ways to treat calluses though. One way is to use a pumice stone on them. Depending on the thickness of the callus, this may be very helpful. However, if the callus is thick, you will not get much relief as a result of this treatment. Next, there is the option to come into your podiatrist and have them use a surgical blade to scrape them down. Although, this sounds like a very painful process, the skin is actually dead and so you will not feel anything except for maybe some pressure. However, as the callus decreases in size, it will begin to feel a lot better. Finally, if your callus is really thick, your podiatrist may suggest using a urea cream or another softening cream. This cream can be applied to the callus twice a day and can help to soften your callus. This will reduce the build-up of the callus.

Sometimes, your calluses can be severe as a result of a deformity. For instance, if you have a bunion, then you may have a callus on the inside of your big toe. If there is pain associated with your callus and your deformity then you may be a candidate for surgery. However, not all calluses will be helped by surgery. For some people it is necessary to just continue the above mentioned treatments.

If you have calluses that are painful then you should see your podiatrist if you have not been able to treat them with a pumice stone. If you live in the Burlington or Stoneham, Massachusetts area, Dr. Wachtel would be more than happy to see you and help treat your calluses. We are also happy to announce our Methuen and North Andover offices located at 451 Andover St. Suite 300, North Andover MA 01845 and 87 Jackson St, Methuen, MA 01835.

Do You Have Flat Feet?

If you are having pain in the muscles behind your ankle, it could be as a result of your flat feet causing pressure and tension on your muscles and tendons. As a result, you could have pain behind your ankle and over the arch of your foot. This pressure can increase over time, because your foot structure will gradually cause your arch to collapse.

There are different stages of severity of this syndrome and your tendons will eventually cause you to not be able to stand on your toes. If this condition is caught early though, you will be able to treat your condition with a steroid injection to help relieve the inflammation and orthotic inserts for your shoes to help support your arch.

As the condition progresses though, your tendon can actually rupture as a result of the stress on your foot. Eventually your foot will become flat and your foot will be rigid. In these cases surgical repair of your foot is necessary in order to repair your tendon and to reform your arch. This is necessary to decrease the amount of pressure on your foot and to allow you to walk properly.

If you have been experiencing pain over the tendons or muscles of your feet, you should come in and see your podiatrist. You may be experiencing dysfunction of your posterior tibial tendon. This can lead to pain in other tendons as a result of them trying to compensate for your posterior tibial tendon. This will cause a general pain over the sides of your legs and over the top and bottom of your foot. This pain can inhibit your daily activities, but if addressed early, it can be prevented.

There are different treatments for this condition including inserts for your shoes, braces and surgery if necessary. We like to exhaust all conservative, non-surgical treatment first and give your feet the chance to heal on their own. We also can use laser therapy at the beginning stages of this condition to treat your tendon and help it to heal by promoting all of the healthy cells to come to the area and repair it.

If you or someone you know is having foot pain, please contact your podiatrist. If you live in the Tewksbury or Bradford, Massachusetts area, Dr. Wachtel would be more than happy to see you and help treat your foot pain. We are also happy to announce our Methuen and North Andover offices located at 451 Andover St. Suite 300, North Andover MA 01845 and 87 Jackson St, Methuen, MA 01835.

Foot Hygiene

There are many things that are important for the proper care of your feet. Hygiene is one of the things that is most important. This includes proper cleaning of your feet. Each time that you bathe, it is important to scrub your feet and not to forget in between your toes. Once you finish your shower though, it is important for you to dry off really well, including in between your toes. By doing this, you are preventing bacteria from growing in between your toes.

Another important factor is applying lotion to keep your feet moisturized and prevent your skin from drying out. By applying lotion, you will keep your skin from flaking and you will also prevent fissuring in your skin. Moisturizing the skin on your heels especially will prevent cracking on your heels during flip flop season. You cannot put the lotion between your toes because it can cause bacteria to grow.

Another form of hygiene includes preventing fungus on your toenails. This occurs by examining your toenails for any yellow or black discoloration. If you notice this, there are some tricks that may help prevent your toenails from growing a lot of fungus. These include leaving toenail polish off of them for a couple of weeks so that they can get air. You can also grab some over the counter fungus treatment at any local pharmacy. If it continues though, please visit your podiatrist early so that you can get rid of the fungus before it gets worse. It is a very tricky condition to treat and needs to be attacked aggressively.

Another important thing is to change your socks daily. This will help to prevent bacteria from growing in your socks and causing you to grow bacteria. Socks that are wet from sweating cause the perfect environment for fungus to grow and give you athletes foot.

Each of these hygiene treatments can help you to keep your feet healthy and taken care of. If you find that you have itching, burning feet or yellow or black toenails, or dry skin, please come and see your podiatrist so that they can help with the treatment. If you live in the Dracut or Chelmsford, Massachusetts area, Dr. Wachtel would be more than happy to see you and treat your foot conditions. We are also happy to announce our Methuen and North Andover offices located at 451 Andover St. Suite 300, North Andover MA 01845 and 87 Jackson St, Methuen, MA 01835.

Do You Have Heel Pain?

Plantar fasciitis is a condition that is common amongst middle aged people and runners. The most common complaints of a person with plantar fasciitis is that they have pain in the bottom of their heel that is killing them at the first step out of bed in the morning. The pain will get worse if they have been sitting down and resting and then stand back up. There are few things that relieve the pain, but pain killers and icing your heel will help.

So, what exactly is this condition? It is called plantar fasciitis and results when a band on the bottom of your foot is overstretched and becomes irritated. The constant stretching of the band makes it very sore, and can actually cause microtears in the fascia. Once this happens, you will have pain after you have been resting because your fascia had a chance to return to its regular size.

So, what can you do for this condition? Well, the icing will certainly help. But, it is really important to help your fascia heel. This can be done by giving you a steroid shot in your heel. This injection will help to relieve the inflammation surrounding your fascia. This will also help to reduce the pain so that you can do the physical therapy of your plantar fascia. You can do this by freezing a water bottle and rolling it under your heel. This will help to numb the area and take away more of your inflammation.

You can then use orthotic inserts to let your foot sit in a position to take the pressure off of the band. This will allow the plantar fascia to heal and provide you relief. You can also use a night brace while sleeping to hold your foot in a favorable position. If the plantar fasciitis is not treated and continues to get worse, it can actually cause the plantar fascia to rupture.

If you are having pain in your heel, you should go and visit your local podiatrist so that they can determine what is causing your pain. If you live in the Boston or Dracut, Massachusetts area, Dr. Wachtel would be more than happy to see you and help determine the best treatment for your condition. We are also happy to announce our Methuen and North Andover offices located at 451 Andover St. Suite 300, North Andover MA 01845 and 87 Jackson St, Methuen, MA 01835.

Do I Have a Bunion?

A bunion is a condition where your toe starts to shift to the outside of your foot. This leads to a big bump that can form on the inside of your toe. Although we are not completely sure what causes the condition, it can result from wearing tight shoes or can be hereditary. This bump can end up causing pain on your foot because it will rub up against your shoe.

Some bunions are very minor and will not cause you any pain and discomfort. For others, it is important because you can have so much pain that it causes you to not be able to wear any shoes other than flip flops because they won’t push against your foot.

So, what can we do about the condition? First off we can try to pad the bunion so that it won’t hurt you. This can be done by putting a padded sleeve over your bunion bump and keep it from pushing against the side of your shoe. You can also take pain medications so that you can reduce the pain of the bunion. You can also try to wear wider shoes so that it won’t push against the sides of your shoe.

If none of these treatments work, surgery is a possibility that can give you relief. The surgery can work to remove the bump on your toe and relieve the pressure. Surgery is a big deal because it opens you up to infection and the bunion can sometimes return. That is why it is very important to exhaust all conservative treatments before considering surgery.

If you have been having trouble with a bunion, you should come and see your podiatrist so that the best form of treatment can be considered for you. If you live in the Dracut or Chelmsford, Massachusetts area, Dr. Wachtel would be more than happy to see you and help determine the best form of treatment for you. We are also happy to announce our Methuen and North Andover offices located at 451 Andover St. Suite 300, North Andover MA 01845 and 87 Jackson St, Methuen, MA 01835.

Diabetic Foot Care

Why is it so important to have a podiatrist if you are diabetic? Diabetics have a greater predisposition to have diabetic foot problems, such as neuropathy and ulcers. In order to determine if you have a possibility of getting these conditions, your podiatrist will perform specific diabetic tests.

Some of these tests include using a monofilament, the same as fishing line, to determine if you can feel pressure on the bottom of your foot or the top. This allows us to see if you have feeling in your foot or not. If you do not then it means that you do not have any feeling on the bottom of your foot and if you have a pebble or something else in your shoe then you will not be able to feel it. That means that if you can’t feel it, you won’t realize that it hurts and you can rub an ulcer on your foot.

Another test uses a tuning fork to determine if you can feel vibration. This is one of the most important tests for a new diabetic, because vibratory feeling is the first feeling that will leave your feet. It is a way for us to gauge if you are already starting to experience the signs of neuropathy. If you are, then there are some medications that you can be given, that will help to slow down the development of neuropathy. As of right now, there is no cure, unfortunately.

If you do have neuropathy, then it is especially important for you to come in for your diabetic check-ups. Since you cannot feel your feet, if you do not look at the bottoms of your feet then you may never see that there is an ulcer on the bottom of your foot. The longer that an ulcer is open on your foot and not being treated the more likely you are to develop an infection.

If you or someone you know has been diagnosed with diabetes then it is important that you come in for an initial evaluation with a podiatrist. If you live in the Dracut or Chelmsford, Massachusetts area, then Dr. Wachtel’s staff would be more than happy to help you schedule an appointment. We are also happy to announce our Methuen and North Andover offices located at 451 Andover St. Suite 300, North Andover MA 01845 and 87 Jackson St, Methuen, MA 01835.

Why is my Foot Changing Shape?

There is a condition that is called Charcot foot which although rare, it can occur in diabetic patients. It is a process where your bones will actually break down and rebuild themselves into a new formation. You can think of it the same way you think of a little kid with a set of legos that builds up one object and then takes those same legos and builds something else.

When this process begins to happen, your foot will get red and hot. One of the ways that we are able to tell this condition is occurring is to check the temperature of your legs and feet and compare them to one another. If it is determined that you do have Charcot, all we can really do is wait until your body has gotten through the acute stage and is remodeling itself. Once your foot has settled down, we are able to begin to take action.

Depending upon the shape of your foot, there is a boot called a CROW boot that is specifically made for people with Charcot. This boot is actually molded to your foot to help protect it from additional pressure and prevent you from forming an ulcer in an area of increased pressure. This boot will also serve as an extra form of protection for your foot from external things like stubbing it into a door.

However, in some instances, you may develop a pressure point in an area where the bone is protruding outward. In this case, you may need to have a surgery to remove this extra bump to help prevent you from getting an ulcer. These procedures are straightforward in that the bump will be removed and then you will be fitted for a CROW boot or a diabetic shoe dependent upon the appearance of your foot after the surgery.

In some cases, more in-depth surgical procedures will need to be performed if the arch of your foot collapses. In these cases, your podiatrist will discuss with you the proper surgical procedure for your type of foot.

If you notice that one or both of your legs is red, hot and swollen, please go and see your podiatrist immediately. There are several conditions that can cause your foot to appear this way and we do not want the condition to become worse if it can be avoided. If you live in the North Reading or Reading, Massachusetts areas, Dr. Wachtel would be more than happy to see you and help you determine the cause of your foot condition. We are also happy to announce our Methuen and North Andover offices located at 451 Andover St. Suite 300, North Andover MA 01845 and 87 Jackson St, Methuen, MA 01835.

New Year's Resolutions

Happy New Year to all of you and may 2013 bring you happiness, good fortune and health. While you are thinking about those New Year’s Resolutions, let’s run through the most important ones you can make for your foot health.

5) When you finish taking a shower and washing those little toes, it is very important that you dry between your toes with your towel. Bacteria and fungus likes to hide and grow in these little dark spaces and serves as the source of most athlete’s foot. If the skin between your toes is looking white like what your fingers look like after being in the pool for a long time, this is a sign that you are not drying your skin enough.

4) Wearing shoes outside. Shoes serve as a protective barrier between you and the great outdoors. Think of how many times you have removed gravel, sticks or nails from  your shoes. If you had not been wearing them, guess where those sharp objects would be? In your foot! So, do yourself and your feet a big favor and wear some shoes before you head outside.

3) Moisturizing your dry skin on your feet will prevent cracking and open sores. Make sure that you aren’t putting the lotion between your toes though because that can lead to the bacteria and fungus growing between your toes. If you are diabetic, you may start to notice that your skin is getting drier due to poor blood circulation. The lotion will help, but make sure you see your podiatrist so they can determine if you need to see a specialist for blood flow.

2) When you trim your toe nails make sure you cut a straight line across them. By doing this, it will help prevent ingrown toenails from forming. However, if you do notice your toe is sore or red and warm around a nail then it is time to see your podiatrist. You need to have it checked out for infection and have that annoying nail removed to take away the pain.

1) The one we all hate the most. Lose weight. Being overweight leads to all kinds of medical issues including diabetes, excess pressure on your feet that can lead to the overstretching of ligaments and tendons and eventual collapse of the arch of your foot. So, take small steps to get you on the right track to eating healthy and exercising and your body will thank you well past 2013.

If during this year you do have any foot pain or podiatric issues, Dr. Wachtel would be more than happy to see you and help your get back up on your feet. Our offices serve the Dracut and North Reading, Massachusetts areas. We are also happy to announce our Methuen and North Andover offices located at 451 Andover St. Suite 300, North Andover MA 01845 and 87 Jackson St, Methuen, MA 01835.