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Have you heard of “toe spring?”

If you haven’t, you’re not alone. It’s actually only coming to our awareness recently. It’s a condition that leads to foot problems such as plantar fasciitis and inflammation in your foot’s soft tissue. It can also lead to crooked toes, and lower leg and knee problems.

Most shoes, and especially most running shoes, are designed in a way that creates more toe spring. This actually results in your feet needing less effort to walk and run. And that means you perform a little better when exercising.

But, toe spring also leads to the health problems just described.

If you’re looking at shoes solely for health purposes, having shoes with flat soles is the ideal. However, because so many people always want to perform better, most shoes are designed such that the end curves up from the ground a little (about 15 degrees or so).

It’s that upward curvature which leads to toe spring.

What Can You Do About Toe Spring?

Given the fact that most footwear has at least some amount of toe spring which can cause lower leg and foot injuries, what can you do?

Nicholas B. Holowka, a researcher in a recent toe spring study published in the journal Scientific Reports says, ”We’re not suggesting everyone abandon their sneakers and go barefoot.”

Further study with more conclusive proof will be needed.

In the meantime, you’re not helpless. Here’s what you can do to avoid toe spring and the injuries it may cause:

1. Fold Your Shoes In Half for 24 – 48 Hours

You can break the natural fold your shoes have by folding your shoes and placing them under a heavy object (like a bookcase) for 24 – 48 hours. Most of the toe spring should be gone by then.

You will lose the performance benefits of your shoes. But you won’t be exposed to potential injuries caused by toe spring either.

2. Buy Flat Footwear

It’s hard to find flat footwear out there. But, it can be done. While this will reduce or eliminate toe spring, you might end up with footwear that makes your feet more susceptible to other injuries too.

3. Minimize the Time You Wear Shoes Susceptible to Toe Spring

Instead of ditching your shoes entirely, you can also simply reserve them only for times you actually need that additional exercise performance. Only wear those shoes when playing sports or exercising.

The rest of the time, wear footwear that doesn’t expose your feet to the risks toe spring presents.

4. Consider Orthotics

Custom-designed orthotics designed specifically for your feet are an effective solution. Not only do they help you completely avoid toe spring, but they help you avoid every other injury your feet could experience also because they’re made specially just for your feet.

Don’t use the ones you see in large retail stores or the mall. You don’t get nearly the same quality that you do with a specialist.

Hope you learned something new and useful there. It can save you some health problems, pain, and inconvenience. For now, enjoy your life!

There are a number of reasons that the appearence of our nails change over time, whether its infection with bacteria or fungus or as a result of microtrauma, our nails are subject to changes in appearence. Often, with fungal, bacterial, or traumatic changes the nail plate can thicken and discolor causing displeasure with the appearence of the nail.

Often, the nail does not grow as a result of these changes. Although there are options to improve nail appearence and growth by treating underlying bacteria or fungus, if a nail has sustained trauma it may have difficulty growing, and continued issues concerning appearence.

Treatment for fungal nails can take a long time, killing the fungus will not instrantly improve the appearence of the nail, it may takes months or even a year for a clear nail to grow in. If you’re planning on starting treatment of fungal nails for the summer, they will likely not improve in time for flip flop season if you’re starting treatment now. That’s where Keryflex comes in, it can provide a aesthetically pleasing nail while your new clear nail takes it’s time to grow out with antifungal treatment.

The KERYflex Nail Restoration System is an option for patients with damagedor fungal toenails that provides cosmetic enhancement of the nail in just one visit.

It is a safe and affective procedure to improve the cosmesis and appearence of nails. It can be used to improve appearence of nails affected by:

• Nail fungus
• Nail shape changes due to injury
• Spoon shaped nails
• Brittle and splitting nails
• Horizontal ridges
• Discolored nails

The KERYflex procedure is not intended to cure the disease, but provides a great cosmetic option for dystrophic nails. The KERYflex procedure lasts for 6-8 weeks before more resin needs to be applied, and the nail is not affected by Nail polish so it is able to be painted.

The KERYflex is a quick and effective procedure that will have you ready for summer in one visit! Contact us at North Texas Foot and Ankle for More information!

You hear about “turf toe” most commonly during the NFL season. It’s a frequent injury in that sport.

However, it’s also common in many other sports including soccer, basketball, wrestling, gymnastics, and dance.

The most common cause of turf toe is the hard artificial turf surfaces many teams in the NFL used to play on. In reality, moving on a hard surface of any kind with soft-soled shoes puts you at high risk for a “turf toe” injury.

Despite its name, the injury really describes a sprain to the ligaments surrounding the big toe. It’s a painful injury. And if you remember watching the Super Bowl, it limited Patrick Mahomes’ mobility and played a role in the Kansas City Chiefs’ loss to Tampa Bay.

To make things complicated, the injury doesn’t necessarily happen immediately. It can actually take some time and wear and tear to fully develop.

How Is Turf Toe Diagnosed?

Your doctor will begin by looking for swelling and bruising around your big toe. The big toe joint, or “MTP” joint, will be checked for range of motion.

To gauge the full extent of the injury and rule out other possible injuries, your doctor may also subject you to an x-ray or MRI.

How Do You Treat Turf Toe?

Treatment depends on the severity of the injury. You can be assigned one of three grades of the injury (grade 1, 2, or 3).

Treatment for grade 1 includes:

1. RICE – Rest Ice Compression Elevation
2. Use of NSAIDs to reduce pain and swelling
3. Wearing a rigid graphite insert to immobilize your big toe
4. Using a walking boot
5. Engaging in range of motion exercises after 3-5 days of rest

Treatment for grade 2 includes:

1. Taking 3-14 days off from sports
2. Use of a rigid graphite insert or walking boot to immobilize your big toe
3. Engaging in light exercises with the goal of slowly returning to full activity

Treatment for grade 3 includes:

1. Several weeks of immobilization, which could include a walking boot or crutches
2. Early and extensive physical therapy
3. At least 8 weeks of rest from intense athletic activity
4. If symptoms persist, surgery may be  necessary

Surgery is usually only necessary in rare and serious cases.

The good news is that you can fully recover from turf toe injuries. It may take longer than you want. But you can absolutely get back to your former self with time and adequate rest.

Though rare, Charcot foot can be a hereditary issue or one brought on by diabetes when the condition begins to cause peripheral neuropathy. If you don’t catch Charcot foot early on and do something about it, it can make the joints in your foot collapse and lead to your foot looking deformed.

There are actually five different kinds of Charcot foot. They can cause muscle weakness, atrophy, or loss of sensation in the muscles in your foot. Your foot can become reddish-looking, swollen, and warm to the touch.

Finally, this can lead to open wounds in your foot. Those wounds can become infected. And you may even need to get your foot amputated if you don’t take action early on.

How Do You Get Charcot Foot Diagnosed?

In its early stages, Charcot foot is actually hard to diagnose. You may not have any visible signs of the condition. And the underlying damage starting to happen in your foot may not be detectable with X-rays or laboratory tests.

But, as the condition progresses, it becomes more obvious. If you have peripheral neuropathy caused by diabetes, that makes you a prime target for this condition. And eventually, you’ll exhibit enough of the signs of the condition (red, hot swollen feet without an ulcer) to warrant a diagnosis.

If you’re a diabetic with peripheral neuropathy, it’s important to be under the supervision of a doctor with experience treating the condition. That way you can catch Charcot foot early on if it develops and avoid much of the pain and distress it causes.

How Do You Treat Charcot Foot?

As long as it’s caught early, Charcot food is highly treatable and you can count on avoiding the worst problems it causes (foot deformity or amputation).

Treatment typically begins with non-surgical interventions. First, your doctor will more than likely recommend rest and taking as much weight off your foot as possible. This reduces pain and inflammation, and prevents deformity.

You may also need to have your foot placed into a cast for 8-12 weeks. You may need the assistance of crutches, a knee walker, or a wheelchair during this time. The cast will remain on until the redness, swelling, and heat of your foot return to normal.

With the cast off, you’ll need prescription orthopedic footwear. This relieves pressure on your foot, which prevents a repeat injury or ulcers.

Going forward, you should also keep your blood-sugar levels under control, use extra precautions while exercising, practice placing less weight on your affected foot, and go to your doctor for regular check-ups.

Is Surgery Necessary?

As long as you catch Charcot foot early on, surgery is not necessary. But if you let Charcot foot go to the point where your foot begins to develop a deformity, then surgery may be your only option to correct the condition and prevent the need for amputation.

If you take care of Charcot foot as soon as you notice it, or even if you take preventative action because you have diabetic neuropathy, you can live with the condition and have a relatively normal, and healthy lifestyle.

If you notice you have red, swollen, and hot feet, or if you’re simply a diabetic with peripheral neuropathy, make sure you see your doctor ASAP. It saves you plenty of pain and disruption to your life in the long run.

Has this ever happened to you?

You’re doing your normal exercise routine when suddenly, your ankle locks up and you feel pain and stiffness.

You’re frustrated because you can’t continue your exercise regimen as normal. So you have to stop, go home, and rest.

What’s going on? It could be a lot of things. However, most frequently the problem is “osteochondral lesions.”

This condition causes an injury to the talus and the nearby cartilage. The talus is a small bone that sits between your heel bone and your tibia and fibula.

For osteochondral lesions to develop in the first place, you typically have to experience a traumatic injury in your ankle. That means something like a severe ankle sprain.

Other conditions such as your age, osteoarthritis, bone spurs, nearby tissue impingement, other inflammatory diseases, tendinitis, congenital defects, or even improper footwear can exacerbate osteochondral lesions.

How Do You Diagnose Osteochondral Lesions?

While many medical conditions can be difficult to diagnose, this one is not hard at all. If your ankle joint is locking up, that’s a pretty clear sign you have osteochondral lesions.

Your doctor will use an X-ray, MRI, or CT scan to look at your ankle and confirm that’s exactly what’s going on.

How Do You Treat Osteochondral Lesions?

Your doctor will more than likely start with non-surgical treatment, although surgery may become necessary later on.

To start, your doctor will probably recommend immobilizing your ankle for a time, and taking as much weight off of it as you can. You may be placed under the care of a physical therapist who then helps you slowly place more weight on your ankle until it returns to normal.

The cartilage and talus simply need time to heal. Physical therapy then strengthens the region so repeat injury doesn’t happen.

If you have a more severe lesion, or if non-surgical treatment doesn’t work (which happens), then your doctor may opt for surgery.

Surgery restores the shape and gliding movement of the talus so it no longer locks up. Removal of tissue and even bone grafting may occur in serious cases.

Going forward, you can put yourself in the best position for relief of this condition by maintaining a healthy weight, exercising daily, and stretching your ankle and calves. When you stretch doesn’t matter. It just matters that you stretch on a daily basis.

The good news is that you can make a full recovery from this condition. It may take a little time to get back to normal. But, you can definitely get there and avoid repeat injury by taking some simple steps.