Category: Podiatry Problems

If you’ve recently been diagnosed with diabetes, suddenly your calendar will fill with appointments for a whole team of health professionals such as a dietitian, optometrist, endocrinologist, and podiatrist, as well as your GP.

Some will help you to manage your condition, while others aim to prevent some of the complications which commonly arise. For example, as a diabetic, your risk of developing foot problems rises significantly due to two common features of the disease:

1. Reduced blood flow to the feet – which means any sores or other problems will take longer to heal; and
2. Reduced sensitivity of the nervous system – which means the diabetic individual may not even notice blisters, pain or sores developing on their feet and lower limbs in the first place.

How Often Should a Diabetic see a Podiatrist?

Due to this increased risk of foot problems, it is recommended that diabetics visit their podiatrist for a diabetic foot assessment regularly; the frequency depends on the type of diabetes.

• Type 1 diabetes – for those with type 1 diabetes, a diabetic foot assessment every six months is advised.
• Type 2 diabetes – the risk is slightly less for those with type 2 diabetes, so an annual checkup is usually recommended.

While podiatry services in Australia generally aren’t covered by Medicare, as an individual with a chronic health condition you may be able to access a rebate if you have a referral from your GP.

What’s Involved in a Diabetic Foot Assessment?

As part of a diabetic foot assessment, your podiatrist will check:

• The blood flow to your feet by recording the pulse rate in two places – on the top of your foot (the dorsalis pedis), and the inside of the ankle (tibialis posterior). Should there be any concerns about reduced blood flow, your GP will be notified and you will need ultrasounds and further investigations.
• Your podiatrist will also check the sensitivity of the nerve endings in your feet. While you have your eyes closed, you will be asked to identify different sensations, such as sharp, blunt, hot, or cold. While most people take these sensations for granted, the nerves can be damaged by diabetes.

You can see why it’s really important for diabetics to take extra care of their feet: The decreased nerve sensitivity means that as a diabetic, you may not feel and therefore notice any sores or other problems; and the reduced blood flow means that the body’s healing ability is impaired.

As a result, if left unnoticed and/or untreated, sores, ingrown toenails and other problems may lead to infection.

Infection can cause serious health complications, such as ulcers and even the possibility of amputation of toes or feet.

Is There a Diabetes Podiatrist Near Me?

At our Redlands podiatry clinic, we offer personal diabetic foot care to help you manage the risk of complications, by providing you with education and support around:

• Foot hygiene and cleanliness;
• Daily foot examination, to check for visual signs of broken skin, punctures, cuts and wounds, because you may not feel or notice them otherwise;
• Cutting toenails correctly, to reduce the risk of cuts and infection;
• Footwear. This is crucial for diabetics, as poorly fitting shoes can lead to blisters, corns, calluses and worse. At our Redlands podiatry clinic we can provide guidance on the type of shoe and features to look for; we even offer a professional shoe fitting service and stock a range of quality footwear.

Regular appointments with your local podiatrist, in conjunction with the care of your GP, dietitian and other allied health professionals, will ensure that any potential problems associated with your condition can be detected as early as possible – when they are far easier to treat.

If you have ever wondered, “Is there a diabetes podiatrist near me?” – then call our Redlands podiatry clinic today on 3207 4736 to organise a diabetic foot assessment. 

Sports podiatry focuses on the diagnosis, treatment, management and prevention of injuries to the feet and lower limbs, sustained during sports and other physical activities.

When you consider that a quarter of the bones in our entire body are located in our feet you can easily understand why they might be more susceptible to injury.

Add to this the fact that sport and other high impact activities can subject our feet to loads and forces of up to 10 to 15 times our body weight, it’s easy to see how serious damage can occur – from a sprained ankle, to black bruised toenails, hamstring strains, and painful foot fractures.

As a keen enthusiast of activities such as surfing, hiking, skiing, bike riding, touch football and indoor soccer myself, I have developed a particular interest in the field of sport podiatry.

Common Sports Injuries

At our clinic in the bayside suburbs of Brisbane, we see a lot of clients suffering from sports injuries. Here are five of the most common:

1. Sesamoiditis

How can something as small as your toes, cause so much pain?!

The sesamoids are two small bones beneath the joint of your big toe, within the tendons; sesamoiditis is the name given when there is an inflammation in these bones.

High intensity physical activities like jumping, lunges, or activities with a heavy push off or loading – like what you’d do at boot camp style training – can all lead to a flare up of sesamoiditis.

If you are experiencing a painful big toe following this sort of strenuous activity, it is important to visit a podiatry clinic for diagnosis and treatment. Serious long term damage can result if the bones have fractured, or blood flow has been disrupted.

2. Stress Fractures

Sports and exercise can also cause stress fractures – tiny hair like fractures in the bones – usually in the five long metatarsal bones of the foot. While you can’t see if the bone is fractured, you may notice symptoms like swelling on the top of your foot, and pain when walking.

Stress fractures are associated with repetitive activity, or a sudden increase in training level and intensity. Other factors may include ageing footwear, an unforgiving training surface (eg concrete, tar, grass, artificial turf). People suffering from reduced bone density – osteoporosis – are at a much greater risk of foot fractures.

The good news is, stress fractures usually heal on their own, following periods of rest and reduced activity. However it is still wise to consult with a podiatrist with a special interest in and understanding of sports podiatry.

3. Turf Toe

This painful injury occurs when the forefoot catches on the ground (usually grass or artificial turf) while you are in a forward motion, causing the toe to bend upwards, outside of the normal range of movement. Ouch!

Your podiatrist may recommend wearing footwear with a stiffened toe box, toe strapping, and/or reduced activity, for a period of time.

4. Plantar Fasciitis

Foot pain which improves over the course of the day, is generally caused by plantar fasciitis. Patients often report that the first couple of steps out of bed in the morning are the most painful.

Although plantar fasciitis is common in runners, dancers and people who jump, it also affects people with reduced flexibility (eg those born with a reduced calf length).

While high heels are not the usual footwear associated with the field of sports podiatry, we sometimes see this condition in women with a high heel habit. It often develops in flight attendants for example, after years of wearing heels at work. This is because over time the calf muscles shorten to adapt to the heel height – and the calf becomes so tight that it is no longer possible to wear flat or low heels. This places additional strain on the arch of the foot, resulting in plantar fasciitis.

Your local podiatrist can prescribe treatment such as ice, heat packs, exercises, and specific footwear.

5. Black Bruised Big Toenail

If you have been shocked to find a black bruised big toenail when taking off your shoes after a day of hiking or a game of netball, this is a sign that either:

• The shoe doesn’t fit properly, and your toes are repeatedly knocking on the toe box.
• Or, your feet are moving forward in the shoe. Generally patients with this problem have a narrow foot, and a lacing technique called a heel lock helps to pull the foot back into the rear two thirds of the shoe.

Often seen in runners, hikers, snow skiers and tennis players, a black bruised toenail is caused by a bleed under the nail (called a hematoma). It can be quite painful, so it’s a good idea to visit a podiatry clinic, where they can relieve the pressure under the nail.

Eventually the damaged nail will come away, but it may take as long as 6 to 12 months to fully recover.

Sports Podiatry Brisbane

If you live in the Redlands or in the south-east of Brisbane, make an appointment at our Birkdale clinic on 3207 4736 for any concerns relating to sports podiatry. 

Using digital gait analysis we can pick up any potential problems with your biomechanics, advise on the most supportive footwear, as well as recommend strengthening exercises and other preventative strategies.

And if you do have the misfortune to sustain a sporting injury – whether you are a professional athlete, enthusiastic amateur or just enjoy kicking a footy around the backyard – we can assist you with techniques like Foot Mobilisation Therapy to get you back to what you love to do!

I often encounter clients that say things along the line of: “My sprained ankle still hurts after 3 months!” or; “Ever since I had that sprained ankle, my foot has never been quite the same”.

Usually, they are having difficulties with things like wearing high heels or climbing stairs, or perhaps while exercising eg squatting or trying to get a good calf stretch – all because the ankle feels like it is “stuck”.

A sprained ankle is one of the most common sporting injuries, particularly within certain sports such as touch football, netball and basketball. Watching my daughter play netball one weekend recently, I noticed several players experience this terrible traumatic event.

When we sprain or roll our ankle, our immediate reaction is to catch our breath from the pain.

Often it will seem to swell up before our very eyes, or the area will become quite bruised over the next few days, making it quite clear that we’ve sustained some sort of ligament or muscle damage.

But My Sprained Ankle wasn’t even that Bad!

For others, however, there may be no visible signs of injury and they may be able to walk normally pretty much straight away, not realising the damage that’s been done.

It’s only further down the track they gradually realise that their ankle just hasn’t been the same ever since –  3, 6, 12, or even 18 months afterwards!

There are two main reasons why these individuals are experiencing pain and discomfort so long after they sprained their ankle:

1. Twisting, rolling, or spraining your ankle places incredible abnormal forces on the bones and joints in your foot and surrounding structures. With 26 bones and 43 joints in the foot, there is a lot of potential for something to go wrong!
2. Spraining your ankle can disrupt the neurological pathway connecting your foot to your brain. Normally, we don’t need to think about being able to walk; our brain automatically knows the position of our feet, and how to move them. However, an ankle sprain can interrupt these messages between the brain and foot.

As a result, the individual begins to realise that the ankle is still hurting months after the event.

In the immediate aftermath of rolling or spraining your ankle, applying ice will help to reduce swelling and bruising – if it is particularly painful, x-rays may be called for determine if there have been any foot fractures. For many people, a day or two of resting the ankle may well be all that is required to get them back to normal.

If Your Ankle Still Hurts After 3 Months

If pain or discomfort persists however, further treatment may be required. You may find yourself limping in high heels, struggling to sit on the ground with crossed legs, or or even experiencing secondary problems such as sore knees and lower back pain, ever since you injured your ankle.

Fortunately, there is a treatment option: Foot Mobilisation Therapy, a fairly recent development in the field of podiatry. It is a simple process incorporating gentle traction or stretch, while placing the joint through the normal range of movement.

The foot mobilisation technique allows the joint to simply realign itself. Sometimes, the patient may be lucky enough to hear a click or a pop when this happens, though not always. It’s not painful, and the pop or click does not indicate any form of damage – rather, that full range of movement in the joint has been restored.

Treatment for Persistent Ankle Problems

At Trevor Lane Podiatry we are proud to be the first (and currently only) podiatrist in the Redlands providing Foot Mobilisation Therapy.

Once the ankle joint has been gently persuaded back into place, the focus is on restoring the electrical pathways between brain and foot (and vice versa). Your podiatrist may apply kinetic tape, to remind your body how the foot is supposed to function; and you may be prescribed certain exercises to help you regain balance and muscular strength in the affected foot and leg – for example, stretches using a resistance band (or theraband).

Suffering with a sore ankle for several months following a sprain, isn’t something you should just “put up with”, or dismiss as part of “old age”.

If you are suffering any pain or difficulties with movement in the months following an ankle sprain, call for an appointment today on 3207 4736. Although this type of podiatry treatment is not covered by Medicare, at Trevor Lane Podiatry we strive to keep our fees affordable for all.

It may seem strange to think of somebody going to a podiatry clinic, when they actually have a problem with their back.

After all, podiatry is the branch of medicine which diagnoses and treats issues related to the lower limbs – heels, toes, feet, ankles and knees.

And yet I see many patients complaining of leg or heel pain, for example, only to discover that their foot pain is caused by back problems, even though the back itself isn’t hurting!

Is Your Foot Pain Caused by Back Problems?

When I was in Cubs and Scouts years ago, we used to sing about how the knee bone’s connected to the thigh bone, the thigh bone’s connected to the hip bone, and so on.

We thought it was just a silly song, however in over twenty years of podiatry practice I have come to realise just how much truth it holds: the body is indeed a series of connective tissues, bones, nerves and systems, that all work in harmony with each other.

So when a patient is experiencing foot pain, it could in fact be something called “referred pain”. That is, although they may not have pain there, it is actually a back problem which is causing the symptoms in their feet, knees or legs.

Conversely, lower back pain may actually be related to poor biomechanics of the feet. In such cases, a podiatrist may be able to address the back pain, by prescribing certain shoes or orthotics that improve your overall body balance.

The Connection Between Feet and Back

The lumbar region at the base of the spine consists of five vertebrae, which play a really important role in how we use our lower limbs.

So when a client presents at our podiatry clinic with pain in both feet, we not only check for conditions such as spurs, ligament or tendon damage – but we also need to consider the body as a whole.

It is extremely rare for a patient to have an identical injury in the same location on both feet at the same time. Instead, we usually find that there are lower back issues, or other pathologies such as:

• thyroid disease;
• osteoarthritis;
• limb length discrepancies;
• scoliois (curvature of the spine).

These conditions can put pressure on the nerves, which then refer that pain to whatever they innovate. The lumbar region, for example, refers pain to your legs and feet.

A Whole of Body Approach

This is why a good podiatrist needs to assess your whole body, and not just your lower limbs.

Whatever we do to your lower limbs impacts on your hips, your back, and right up to your neck. When we treat foot pain, we don’t want it to cause an increase in lower back pain or headaches instead!

So in addition to looking at your foot type, the surface you stand on, your shoes and how they are wearing – your podiatrist should also check things like:

• Your body’s symmetry: are your legs the same length? Are your hips and buttocks level? Are your shoulders level or dropped to one side?
• The condition of various muscles: are they tight, or weak?

Because of the way the various parts of our body are connected and impact on each other, there are times when as a podiatrist I may refer a patient to other allied health care professionals.

At our Redlands podiatry clinic, we have a great working relationship with some of the local physiotherapists, chiropractors, osteopaths and the like, to ensure the best of care for the whole of your body in these particular situations.

The Problem with Growing Older

No body is perfect and we all have alignment imperfections. However as we grow older, our body’s ability to deal with these alignment anomalies starts to falter, so symptoms start to appear.

Patients often ask me: Why now? When I was younger I never had this problem!

And that is exactly my point – the body is no longer coping with or compensating for a certain twist in the back, a short leg, a bow in the bone, etc.

So next time you visit our podiatry clinic, don’t be surprised if as well as considering your fallen arches, or sore achilles tendon, we also assess your whole body alignment.

At our Redlands podiatry clinic, we treat each patient as a whole person, rather than just a foot! Call today on 3207 4736 for an appointment, if you are experiencing foot or leg pain.

Participating in sports such as football or basketball, or activities such as gymnastics or dancing, are the main culprits when it comes to foot fractures.

That’s why there’s a whole branch of our profession, dedicated to sports podiatry!

However even if you’re not into sports, you could sustain a painful foot fracture:

• in a car accident;
• falling from a great height;
• or even after a simple stumble.

And some trivia for you – men tend to be more often affected by foot fractures, than women!

The Foot Care Professionals

Podiatrists are the foot care professionals, undertaking four years of training so that they can provide expert diagnosis, treatment and management of all concerns relating to the feet – toes, ankles, toenails, heels and lower limbs. In order to practice, they must also be registered, which entails keeping up to date on all the latest developments in the foot care field – including the treatment of foot fractures, sprained ankles and the like.

A correct diagnosis is crucial if you are to receive the right treatment – that’s why we recommend a trip to your local podiatry clinic if you have sustained an injury to your foot and are experiencing pain and/or swelling, and suspect a fracture or sprain. Most people think of going to a doctor or hospital Emergency Department, not realising that a podiatrist is the expert when it comes to all things feet.

Sadly, we often see patients at our podiatry clinic, who have already visited a GP or physiotherapist regarding a foot injury – but have not received the correct diagnosis. Often this is because they were never sent for an x-ray, which would have revealed that a foot fracture was present.

You do not require a referral to visit a podiatry clinic, and just like a GP, we can give you a referral for an x-ray to determine if there is a fracture present. Currently there are no out of pocket expenses for these x-rays, as they are covered by Medicare.

Recovering from Foot Fractures

Once your podiatrist has arrived at a diagnosis, they can prescribe the best treatment and rehabilitation options – so you will be running around again in no time!

If you suspect that you may have a foot fracture, or just want some advice on another aspect of foot care, call us today on 3207 4736.

March heralds the start of netball season – and also when we notice a sudden influx of clients suffering from netball injuries, at our family podiatry centre.

Netball is the most popular women’s sport in Australia, with around a dozen clubs based in the Redlands and bayside areas – at Alexandra Hills, Capalaba, Lota, Thornlands, Thorneside, Victoria Point and Wellington Point to name just a few.

However, there are still a lot of netball players out there, unaware of just how much a podiatrist can help – particularly if they struggle with frequent injuries.

You might be surprised that there are so many netball injuries when it is a non-contact sport – the high rate of injuries is due to other factors, such as the hard playing surface, the fast pace, and sudden changes in movement and direction.

3 Most Common Injuries in Netball

Sprained Ankle – By far the most common of all netball injuries is the ankle sprain, due to the large amount of jumping, landing and pivoting actions. These actions involve numerous structures of the foot – when you have an ankle sprain, the ligaments, muscles and tendons can all be damaged and compromised.

The best way to go about healing a sprained ankle is the RICE technique – Rest, Ice, Compress and Elevate your foot for the first two or three days.

If there is serious purple, blue or black bruising – an x-ray is generally the next step, to allow for correct diagnosis and treatment. But if in doubt, or if you are finding that things just aren’t the same after a netball injury, talk to a podiatrist.

Jumper’s Knee – This involves the ligament which runs just underneath your knee cap, the patella tendon, and is one of the most common injuries in netball due to the high prevalence of jumping and bounding.

Should your knee/s become sore it’s important to listen to your body; pain is your body’s way of letting you know that there is an injury. Again, the recommended treatment is to cut back on the activity and  ice the region down. We are the only bayside podiatrist clinic using the foot mobilisation technique to help your foot, leg, knee and thigh to work in harmony, so that you are not only back on your feet, but playing netball again soon.

And, we can also set you up with the correct footwear to prevent further problems.

Achille’s Tendon Injury – Any athlete or professional sports person will tell you that damaging the  Achilles tendon is their most dreaded injury. That’s because it is the largest tendon in your body, and helps propel your body forward. It delivers all the energy stored in your calf, transferring it down your leg through the tendon and into the midfoot.

The location of the pain, the swelling, and the stiffness will determine what treatment regime a podiatrist will prescribe. Once upon a time it was thought that all Achilles tendon pain could be treated by stretching the calf, hanging your foot off a step, however that does not suffice anymore. Treatment now is prescribed specifically based on the location of the suspected injury in the tendon.

Preparing for Netball Season

There are a few things you can do to minimise your risk of sustaining any netball injuries this season.

Footwear – The most important part of your netball uniform is your shoes. Make sure your playing shoes:

• provide the correct level of arch support;
• have plenty of cushioning to protect your foot from the impact of hard court surfaces;
• and that the sole suits the playing surface – outdoor and indoor courts require different materials and grip of the outdoor sole. For indoor netball, look for something like the Dunlop Volley with its fishbone pattern; whereas for outdoor courts, look for sports shoes where the spacing between the grip on the sole is slightly wider apart, to give you more traction.

Check the age and integrity of your netball shoes – the traction layer, the midsole cushioning layer, the upper. For more tips, including when to invest in new shoes, check out my previous article on what to look for in sports or running shoes.

Correct fitting is particularly important in a dynamic sport like netball. You don’t want to have too much movement of your foot within the shoe, but at the same time you don’t want a shoe that is too tight as it can cause compression on the nerves.

If you are in need of new sports shoes, we recommend you visit a reputable shoe fitting specialist – or your local podiatrist – somebody with the training and the equipment for a proper fit.

Player Fitness – Netball is an extremely fast paced game, with plenty of repetitive movements such as catching, throwing, and jumping, all of which increases a player’s chances of chronic leg and arm fatigue.

As fatigue increases – if your biomechanics is poor – if your footwear is aged – the consequence is that your body is not as well protected as it could be. This then increases your chances of fatigue; and the moment you start increasing fatigue, your chances of suffering netball injuries are going up exponentially.

So increase your level of fitness with a mixed program involving cardio vascular fitness, muscular strength, flexibility and balance, as these are vital if you want to see out the season without falling victim to netball injuries.

Netball injuries are not 100% preventable, but if these little things can be addressed, it does play a huge part in a player’s longevity and enjoyment of the sport.

Our podiatry clinic offers professional fitting of sports shoes, and treatment for netball injuries involving the feet and lower limbs – call us today on 3207 4736 for personal assistance.