Pain!!! A cry for help.

If you called the fire department when your house was on fire and they didn’t come, that would be really bad. Since nothing was done to put out the fire, you’d end up losing everything. This is essentially what your body is doing when it creates pain and the results of ignoring pain can be just as bad. When something hurts, your body is saying “Help, something is not right! Something is malfunctioning!” Most people try to ignore the pain, take pain killers, or think that once the pain is gone the problem will be gone as well. Sometimes the pain does just go away. But this can be very deceptive. Just because your body has stopped sending calls for help doesn’t mean the problem is fixed. Often our bodies will try to correct the problem by compensating in another way, but this ends up putting unnatural pressures on another part of our body and can cause even more problems.

If you have an ingrown toenail, don’t think that just because it’s on a smaller part of your body you can be a surgeon for a day.

If you have pain in the arches of your foot in the morning and it goes away after you stretch a little bit, don’t think your body is just being cranky.

If your toes are starting to look bent and you get corns frequently, don’t think you are just looking in a fun house mirror.

These are all symptoms of foot problems and unlike wine they do not get better with time. Listen to your body. It knows what it needs. If you are experiencing foot pain in any way or a part of you foot is starting to look different than it has in the past, call a podiatrist before the problem gets out of hand. We want to help put out the fire.

For more information visit our website www.roanokefoot.com

Ankle Injuries: More than just an annoyance.

Though ankle injuries are painful when they first occur, the long term damage that is caused can be even more detrimental. Ankles that have suffered an injury are seven times more likely to become arthritic that ones that have seen no trauma. Injuries can very in severity and still have the same long term affects. From inconspicuous reoccurring ankle sprains to more seemingly detrimental ankle fractures or broken bones, the damage that is caused is irreversible. Ankle cartilage is quite strong and can usually withstand a life time of movement but when the cartilage gets damaged its cells are unable to be repaired. Cartilage is made to glide smoothly to create movement but when it becomes worn or frayed the movement is not fluid. This leads to swelling, inflammation, and pain in the ankle joints. If proper treatment is not attained after the injury, post-traumatic ankle arthritis could very well occur in the future.

A study taken from 1991-2004 at the University of Iowa, studying 639 patients with grade 3 or 4 arthritis concluded that ankle injury is the most common cause of ankle arthritis. Trauma was the primary cause of arthritis in 445 patients out of the 639 patients surveyed. That is about 70%. The other 30% was caused by rheumatoid disease and primary osteoarthritis.

Symptoms of ankle arthritis include: pain or tenderness, stiffness or reduced motion, swelling, difficulty walking, bone spurs, and instability. No matter what stage of arthritis is present, or if arthritis is just a possible threat in the future, professional care should be sought. Podiatrists everywhere have many surgical and non-surgical options to help cope with the pain, prevent arthritis from over running everyday life, and catch arthritis before it become a problem.