Free Foot Care for Poor and Homeless in Syracuse

Photo by David Lassman / The Post-Standard

This Wednesday in Syracuse, NY, over 50 poor and homeless patients left with happy feet from the annual foot care clinic by Amaus Health Services at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception.  This is the third year that this team of about 30 medical and nursing students offered free foot exams and cleaning to needy people in the area.  In addition to foot care, patients were also given socks, shoes, clothing, toiletries, and other items that were collected by students from surrounding universities.  “There are so many health issues that can result from exposure and the feet being injured and damaged," said Barbara Carranti, a LeMoyne nursing professor who organizes the foot care clinic.  "There are infections people would never know about unless they get a good foot inspection."

Your feet mirror your general health - everyone needs to take care of their feet, regardless of income level.

To read more about this past week's Amaus free foot care clinic, click here.

For more information about how we can help you take care of your feet, visit our website www.roanokefoot.com.

Give your feet a little TLC this fall

No matter how much you may hate it that the weather is moving into the lower temperatures, we need to always be sensible about taking care of our precious feet. Cold feet are not happy feet!

Here are a few tips to keep your feet warm and happy through the cold months:

1. Give your toes some shelter.

Open-toed shoes in cold weather may seem fun and rebellious, but your feet certainly won't appreciate the sentiment. Your feet tend to be one of the first areas of your body to lose heat in cold temperatures.

2. Keep your feet dry in inclement weather.

Wearing shoes with rubber, PVC, or Gore-Tex-treated components will help to keep the water out. Frostbite and trench foot are just a couple of dangerous conditions that can be caused by having wet feet for an extended period of time. However…

3. You need to keep your feet hydrated, too.

Lots of people suffer from dry skin in the cold months because of low humidity in and high winds. If your feet tend to dry out, use some moisturizer immediately after you shower, while your skin is still a little damp. You can also use a pumice stone to soften dry skin and calluses - just make sure to not use lots of pressure. Keep your feet warm by wearing clean cotton socks around the house; this will help them retain their moisture as well. And make sure to hydrate your whole body by drinking plenty of water!

For more info about taking care of your feet in cold climates, look at these articles:

http://preventdisease.com/home/weeklywellness143.shtml
http://beauty.about.com/od/skinflaws/a/skinsavers.htm
http://www.ehow.com/how_4689079_dry-feet-through-winter-months.html

New Blog Location!

We just wanted to let you know that we're in the midst of combining all of our blogs (Roanoke Foot Doctor, Blacksburg Foot Doctor, and Botetourt Foot Doctor) into a bigger, better one - if you'd like to keep following us and stay updated on all the fun foot facts and articles, please update your bookmarks to http://shenandoahpodiatry.blogspot.com.

Thanks for reading, commenting, and of course visiting our offices!

Dedicated to your happy feet,

Nancy Ann Ballhagen
Administrative Assistant, Blacksburg Office

Cross Country Barefoot Encounter

Did you hear about the guy walking across the country barefoot?? Yes, you heard me correctly. Ron Zaleski is trudging across the US - BAREFOOT - to raise awareness about the need for mental counseling for all military personnel.

As a former military man himself, he is attempting to collect 1 million signatures for his petition along his back roads route to the west coast. The petition calls on Congress to mandate mental counseling for all military personnel.

Tuesday August 10 (just last week!) he passed through good ole' Buchanan, VA. Such a huge cause trampling right through our back yards. Our very own Roanoke Times had a chance to catch up with Mr. Zaleski and get an update on his journey.

Ron is giving everything he has to this cause including the health of his poor tootsies! Rex Bowman from the Roanoke Times reported that his feet were a "mess of broken skin and calluses." Not exactly the prettiest of mental pictures. He should definitely have stopped by to see us while he was in town. ;-)

Well, I just wanted to share with you a little about the barefoot walker's journey. If you'd like to follow him on his cross country trek, check out his website www.thelongwalkhome.org.

For more information visit our website www.roanokefoot.com

Lady Gaga Takes A Nose Dive

Lady Gaga - these boots were NOT made for walking!!!

On Tuesday, Lady Gaga hit the floor at London's Heathrow airport while wearing ridiculous looking thigh high black leather boots with over the top platform heels.

Current fashion trends, like the Armadillo shoes designed by Alexander McQueen, leave models and celebrities at risk for falls and injury.

I thought that I had seen everything at the Bata Shoe Museum in Toronto, Canada last year. But, it is one thing to see a crazy shoe on a shelf and a completely other experience to watch someone try to walk in unsafe shoes.

Women -please do not try this one at home!!!

Shoes that are creating their own path in our world Part 3

Vibram Five Fingers


These are the shoes to wear if you don’t like wearing shoes! Vibram Five Fingers were made to protect our feet while giving them the freedom to biomechanically perform as they were naturally designed to. Before Five Fingers were introduced Vibram was known for their rubber soles introduced in 1935. Vitale Bramani, the grandson of the founder of Vibram, came up with the idea of inventing a shoe that simulates being barefoot. With a team of researchers and engineers, this grandson and grandfather duo, created Five Fingers and their popularity spread all over the world! These shoes promote muscle development and range of motion in feet and ankles as well as body awareness to our surroundings and the function of our feet. They come in several different styles for different activities as well as different colors for different personalities. Check them out at www.vibramfivefingers.com.

Shoes that are creating their own path in our world Part 2

Simple Shoes

This shoe company has come along way since opening in 1991. The Simple shoes that we know and love today are not at all the same shoes from the 90’s. For about 13 years Simple was just like every other shoe company out there. But in 2004 Simple Shoes had an epiphany and decided to take on the challenge of providing eco friendly shoes to the public. They started small with 2 different styles in 2005 called their ‘Green Toe’ collection. These shoes where a hit and as soon as the ball was rolling for Simple there was no stopping it. Over the past few years Simple has produced with even more shoes that incorporate natural and sustainable materials into their products. In 2006, Simple set a new goal to become a 100% sustainable company. This was a huge step for any company, and a very exciting one at that. In 2007, they took it one step further (we didn’t think it was possible!). Simple shoes started to use recycled materials as well as products found naturally in our world. So now, old tires can gather dirt on people’s feet instead of in a dump. To learn more about Simple Shoes visit www.simpleshoes.com.