If you want you feet to last, to give you the support you’ll need to do the things you want to do, you will need to take care of them.  Most of us abuse our feet during the summer or if we’re in a warm client. We don’t realize that our feet are open to many problems because they do so much, like keep us upright!

The plantar fascia is a band of connective tissue that runs from the base of your heel to the base of your toes. Heel spurs begin when there’s a partial separation between this tissue and the heel bone. Sometimes this injury causes new bone growth in the affected area that projects out into the flesh of the foot. This is very painful because you can’t put any pressure on the foot. They may be caused by standing on your feet all day, wearing worn out shoes, if you are carry too much weight, or if you’re jumping up and down because you’re an aerobics teacher. A heel spur can feel as if you have a rock wedged in your heel. The pain is intense especially after you rest a while. Actually, the more you walk the better it feels .

Treatment is resting your foot and applying heat with a heating pad or hot water soak. When wearing shoes place a half-inch thick heel pad in your shoe to help cushion the pain and absorb the shock. Sometimes arch supports help take the pressure off your heel.

Again, when it comes to your feet, the best treatment is prevention. There’s an excellent digital book you can download right now that tells you everything you wanted to know about heel spurs and plantar fasciitis. Click on Plantar Fasciitis Pain Relief Guide if you’re interesting in finding out more about treatments  and prevention. I do want you to know I receive a commission if you purchase the book but I wouldn’t recommend it unless I thought it worth your while.

You can prevent heel spurs by stretching your feet and allowing them to relax throughout the day. Remove your shoes several times a day and flex and point your feet and rotate your ankles, especially after your exercise. Above all, wear comfortable shoes.  If heal padding and your home therapy doesn’t work it’s time to see your doctor. Your podiatrist may use steroid injections for temporary relief or recommend custom orthotics. As a last resort your doctor can perform surgery to remove the spur.

To your success at health and aging.
Ruthan Brodsky

A very big and athletic 14 year old, a son of friends, had a very large plantar wart removed yesterday. They’re found on the bottom of the feet and are caused by a virus. Since it is a virus, a particular age is not a requirement; anyone can get them.

Most people don’t talk about our foot problems, especially warts, until the problem becomes so painful we can hardly walk. That’s when friends and family start asking questions.

Sometimes we confuse them with calluses and don’t treat them properly. That is asking for trouble, pure and simple. Another problem is that even when correctly identified some of them are not easily treated. Some of them are small, rounded and sit by themselves while others involved large patches of skin two to four inches across.

These warts can be difficult to treat because of their location at the bottom of the foot. The skin at the bottom of the foot is twice as thick as the skin on the other parts of your boy. This thicker skin allows the wart to penetrate deeper and prevents topical medications from reaching the entire wart. That was the case in this young teen’s case and the physician had to dig his wart out. I’m told there was a sizeable hole.

He probably got his wart from the gym or locker room. Any crack or abrasion on your feet is an open invitation for the virus to go deep inside. They can be very painful when they become pushed deep inside the skin. Some foot specialists recommend the cost-effective treatment of repeatedly applying salicylic acid drops. Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn’t. See your podiatrist is the best bet.

Adults who get a plantar wart usually have to stop exercising and playing tennis or golf because their foot hurts too much. That’s not very good either because it doesn’t take long to get out of shape.

That’s why the best step is prevent them by avoiding going barefoot in the gym or around swimming pools; actually avoid walking barefoot in any public place. Wash and dry your feet daily and put powder in your shoes to absorb moisture. Also, if you are looking at someone else’s toes, wear disposable gloves.

You can enjoy working out in the gym and lounging at the pool; just wear something on your feet.

To your success in health and aging,

Ruthan Brodsky

My dad use to say that you have to be a warrior to make it to old age. Just writing about all the changes that take place with your feet and how you must accommodate and protect your feet make his words ring loud and clear.

One of the most common, and painful, causes of painful arches is plantar fasciitis, inflammation of the plantar fascia. The plantar fascia is a band of fibrous connective tissue that runs along the bottom of the foot and helps secure the arch.  Athletes who run and jump and do marathons often develop this condition.

As you get older you can also get it from being too overweight, by wearing shoes that are too narrow, or even by standing on a ladder or step stool for a long time. The inflammation may be aggravated by shoes that lack the right support, especially for the arches. The point is when you keep stretching that fibrous tissue it starts tearing at different points all the way to the heel bone.

If you don’t pay attention to what’s happening, it gets worse. Then you develop bone spurs, which are calcium deposits that are visible on x-rays. They can measure up to half an inch long and they form on the heel when the small muscles associated with fascia begin tugging hard on the heel bone.

The good news is that these spurs don’t have nerve endings, so they’re not painful by themselves. However, if they stress the plantar fascia, they can worsen the pain. What makes this really bad is the plantar fasciitis places more stress on your Achilles tendon. In other words now you are more at risk for developing Achilles tendinitis.

I do want to recommend that you consider reading this book that will help you treat your condition without surgery. I do receive a commission if you should purchase the book, but I bought it and as you know I only recommend items that are worth while. To find out more about this book and receive a special report on how to find the right shoe, click on Plantar Fasciitis Treatment Guide.

To your success at healthy aging.

Ruthan Brodsky

One of the more obvious changes that take place with your feet as you get older is that the fat pads under the balls and heels of your feet tend to then out. On some people they disappear completely.  The result is increased pressure on the ball of the foot and on the heel bone.

This increased pressure often leads to inflammation, pain, a greater risk for blisters and sores, and a burning sensation when you walk. The problem is that fat helps reduce friction, and the less fat you have under the balls of your feet, the hotter your feet get with each step.  The pain from this can become intense because the nerve endings on the bottoms of your feet are close to the surface of the skin. Making matters worse are when you stand or walk for a long time, particularly on hard surfaces, and if you are over weight,

Once the fat at the bottom of the foot pad goes away it does not come back. You can relieve the pain with aspirin or ibuprofen or find spongy insoles and flexible plastic cups that fit around the heels.  If that doesn’t work, a foot care specialist may prescribe orthotics.

Actually, some foot care specialists do try to restore the fat by injecting the area with collagen. The problem is that the collagen usually breaks down in a year so it must be injected regularly. It does get costly but it does work for some people.

If you have problems with your heel pads, what kinds of remedies have you tried? Share your story and tell us what to look for and what not to buy.

To your success at healthy aging.

Ruthan

Together with all the common foot problems you may have, such as corns and calluses or bunions or toenail infections, as you get older you also have a number of special foot problems. Conditions that you may not pay much attention to when you were a teen or in your twenties become more serious as you get older.

According to the American Podiatric Medical Association (APMA), 4 out of 5 people over age 50 suffer from at least one significant foot problem and require medical treatment for these problems by the time they reach 65.

Many of these problems are due to the physical, the physiological process of aging. Just like the rest of the body, the feet go through the normal wear and tear of age. You change, literally from head to toe and that includes your feet. For instance, as you get older your skin becomes more sensitive and more vulnerable to irritations and inflammations. You’re more likely to develop problems such as plantar fasciitis and Achilles tendinitis. This most often happens to men.

Other foot problems are the result of years of abuse and neglect. If you’re one of those women who wore high-heeled shoes during your working life, you may be having problems with bunions.  Still other problems arise because so many of us, even though we’re suppose to get wiser as we get older, wear shoes that don’t fit properly or don’t give us adequate support. And finally there are all those other medical conditions, such as diabetes and arthritis and poor foot circulation.

Do you have any foot problems? Did they start when you were young? Share your story and if you found a way to treat the condition.

To your success at healthy aging.

Ruthan Brodsky