Heel pain is one of those complaints commonly diagnosed by a podiatrist, a foot doctor. To no surprise, the most common diagnosis for heel pain is plantar fasciitis. Heel Spur Syndrome is another name that is used to identify the condition. 

Plantar means the bottom of the foot. The fascia is a long ligament that runs along the foot. Itis means inflammation (tonsillitis). The name plantar fasciitis means tearing and inflammation of that long ligament at the bottom of your foot. This is a result of small micro-tears in the fascia due to overstress. 

A heel spur can develop as a result of the pull and stress of the fascia on the bone. However, the spur is usually not the cause of pain. In fact, many people with bone spurs do not have any pain at all. The pain comes from abnormal motion in your feet, usually pronation. When the feet turn in and collapse, the fascia takes on an extra stress at the heel. It only takes a small change in your activity or a change in shoes to cause a small tear if you are prone to this condition.

 If you have low arches you are probably prone to heel spurs but you can also get them if you have high arches. The tearing that occurs at the fascia, near the heel, is microscopic. It is not a full rupture but it is enough to weaken the fascia. Once the fascia is weakened it tears more just from the constant weight of the body putting a large force load on your feet. When your foot is injured it is worse.

When you have plantar fasciitis you feel a sharp pain at the heel usually when you first get up, evens out, and then gets worse throughout the day. Some only feel the pain when they’re jogging or walking. The problem is often diagnosed by palpation or pressing on the inside of the heel or inside of the arch. These are the portions of the fascia that are under the greatest stress and have more inflammation. Xrays are used to rule out other conditions such as stress fractures or a tumor.

This description should give you fairly accurate picture of what happens when your heel pain is caused by inflammation and tears of your fascia and is called plantar fasciitis. If you have more questions, give your podiatrist a call.

To your success at healthy aging.

Ruthan Brodsky

Everything you eat is going to influence the way your brain functions; I am convinced of that. It just makes sense if you think about it. Food gives your body the raw materials it needs to build, replace and repair everything and to operate efficiently. Read the rest of this entry

In my last post I wrote about what kind of food contamination you can expect when you buy your foods at the grocery store. In this post I’m going to write about what you should do and should not do to make  sure you don’t create contamination at home. Read the rest of this entry

In case you are not aware there is a relatively new movement, an industry if you will, in brain fitness.

Brain fitness is your brain’s ability to strengthen connections between neurons and even to promote new neurons in certain parts of the brain so you can maintain important brain functions. What is not new is the neuropsychological and neuroscientific research that demonstrates regular and vigorous mental activity can improve your brain fitness, which means you’ll have a better memory, be able to focus, and process information quickly. It is the old use it or lose it theory.

The debate is not that regular brain exercise improves cognitive function, but rather on whether exercising the brain can delay or prevent the beginning of dementia. That brings on the questions about what types of brain exercise are most effective.

I for one am not going to worry about the onset of dementia, at least not too much. I will engage in whatever brain exercise I need to if it improves how I function today and tomorrow. Not getting dementia would be a bonus. Even insurance companies are promoting computerized cognitive training these days for better safety among older adults.

What have grown is the number and the range of brain fitness products during the last few years. For instance, brain fitness activities are becoming very common place in facilities and centers catering to the elderly. The market experts tell us that the industry will grow from grossing $265 million in 2008 to $5 in 2015. That is substantial!

Today they have products that you can do at home most of which come with online support. Even Nintendo and other gaming companies now offer games designed specifically of However, the industry is unregulated and few of the programs showed improved performance for the users. For instance, one program may train you to memorize a list of words but that’s not going to be much help when you cannot remember where you left your car keys. Right now we read anecdotal reports and testimonials from satisfied customers, which is not all bad.

Are you playing any computer games specifically to improve your brain?I’m told that playing bridge on line may be counted as a brain fitness program. Tell us what you are doing and what you know about brain fitness.

To your healthy aging success.

Ruthan Brodsky

I remember my mother telling me not to eat candy because it was bad for my teeth. She was right! Read the rest of this entry

The official word is out by the American Heart Association that we need to cut down on how much sugar we eat. Read the rest of this entry

This post is in response to questions about the information in my last 2 posts on why you should have or should not have a heart scan. Read the rest of this entry

It would be nice to think that every doctor, nurse, pharmacist, hospital and other provider gives high quality health care. Living in a real world, however, we know that’s not what happens. Quality often depends on where you live, who your doctor is, or what kind of health insurance you have.

To get the kind of quality care I’m talking about requires a team effort in which everyone  is  involved including the government, doctors, hospitals, insurance providers and you the patient. I personally don’t think any of us can count on this kind of team effort taking place in the near future.  It certainly is a realistic goal and could be obtained, but the political climate and the health industry isn’t geared for this.  All of which explains my reasoning for emphasizing your participation in your own health care, especially if you want some semblance of quality.

One of the approaches you can use to measure your health care are clinical measures. These are the general standards for a broad population that may or may not apply to you. For instance, if you have diabetes you should receive the following tests and exams:
Regular blood glucose testing
Regular cholesterol testing
Annual retinal eye exam.
Annual foot exam.
Annual flu shot.

There are also clinical standards for heart disease and cancer.

Today you can find a great deal of information about health care quality on line and in print.  For example, the US Department of Health and Human Services has a quality tool that helps you compare the quality of hospitals in your area.  The tool is available at www.hospitalcompare.hhs.gov

Accreditation is another good measure of quality.  That is like giving the seal of approval by a private, independent group.  Organizations that award accreditation are in addition to  the national standards.  This will give you a good place to start. Then the rest of the hunt for quality care is up to you: your preferences and your relationship with your medical team.

Take an active part in your search for the quality care of your health program.  It will be worth the time and effort.

To your successful aging,

Ruthan

In my last post I wrote about a few cosmetic procedures that are taken care of in the hospital. In this post I’m writing about procedures that take place in your doctor’s office.

What is interesting is that the facelift is not as popular as it once was. Many people are focusing on what is called lunchtime lifts which focus on the mid-face and cheek or mini lifts which deal with the jaw line and neck. People don’t want to go through the pain and a long recovery of a facelift.

Both the lunchtime lifts and mini-lifts are performed in-office under local anesthetic or mild sedation, and take about an hour. Recovery is about one week and costs are $4,500 – $5000 for each.

Others are opting for fillers such as Restylane and Juvederm which help eliminate deep and fine lines. Then there are the Botox injections, a muscle relaxant that works on your crow’s feet and other creases such as the one between your eyes. Lots of people like these because they are not surgery and they are affordable. Fillers can run from $450 to $700 an injection and you usually need to repeat them over a period of time.

From my conversations with plastic surgeons, people need to be more realistic about recovery time and the fact that there might be pain. What ever you do it won’t be an overnight miracle. You may not need recovery time, for example, but you may feel uncomfortable for several weeks and there may be bruises.

My advice if you are thinking about any of these procedures is to make an appointment and then consult with the physician.  Take someone along with you to ask the questions you forget.  Make sure you and the doctor have the same idea and philosophy you do.  And ask to talk with some of the doctor’s patients who had the procedure.  After all, it’s your face!  Make the most of it.

To your healthy aging success.

Ruthan brodsky

One of the gals I play bridge with decided to have a few facial proceduresbecause her grandchildren kept asking her if she were angry.

“I would tell them I’m not angry, this is just the way I look. The last time they asked this I thought I had better take care of this.”

Carolyn is 63 and works part time as a conference organizer for large organizations. This fall she had three facial procedures: blepharoplasty (an eyelid lift), full-face laser resurfacing, and fat injections.

“Now my grandchildren say I look happy all the time.”

Carolyn is among the growing trend across the county of patients 55 and older who now make up one-quarter of the more than 12 million cosmetic procedures performed in the U.S. (American Society of Plastic Surgeons, ASPS). Despite the poor economy that number is up slightly from last year and patients ages 40 to 54 accounted for 47 percent of all procedures done.

Obviously today’s seniors are more health conscious and like many of us, they look in the mirror and even though they feel younger, they still look older. When senior men and women feel good physically it makes sense that they focus cosmetic procedures on their face. Look at these figures for 2008: those 55 and older had 48% of all blepharoplasties, 43% of all laser skin resurfacing, and 66% of all facelifts performed in the U.S. last year.

The eyelift removes excess skin and fatty tissue and reduces bags and wrinkles. The CO2 laser skin resurfacing, using a computer generated laser to vaporize skin layers and cause thermal damage is the next most popular procedure. The laser process results in tighter skin and has a positive effect on lines and wrinkles and pigmentation.  Both treatments are performed in a hospital under general anesthetic and recovery takes a couple of weeks. The eye lift costs around $6000 and the laser procedure close to $7000 including hospital costs.

I haven’t seen the results yet because she is now babysitting her grandchildren in another state. But I did talk to her and she sounds so very happy.

Do you have any plans for any facial procedures? Will you share your reason why you made that choice? I think we all need to be better informed and not make such hasty judgments.

To your success at healthy aging,

Ruthan Brodsky