Author: Hanan Kane

Losing Weight & Your Feet!

It’s 2018, and for many of us, one of our resolutions is to finally lose that extra bit of weight. If this sounds like you, don’t worry – you’re not alone! Currently, 1 in 3 adults aged 15 years and over in New Zealand are classified as obese, with a further 34% of adults overweight, according to the NZ Health Survey 2017. You may have the right workout gear ready, signed up to the gym, but what about your feet? They’re the ones that will carry you through all your workouts, runs, pump and aerobics classes. Any injuries or pains will see a halt in your progress – and a big dent in your motivation and positive attitude. This being said, if there’s one thing we can recommend to see you succeed and reach your goals, it’s this:

Get your feet and legs assessed by a Podiatrist.

We call this a biomechanical assessment. We look at everything from:
  • Your foot posture
  • The way you walk (gait)
  • Your muscle strength
  • The range of motion available through your joints, and importantly any limitations that may be hindering you or causing you pain
  • Areas of high pressure that we can redistribute to keep you comfortable and out of pain
  • Muscles and tendons that are being overused and causing you to tire faster
  • Your footwear
Having this assessment and being fully informed of exactly what’s happening with your feet and legs means that:
1. Your risk of previous injuries and pains returning will be reduced
We identify what is currently happening with your feet and legs in combination with any past injuries or pains that may have stopped you from reaching your exercise goals. This allows us to see why those previous injuries occurred, and therefore take precautions to ensure that they don’t happen again. This could be through changing your foot function with orthotics, strengthening certain weaker muscle groups, stretching tight muscles and much more.
2. The likelihood of new injuries developing will be reduced
Similarly to the above, we identify areas where you are at risk of developing issues and talk you through these. Perhaps you are rolling on your big toe with every step you take for much longer and with much more pressure than is normal. Short-term that might be okay, but long-term there’s a chance that area can get injured from overloading, where the bones/joints/tissues can no longer handle the large pressure. Perhaps one of your muscles is being overused with every step you take because of flat feet, resulting in your feet and legs tiring much faster than they otherwise would. Or perhaps your feet are lacking some shock absorbing qualities, contributing to generalised aching at the end of the day which can significantly worsen once you start your exercise routine. Whatever it is, we’ll talk you through your assessment and our findings to find the best solution for your feet to keep you healthy, happy and active.
3. You can get the best shoes for your foot type
If you’ve wondered about the legitimacy of having certain shoes for your particular foot type, it’s very much true! Shoes will have different features and can either help, or sometimes hinder, your feet. A common example we see is those that have high arches and are prone to rolling their feet out (and unfortunately spraining their ankles). Because a large majority of popular shoes are aimed at flatter (pronated) feet that have more support in the arch, these can actually tip you out and further risk you injuring your ankle. We’ll give you the low-down on your feet, foot type and what shoes are best for you! By reducing your likelihood for injury and knowing how to best take care of your feet while you’re exercising, you’re preparing yourself for the best chance of success and trust us – the preparation pays off when you can keep going and going injury-free! It’s just like the quote by Abraham Lincoln:

“Give me six hours to chop down a tree,

and I will spend the first four sharpening the axe”.

  Our team at Perform Podiatry are experts when it comes to sports medicine, the biomechanics of the feet and legs and getting you back on your feet from injury as quickly as possible! Give our friendly team a call on 09 523 2333 and start the journey to feeling great and reaching your exercise goals!

Why Do I Have Heel Pain, Again?

You’ve had heel pain before and were ecstatic when it finally went away. Weeks, or even months, of taking it easy, wearing the right shoes and orthotics, doing the right stretches and following the sound advice of your Podiatrist had paid off. You were able to hit the ground running, literally, without that gnawing pain, dull aches or any discomfort. Life was back to its happy, healthy self.

So what changed and why is the pain back?

Let us first assure you that pain doesn’t come back for no reason or without a cause. It’s also not a case of that it never healed in the first place. Your injury was indeed completely healed if you were able to resume life and daily activities without pain or symptoms. And it can be completely healed again.

However.

Just like how we can throw a ball through a window, repair the window, and throw a ball through it again, we can re-injure the same muscle, tendon, or ligament twice. But this time, there’s usually more to it. When you sustain an injury for the first time, there’s a good chance it could be an unfortunate wrong-time, wrong-place injury. You ran too fast for the ball, tripped over, and snap. Or you went for a 12-hour hike for the first time, something you’re likely never to do again, and your feet flared up from injury. In cases like these, and most accidents, as Podiatrists we look at managing your symptoms, relieving your pain, and helping you get better and heal as fast as possible. But when an injury re-occurs, that’s a red flag for us to further investigate whether there is something else, either intrinsic (to do with your bones, joints, muscles, tissues) or extrinsic (to do with your footwear, with a sport you play and factors outside of your body) that is causing or contributing to your injury.

Usually, there is a cause we can control

This is why it’s important for us to conduct a comprehensive biomechanical assessment. A biomechanical assessment looks at:
  • Your foot posture
  • Muscle strength
  • The range of motion through the joints of your feet
  • The way you walk (gait analysis)
  • Structural abnormalities
  • Footwear assessment
  • Various other tests depending on the findings
From this, we can deduce likely causes for your heel pain and tissue damage. If you have flat feet, wear footwear with relatively low support, occasionally run and get plantar fascial heel pain, it is likely that the repetitive strain on your fascia from running without support is causing damage and leading to pain. Or it could be that you’re getting the same pain at the back of your heel during soccer season again, when you’re training lots and wearing the same soccer boots that have a low-set heel. These boots will put greater strain on the insertion of your achilles tendon and paired with strenuous activity, can definitely overuse and damage your achilles tendon leading to heel pain.

Treating the cause, not just the symptoms

In these cases and so many more, it’s not just about treating your existing symptoms, but putting appropriate measures into place to stop the pain from coming back. This is one of our key focuses here at Perform Podiatry – preventing re-injury so it won’t keep bothering you in the future. We offer comprehensive biomechanical assessments from expert Podiatrists that specialise in Sports Medicine and Clinical Biomechanics. We’re proud to be trusted by hundreds of patients each month to help them feel great and perform at their best. We often use orthotics to control the movement of the feet and reduce the strain on otherwise overused and tired muscles. We also use strengthening techniques to get you back to your best. If your injuries keep coming back or you’re experiencing any issues with your feet or legs, give us a call on 09 523 2333 and one of our friendly team will be happy to answer any questions you may have!

It’s Back to School – For Teachers too!

  January is here and it’s that time of the year where parents are starting to get their kids ready for their new year at school. They’re getting their uniforms sorted, school books, bags, shoes, socks and anything else they may need. But kids aren’t the only ones heading back to school to spend many hours on their feet! In 2018, approximately 53,000 teachers will also return to school in New Zealand. But are teachers as prepared as their students when it comes to their feet? Throughout the year, we see LOTS of teachers with sore, aching feet. And it’s not surprising – if you’re a teacher, you’re always on the go. Whether you’re up by the whiteboard, answering questions, walking between classrooms or supervising breaks, you don’t stop! At Perform Podiatry, we have a LOT of respect for our teachers and want to help you stay pain and injury free throughout the year. Hence, we’ve put together some tips to help keep you foot-smart and out of pain!   Be mindful of how active you were during the summer We know all too well how good it feels to get that summer break and put your feet up. But if you’ve spent the last month or two laying out in the beautiful sunshine and not walking as much as you’d usually be, you may be at risk of developing foot pain once you hit the ground running back at work. To help avoid this, start going for some casual walks before the start of the term to gently ease your feet and legs back into the increased activity. Trust us – your legs will thank you when you come home from work and they’re not aching!   Choose shoes that won’t cause you pain We know that for some, shoes can be a massive fashion statement. And that’s absolutely fine, but we’d also like you to think of shoes as a medical and occupational device. This device will either help you keep goingcomfortably and free of pain and injury, or it won’t do anything to keep you feeling good or reduce the risk of injury. In an environment where you’ve got to stay in your shoes and always be ready to get on your feet and move, shoes really can have a massive impact on your feet – and your health. Our advice is to choose shoes that:
  • Are both an appropriate length and width, making sure they’re not rubbing on the sides of your feet.
  • Have plenty of toe room to move around. This will help reduce cramps, blisters and corns too.
  • Have some support in the arch to improve comfort and decrease the likelihood of strain and injury. So let’s skip the pointed toes during school hours!
  • Cup the ankle and heel well and don’t let it slip around. This provides stability, control and support for your foot. Shoes that have open backs let the ankle move from side to side without the control that shoes can provide. This makes you more vulnerable to injuries like ankle sprains.
  • Have a sensible heel. Realistically, many shoes these days have an inbuilt heel of up to two inches. These may not even look like your typical ‘heeled’ shoes. Because of this, we recommend you stay away from any shoes that are obviously ‘high-heeled’ and don’t go above one inch (2.5 cm). The higher the heels, the more pressure is placed on the ball of your foot and when combined with being on your feet all day every day, places a high risk of developing pain or other issues. Where possible, joggers will always do best by your feet.
  Consider orthotics if you’ve previously experienced pain or issues with your feet and legs Orthotics are devices that sit at the bottom of your shoes and support your feet. There are two main ‘types’ of orthotics. The first are the ones you can purchase from a pharmacy or store that primarily works to cushion your feet and add comfort. The second is prescription orthotics from your Podiatrist that work to correct a problem or issue that you may have. If you have no problems with your feet but would like more comfort, consider the former. If you have or have previously had issues with your feet, consider the prescription orthotics. Your Podiatrist will design the orthotics in a way that will support vulnerable structures (joints, muscles, ligaments, tendons) so that they won’t have to work with every step you take. Often injuries result from strains, and orthotics can help relieve the strain and pressure from certain areas, so your injury doesn’t re-occur. Your Podiatrist will be able to perform a comprehensive assessment of your feet and discuss whether orthotics are right for you, and what they can do for your feet.   Stretching and Strengthening It may seem like a no-brainer, but many of us forget that the stronger our feet and legs are, the more they can handle without damage and pain. Tight, weaker muscles that start being used all day can be vulnerable to damage so alongside regular use like walking, start doing some stretches and exercises to strengthen your feet and legs. Squats and calf raises are two great examples. If any pain or problems do develop, our expert team at Perform Podiatry have you covered. We offer appointments before and after school hours to get our teachers back on their feet and performing at their best! Our team are proud to be looking after Remuera, Newmarket and the surrounds. Give us a call at 09-523-233.

Policeman’s Foot Syndrome

We recently had a visit from a policeman with a sore heel and arch. While we diagnosed his condition and prescribed a comprehensive treatment plan to get rid of his pain once and for all, we also learnt something new. We learnt that back in the day when policemen patrolled the streets by foot, this type of heel pain was very common for them – to the point that it got known as Policeman’s Foot Syndrome. Sure enough, with the amount of time our brave men and women spend keeping our city safe, this will still be affecting many of them (as well as a lot of New Zealanders in other occupations!) so we thought we’d write about what exactly this is, why it happens and what you can do if this sounds like the problem you’re having. Let’s start with the basics. This syndrome is medically known as:  

Plantar Fasciitis

Plantar fasciitis describes the damage to, and inflammation of, a tissue called the fascia which originates at the base of the heel and spans the arch to the toes. Because the plantar fascia supports the arch and engages every time you take a step, spending long periods on your feet without the right support can definitely be a cause of plantar fasciitis. Other contributing factors include having flatter feet (or very high arches), unsupportive footwear, increasing training intensity, obesity, hard surfaces, trauma, and generally pounding your feet and heels each day. What are the symptoms?
  • Pain located at the bottom of the heel and/or inner heel that may radiate up into the arch
  • Pain present first thing in the morning when starting to walk
  • Pain may ease after a few minutes of walking
  • Pain present on standing after rest
  • Both sharp and/or throbbing pain
What should you do? Seeing your Podiatrist is absolutely the first step. They’ll be able to prescribe the best treatment plan for you based on your exact symptoms, cause and daily activities. At Perform Podiatry we work your rehabilitation into your life so you get the best results and are able to continue to do the things you love (within reason, of course, until your pain goes away!). Your treatment plan with likely involve a combination of some of the following elements: Appropriate footwear – to support your foot and the plantar fascia throughout recovery, reducing load away from it while it heals Orthotics – to support your foot and the plantar fascia and reduce the daily strain so it can heal and repair. We get the best results from custom-made orthotics, specifically designed for you from a cast of your feet paired with the results of a comprehensive biomechanical assessment of your feet and leg Stretching – initially, where indicated and of benefit, we may begin by stretching tissues that may be contributing to your plantar fascial pain. This likely won’t be the fascia itself to start, but the calves and the Achilles tendon where we identify tightness in your biomechanical examination. Strengthening – strengthening muscles that we identify in your biomechanical assessment to be weakened will help to support and stabilise your feet and legs and may reduce some tension from your plantar fascia, as well as supporting the healthy movement of your lower limbs Strapping – during the initial stages of treatment to temporarily help keep your foot in a position that places minimal strain on the fascia Managing acute symptoms – to help reduce pain and the initial inflammation so that healing can begin. This involves elements like icing and elevating the affected foot  

The moral of the story?

It’s simply that plantar fasciitis affects a lot of New Zealanders and our ability to perform both our daily tasks and our jobs – just like our policemen and women. Getting it sorted early means you get pain-free and back to doing the things you love as quickly as possible. If you’re experiencing any heel pain, give our expert team at Perform Podiatry in Remuera a call on 09 523 233  

How To Get Rid of Plantar Warts

If you or your kids have ever had warts, you’ll know that they’re unpleasant, unsightly and can at times be uncomfortable, especially if they’re on the bottom of your feet. They can quickly spread from one member of the family to another and once you’ve contracted them, they may pop up (literally) at any point in your life. So what exactly are warts and what can you do about them?  

Otherwise known as Verrucae

Plantar warts are medically known as verrucae and tend to present on the sole of the foot. Warts are actually a virus called the human papillomavirus (HPV). It spreads through a break in the skin, like a small cut or graze, either directly or through sharing the same surface like a shower or a floor.  

What are the symptoms?

A plantar wart appears as a small round-ish growth with rough or frayed edges. It remains rough within the wart itself. You may also notice tiny black/brown dots within the wart which are actually small blood vessels which will bleed if the wart is cut. You may notice that the lines of your skin move around the wart as opposed to through it. There may also be hard skin in the form of callus covering a wart. We typically reduce this hard skin in the clinic to both confirm that the lesion is indeed a wart and also for treatment.  

Is it really a wart or is it a corn?

Perhaps one of those most difficult elements of treating warts is their similarity in symptomology and appearance to the untrained eye. Even to the trained eye! We’ve seen plenty of patients come in to see us after they had previously been told they had a corn when it was a wart and so their treatment had been unsuccessful. Corns also present on the sole of the foot and are round in appearance. They are a build-up of hard skin and have a smoother appearance and edges than a wart. Corns tend to elicit pain on direct pressure whereas warts tend to elicit more pain on a sidewards squeeze. Unless you’ve picked at it and caused damage, corns don’t tend to bleed, either.  

How do you treat it?

To treat warts, you first need to see your Podiatrist. We don’t recommend at-home treatment because you risk damaging the surrounding skin and putting yourself at risk for a bacterial infection. We often see patients who have tried a stick-on pad over the wart as a means of treatment. Typically these pads contain some form of acid designed to break down area of the wart, eating away at it. The danger here is that the size of acid on the pad is usually much bigger than the size of the wart itself. The acid then works on the healthy skin surrounding the wart and it becomes very painful, red, tender and unpleasant. At Perform Podiatry we have a wide range of treatment options available depending on what is best suited for you and your wart(s) to see them gone. If you or your family are wanting an effective solution for warts from the foot health experts in Remuera, give us a call on 09 523 2333

Ingrown toenails: The lessons and the patients

  We’ve been seeing a lot of patients with ingrown toenails lately. From kids to adults alike – we’ve even quickly removed ingrown toenails from kids at 6 months old. That’s right – your nails don’t discriminate against age. We thought we’d highlight 3 recent cases because we find that a lot of people (definitely not all) tend to fall into these categories.   Case One: “It’ll be all good, bro” As the title may suggest, this was a classic kiwi male. Hard worker, on his feet all day, works in both steel capped boots and gumboots. He first noticed his ingrown toenail developing a few months ago. Yes, that’s right – months ago. He felt a bit of pain but shrugged it away, thinking it’ll go away on its own. It didn’t. One side of the nail pierced the surrounding skin. The toe became swollen. In the following month, it developed a minor infection. Because of the swelling, the other nail edge started growing into the skin too. It bled. It was irritated when he wore shoes and at work. But being a trooper, he persevered. Until 2.5 months after he first noticed a little bit of pain, he came in to see us.   Case Two: The fashionable businesswoman She came in to see us approximately two weeks after her pain began in her big toe. She tried cutting it and controlling it herself, but to no avail. The toe was red, swollen and has a small amount of yellow exudate as it had developed a minor infection. She wears pointy shoes to work and continued to do so for the last two weeks – but when she’d sit down at her desk she would take them off to get some relief for her toe. She also took lots of painkillers. The trigger for her to come in to see us was because the pain got so uncomfortable that even a sheet on her toe at night started causing her pain.   Case Three: The young footy legend This 11-year-old superstar came in with his mum because his toe was red, swollen and very painful. So much so that he couldn’t kick the ball anymore without yelling out in pain. The pain had started 7-10 days ago he guessed. He also doesn’t cut his nails – he ‘picks’ them.   The lessons If you can relate to any of these people, don’t worry. You are most definitely not alone. There are a few takeaway points here:
  • Self-management can be more difficult than you think once the nail has grown into the skin. Because the edge of the nail can be so deep down there, even if you cut most of the nail, very often a small nail spicule is left that keep irritating the skin and prevents it from healing. This very often happens when the nail is ‘picked’ off.
  • Don’t wait for ingrown toenails to get worse before coming in to see your Podiatrist. The longer the problem, the harder it becomes to get the offending nail edge out (though don’t worry, we’ve got all the right tools to do it).
  • If you wait too long, the swelling of the toe can cause the other edge to become ingrown too because of the increased pressure from the skin.
  • Performing daily activities will only get harder and you don’t have to put up with that.
  • See your Podiatrist. Now. If you have an ingrown toenail.
We’re happy to say that for all of these particular cases and the many others like them, we were able to safely remove the offending nail edge and get everyone pain-free and back on their feet. For some, we did this conservatively and without anaesthetic, and for others, we performed a minor ingrown toenail surgery where we also applied a chemical to permanently stop the side of the nail from growing back. If you’re suffering from ingrown toenails, come in and see our expert team at Perform Podiatry! Proudly providing expert care to Remuera and the surrounds. Give us a call on 09 523 2333

Stop Athlete’s Foot This Summer!

Summer is here (yay!) and that means sunshine, warm days and spending lots of time outdoors. This is also a time where we do see a lot of patients with Athlete’s Foot, which is clinically known as tinea pedis. There are two main reasons that we see if often around now: (1) is that fungus thrives in warm, moist conditions – and it’s pretty warm outside so our feet tend to sweat, and (2) is that because we wear more open-toed shoes, those that have been hoping that it’ll settle and resolve over the winter are now starting to feel a little more self-conscious and decide that it’s time to take action. Either way, or whatever your reason, your Podiatrist is definitely the right place to get rid of it once and for all.

So, what exactly is Athlete’s Foot?

Athlete’s foot describes a fungal skin infection that is actually relatively common. It’s common because it’s very contagious and it only takes sharing a shower or a surface (especially gyms, locker rooms and anywhere warm and damp) to become infected yourself. If it infects the nails, it can become very difficult to manage.

What are the symptoms?

If you have contracted Athlete’s Foot, you’ll experience:
  • Itching
  • Red scaly patches on the skin of the feet that seems dry
  • Stinging or burning
  • Breakdown of the skin between the toes that may present as cracks or fissures

How do you treat it?

The first step in managing and eliminating Athlete’s Foot is to have a correct diagnosis from your Podiatrist. Once you’re sure it’s a fungus, you should be doing as much as you can to keep the feet dry, clean, and away from sources of infection. These typically include:
  • Keeping the feet dry
  • Using absorbent powders if your feet sweat excessively
  • Disinfecting infected shoes and socks to demote reinfection
  • Wearing absorbent socks that will promote a dry environment
  • Wearing open shoes where possible to let the feet air and dry
To treat the fungus directly, your Podiatrist will recommend the right anti-fungal for you to use. This may come in the form of a cream, powder, tablet or other medication. This is best decided by your Podiatrist and pharmacist as oral medications can take a toll on your liver, so must be carefully assessed with regard to your overall health. If the infection has spread to your toenails, you’ll also need to treat the nails too. This can often be significantly more difficult than treating the skin alone as the fungus can penetrate the nail bed. Your Podiatrist will advise you on the best course of action for this. Throughout your treatment, care must be taken as the infection can make your skin very fragile and susceptible to damage.

Will the infection come back?

Because fungus spreads so easily, care must be taken to avoid re-infection. This doesn’t necessarily mean picking up an infection from someone else, but also re-infection from wearing your own infected shoes and socks. Your Podiatrist will run through with you the best ways to minimise your risk of re-infection and to keep the fungus gone. This can include anything from scrubbing down your showers with appropriate agents to hot washing all of your socks, bath mats and shoe liners with an anti-fungal washing detergent. If you’re battling a fungal infection of your skin or toenails, come in and see our expert team at Perform Podiatry. Worrying about your fungal infection shouldn’t be a part of your summer! Give us a call on 09 523 2333

Maximising The Benefit From Your Orthotics with Physical Therapy

Orthotics are one of our specialties here at Perform Podiatry. Our team are not only experts in the biomechanical function of the feet and legs but happen to be the sole teacher of orthotic prescription and creation at New Zealand’s School of Podiatry. Yes, this specialty and the way we use it to improve the lives of our patients is something we are very proud of! We use orthotics to:
  • Alter the alignment and movement of the lower limbs to reduce pressure on painful muscles, joints, ligaments and bones
  • Get the feet and legs functioning optimally to get optimum performance with minimum energy output to keep you going for longer
  • Correct any abnormalities in the feet or legs or variances between the lower limbs that are problematic
  • Help your feet feel more comfortable so you can feel great, look great, and do the things you love without discomfort
When you start wearing your orthotics, your feet and legs will start to function differently. You may even see some improvement in your upper body, like your spine and the muscles in your back and/or neck. This is, of course, dependant on the purpose of the orthotics you were prescribed. Orthotics are very much like glasses in this sense – they work with you and your body to improve performance. But what can you do to maximise the benefits from your orthotics for your body? Here are 3 great ways to start with physical therapy:

  1. Strengthen your body

Strength is your body’s protection. The risk of injury and re-injury is reduced by having strong muscles and joints as your body works like a finely-tuned machine. Strength also enhances and optimises recovery from injury. This is a great compliment to orthotic therapy, especially when your lower limbs will be working at their best in the orthotics. During your biomechanical assessment for your orthotics, your Podiatrist should identify any areas or muscles that are weaker, so make sure to focus on these and their advice on strengthening.

  1. Stretch and improve your mobility

If you’ve had a past injury or something wasn’t working quite right (hence the need for orthotics), then there is a good chance you’ll have some imbalance where some muscles may be tight or knotted. Tightness alters the way our body moves and can often be a major contributing factor to injury. Make sure to regularly stretch your feet and legs to get your body feeling and functioning at its best. During your biomechanical assessment for your orthotics, your Podiatrist will also identify areas of particular tightness and give you exercises, so make sure to listen to their advice and follow through.

  1. Check your posture

We all know that posture is very important, but it can also greatly affect our lower limbs and our recovery from and outcome of injury. This is because our posture dictates the constant positions of our bones, joints, muscle and ligaments – and whether they’re stretched, strained and suffering from more damage, or not. Getting on top of (or should we say, in line with) our posture helps all of our other structures as our orthotics work to control them. For any questions on anything we’ve talked about or to book an appointment with our expert team, give us a call on 09 523 2333 and all the best with your recovery!

Stop Ankle Sprains turning into Chronic Ankle Instability

We’re all bound to have sprained an ankle at some point in our lives, right? To varying degrees – perhaps you slightly rolled it and the pain went away after an hour or so, or perhaps you tore a ligament and ended up limping for days, if not weeks. Eventually, the pain does go away as the tears in the ligaments heal and the inflammation settles. But did you know that even though it may heal, if not managed properly, ankle sprains can leave a permanent impact on your ankle and your stability? It’s true and it happens more than you realise. Here’s what you need to know.

What happens when you sprain your ankle?

Most ankle sprains are inversion ankle sprains, meaning that you roll onto the outside of your ankle, as opposed to the inside. This causes damage to the 3 main ligaments located at the lateral (outside) ankle, whose purpose is to provide stability and support (you have these stabilising ligaments on the inside of your ankle too). They are called your anterior talofibular ligament, posterior talofibular ligament and calcaneofibular ligament. Damage to these ligaments presents as swelling, pain and tenderness on the outside of your ankle, with occasional bruising.

How does Chronic Ankle Instability develop?

Chronic Ankle Instability develops when proper care is not taken to treat and heal these ligaments. This means that following a sprain, instead of being effectively restored to the original strong, healthy ligaments they once were, the ligaments are left in a slightly weakened state, even though the pain and swelling have gone. Additionally, persistent swelling also contributes to the development of instability because a prolonged inflammatory process is damaging to tissues and ligaments. Typically, Chronic Ankle Instability develops and becomes symptomatic after repeated ankle sprains and ligament damage.  

What does having unstable ankles mean for me?

Instability impairs your balance, meaning you are more likely to have falls and repeated painful ankle sprains. Wearing unsupportive shoes like heels become more difficult, less stable, and far more tiresome for the other muscles and tissues through your feet and legs that will try to provide at least some compensation for your instability on your feet.

What should you do?

The first and best thing you can do is ensure that you have adequate care for any sprains that you incur and that your ankles are effectively rehabilitated each time. If you’ve developed ankle instability, physical therapy can help you strengthen your ankle, improve your balance and retrain muscles. At Perform Podiatry, our Podiatrists develop a comprehensive, tailored treatment plan after a thorough biomechanical assessment of your feet and legs so we have the full picture of what is happening with your bones, joints, muscles and ligaments. In severe cases, we may need to use a brace to give you additional support throughout your rehabilitation. We set measurable goals and work to give you back as much strength and stability as possible. We also pair you with the right shoes for various occasions to get you the best outcomes. If you’ve suffered an ankle sprain or are worried you may have ankle instability, give us a call. We’re experts in foot health and biomechanics and are committed to delivering excellence in Podiatric care. Give us a call on 09 523 2333  

Shin Splints: Are you getting pain at the front of your legs?

You may have heard of Shin Splints before and the pain it causes at the front of the legs. You may have even experienced it yourself. These days it has become commonplace to describe any pain occurring in the area of the shins as ‘Shin Splints’, though this is not the case. So what exactly is it and why does it occur? Perform Podiatry talks Shin Splints!  

What is Shin Splints?

Shin splints are otherwise referred to as Medial Tibial Stress Syndrome (MTSS), meaning great stress to the front and inner side of your tibia (lower leg/shin bone). Without visiting a Podiatrist to get your legs checked, you’ve got to be careful not to mistake Shin Splints for other causes of pain to the lower leg, such as a Stress Fracture along the tibia or Compartment Syndrome. Admittedly, many practitioners still refer to stress fractures as a mechanism of Shin Splints. This is largely because Shin Splints is not a precise condition itself, but includes various mechanisms of injury that result in pain at the shins. The injury incurred in Shin Splints may include micro-tears to or inflammation of muscles where they attach to the shin bone, the inflammation of a tissue surrounding the shinbone called the periosteum, or a combination of these. When muscles are involved, it tends to be the Tibialis Anterior or Tibialis Posterior. Commonly, stress on the tibia itself is also included as a mechanism of injury in Shin Splints. Shin Splints have a relatively generalised pain along the front and insides of the shins and tend to feel worse in the morning. This is because soft tissues and musculature originating from the tibia tightens overnight and so has a greater pull in the morning before it stretches out as you walk and the pain may ease. Pain can be felt on walking and running, especially when you lift your foot up and point your toes towards the ground.

What Causes Shin Splints?

Shin Splints are generally an overuse syndrome where certain activities, circumstances, and intense training schedules place a great amount of force and stress on the muscles and tissues at the shins, to the point of damage. Factors that may contribute to the development of Shin Splints includes:
  • Poor muscle flexibility
  • Inadequate stretching
  • Suddenly increasing training intensity
  • Abnormal foot pronation (unsupported flat feet)
  • Excessive supination (high arched feet)
  • Unsupportive or worn-out shoes
  • Favouring one leg while running
The last point is a bit of a given – whether you know it or not, you have a dominant leg/foot just like you have a dominant hand. This is the leg that will tend to climb the first step, that you’ll take a leap with, and that will likely take on significantly more force than the other. This is also the leg that will tend to develop Shin Splints.

What is the treatment for Shin Splints?

The first step to treating Shin Splints is identifying the cause, which for most people involves multiple causes. You’ll need to see your Podiatrist for this so they can analyse the way you walk, run, your foot posture, muscle strength, range of motion available at your joints, and more. Attempting to manage Shin Splints without an assessment means that you may only be addressing a certain suspected contributing factor, such as replacing worn shoes, while missing some main components that will see you continue to struggle with Shin Splints for months. You can help reduce your initial symptoms of pain and swelling with ice and rest, though this doesn’t address the cause and won’t ‘treat’ the condition or keep the pain permanently settled. Your Podiatrist will create a tailored management plan to suit your symptoms, cause, and your life. They’ll also go through and exclude other causes of shin pain. If you’re getting pain or discomfort around your shins, or are worried about your feet and legs, come in and see our expert Podiatry team at Perform Podiatry. We are committed to delivering excellence in patient care and your clinical outcomes and want to see you back on your feet and pain-free! Give our team a call on 09 5232333