Article from the Canadian Podiatric Medical Association Re proper shoes

Toronto, ON (May 24, 2018) — Are you wearing the wrong shoes? If you are, you could be significantly reducing your quality of life without even realizing it.

All footwear alters the shape of our feet, but studies have shown that poor footwear can affect us in ways that actually start a vicious health cycle. Even in relatively healthy people, bad shoes cause foot pain, which in turn is a key predictor of reduced physical activity. Lack of exercise in turn raises the risk of a wide number of chronic ailments, including diabetes, which then can cause even more damage to your feet, such as neuropathy. For people in poorer health, footwear can directly result in foot impairment and disability.

The wrong choice of winter boots can have even worse outcomes. In 2016, the Toronto Rehabilitation Institute at the University Health Network tested 98 pairs of winter boots, including both safety and casual footwear. Only eight per cent of the 98 types of footwear met the minimum slip resistance standards set out by the test.

Slips and falls can be brutal at any age, but for seniors they can be downright deadly. According to Health Canada, falls cause 85% of seniors’ injury-related hospitalizations, and deaths due to falls rose 65% between 2003 and 2008. Just wearing the wrong footwear has been shown to increase levels of apathy, anxiety, and loss of balance in those over the age of seventy. Considering that the shape and size of our feet changes with age and life events such as pregnancy, altogether too many people are walking around wearing the wrong shoes.

But there is good news, too: proper footwear has unexpected benefits, such as helping to reduce chronic low back pain and even making life more comfortable for some diabetic patients.

“Shoes are an integral part of podiatry and patient treatment. Understanding that different shoes have different features or functions makes knowing what they can do very important. Being able to recommend a shoe for a patient with a specific pathology can be key in the overall treatment plan or process,” says Howard Green, DPM, DABPS, FACFAS, and President of the British Columbia Podiatric Medical Association and board member of the Canadian Podiatric Medical Association.

He continues: “If a patient needs footwear for a specific sport or activity, or if they need shoe recommendations, then consulting a podiatrist is an excellent first step.”

Helping the homeless

Many of the foot conditions in our homeless populations are highly preventable. We can all help by having packages of socks in our cars or briefcases to distribute to the homeless people we meet each and every day.

Flip Flops

People who spend the whole day wearing  flip flops are setting themselves up for foot pain. They don’t provide support and can cause   arch and heel pain.

National Foot Health Month

May is National Foot Health Month. It is a good opportunity to have your feet checked and to have your issues dealt with by a Podiatrist. Allow us to improve your quality of life.

New Treatment for Fungal Toenails

toenail-fungusOnychomycosis is a fungal infection of the nails. The nails may appear brittle, loose. thickened with crumbling edges, white, yellowish, have streaks, or  lack shine.  This type of infection can be very difficult to treat especially in the toenails.  Jublia is a recently released product that  leads to fungal death and reduction of your infection.

Swelling Feet

Each day in my podiatry practice I am asked about foot swelling. This can occur for a variety of reasons. One is prolonged sitting in a fixed position such as on a long airline trip.. Many of us notice that our shoes seem to be much tighter after the flight, especially if we have removed our shoes. Other times it can be from prolonged standing throughout the day.

The veins are the anatomical structure  necessary to bring blood from our feet to our heart. If there is some compromise of the veins swelling of the feet can become an issue. As we age our veins weaken and the valves inside them tend to stretch. This will result in reflux and accumulation of fluid in our feet.

In both of the above cases there are some simple treatments that can alleviate or reduce the fluid in the feet. Exercise helps greatly as the muscles in the lower extremity can force the fluid back towards the heart. Another simple treatment is to elevate your feet above of the level of  your heart. Over the counter compression stockings can also be used if necessary. These can be purchased  in most pharmacies and are very effective.

Of course there are  other more serious causes and one should always consider speaking to your family doctor if these simple methods do not work.

Don’t forget the sunscreen

imagesWith the harshness of the winter many people are choosing to take vacations in the sunny south. Please remember to sunscreen your feet as they are also susceptible to sunburn.