While arthritis is best known for developing from wear and tear over time in older adults (osteoarthritis), it can also affect kids on a smaller scale. Between 1-4 in every 1000 children in Australia are affected.
Every once in a while, we come across a less common but very serious foot condition at just the right time. Today, we thought we’d share one that could have easily been missed, but where we as podiatrists could make a real difference to the well-being of a patient through early detection.
If the bones at the bottom of your feet feel more prominent, and the pad at the bottom of your feet - beneath your forefoot or your heel - feels thinner, then you may have fat pad atrophy.
If two of your toes resemble more of a ‘V’ shape between them instead of being immediately next to one another, this is for you. A plantar plate tear is the most common cause for this kind of toe separation - and some people may not realise that it had even occurred until they see this sign.
Your quads (quadriceps) are the muscles at the front of the thigh and connect together via a tendon close to the kneecap (patella). As the quad muscles work to straighten our knee from a bent position, like standing up from a chair, quad pain can make it very uncomfortable to perform simple daily tasks.
When we age and develop age-related health conditions or problems, it’s common for our circulation to be affected. This means that we may become more vulnerable to leg and foot ulcers - and even more vulnerable than ourselves, are our parents.
If you haven’t heard about the shoe that’s shaking up the sports industry, it’s the Nike Vaporfly. The Vaporfly’s performance enhancing features came into the spotlight back in 2016, when they saw multiple runners break multiple world records in a short timeframe. Now, more prominent footwear brands are bringing out competing models to the market. So, what makes these shoes so special?
We know what you’re thinking - do podiatrists offer hydrotherapy? Working together with our sister clinic, The Physio, we absolutely do! Hydrotherapy involves movements in water to help rehabilitate and strengthen muscles and joints - and it’s a fantastic option for many of our patients that are wanting to optimise their recovery from foot or leg pain, but aren’t up to traditional exercises.
Finding accessory bones, otherwise known as ossicles, when looking over our patients’ radiographs is not an uncommon occurrence here at The Podiatrist. Many people will go throughout their lives never knowing that they have an accessory bone or two. After all, if it’s not painful, why would you look?
So you noticed a mass in your foot, around your arch. You went to the doctor, and they’ve told you that you have a “plantar fibroma”. After the relief of learning that fibromas are not cancerous, you may find yourself wondering: so what do I do now?
Lily’s mum first brought her in to see us because she was concerned about her pigeon-toeing (in-toeing). She wanted to understand why it was happening and if everything was ‘normal’. She noticed the in-toeing was more prominent when Lily was tired, and that she was occasionally tripping during running
We first met Andrew when he came into the clinic with ongoing shin pain. As an enthusiastic runner, he had taken time out from running to rest in an attempt to fix the pain. Unfortunately, it quickly returned as soon as he attempted a 3km run. He was referred to us by his GP to find a long-term solution that would relieve his pain while allowing him to continue running.
t’s never a comfortable feeling to take your shoes off and have someone ask ‘what’s that smell?’, your gut *sinks* with the lingering thought: is that really me?
If you’re experiencing unusual sensations around your ankle, like pins and needles, numbness, tingling and burning (alongside pain), then you may have a condition called tarsal tunnel syndrome. Today, we chatted to our podiatrist, Jays, about this condition and what you can expect.
Ah, pregnancy. It’s a wonderful, beautiful and exciting time for many women. It can also be a cause of many surprises for women as they discover that they’ve gained almost an entire shoe size, and their feet seem much wider than they remembered!
We often talk about growing pains at the back of the heels (a.k.a Sever’s disease), but growing pains can also affect the knees. They are painful, frustrating, and leave many kids on the sideline of their favourite sports to “wait out the pain” (whether that takes weeks, months or years) because parents don’t realise that these growing pains are treatable.
It may just be our *podiatry eyes*, but we’ve definitely seen quite a few adults walking around with one or both feet turned inwards recently. Adult in-toeing (and out-toeing, for that matter) starts at a young age, and progresses into adulthood without ever completely “correcting” itself. With this in mind, we wanted to answer a common question we get from parents - “will my child’s feet straighten - and when?”
So your kids are (or previously have been) walking on their toes, and now you’re wondering whether it’s a normal phase that they’ll grow out of - or it’s something more. If this sounds like you - you’re in the right place. Our podiatry team is answering your questions about what’s up and down when it comes to toe walking. We’re not just kids foot health professionals - we’re parents too! Let’s start with the basics.
We first met Lisa in early 2019, when she was struggling to walk because of excruciating ankle and lower leg pain. She felt that it was having a large impact on her independence, and she needed to find a solution before the pain worsened.
When we first met Chloe in 2019, we identified she was regularly partially dislocating her kneecaps because of a knee position called genu valgum. Genu valgum leads to a muscle imbalance in the upper leg where the glutes and inner thigh muscles aren’t able to work effectively and the outer quad muscles take control, pulling the knee cap out of position. This was extremely painful for Chloe.
The school holidays are here! As parents too, this means creating our list of fun and active school holiday activities that ditch the screen time and promote learning, the outdoors and family time. Today, we thought we’d share our list with you so you have some quick, easy and fun go-to’s for your family!
Jessica came to see us as she was concerned about her painful cramps during exercise, especially during her social touch rugby games. She was very worried that it could be a blood clot in her leg, as the front of her shins were visibly swelling and bulging during the painful ‘episodes’. She even felt tingling at the tops of her feet occasionally.
Our running clinic is now in full swing over December and January! It’s ready to help you get your running to the next level - whether it’s your first 2km, 10km or marathon.
World kindness week is this week, and it makes us want to celebrate and really focus in on being kind to others. The reality of working here at The Podiatrist, however, is that kindness, genuinity and going above and beyond - for our patients, our non-patients and our team, is already a given. It’s something we have the privilege to see and act on a daily basis - but when thinking about it, the extent of these actions may not be quite so obvious if you’re not here - because we don’t often talk about the things we do to help and support others. We just do them.
Christmas parties. End of year celebrations. Business events. Family get-together. This festive season sees many calendars jam-packed with heel-appropriate events. Unfortunately, high heels can also be extremely detrimental to our posture - not just our feet, but our entire body.
Our expert team will get you out of pain and back to doing the things you love.
14 Ipswich Street Toowoomba
Queensland 4350
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