Items filtered by date: March 2018
What’s This Round Lump on My Foot?
A Ganglion Cyst is a benign growth that arises from a herniated dense connective tissue from tendon sheaths or joint capsules. The cyst is a synovial sac filled with gelatinous fluid and is the most common benign soft tissue mass to occur in the foot, often on the top of the foot. The exact cause of ganglion cysts is unknown, but it is thought to be either from repetitive microtrauma, mucosal degeneration, and/or the union of small cysts due to soft tissue degeneration.
A ganglion cyst can be asymptomatic but can be associated with one or more of the following symptoms:
- Visible soft tissue lump that is firm, smooth, rounded, rubbery, and may grow other time
- Skin irritation, tingling or burning sensation especially if the cyst is on a nerve
- Difficulty wearing shoes
- Dull or achy pain
Diagnosis of a ganglion cyst is done clinically by shining a light source through the cyst and having it transilluminate. Your podiatrist may also perform an x-ray, ultrasound, MRI, or excise it and send it to pathology. Often it can resolve on it’s own through spontaneous resolution. Some various treatment options that your doctor may recommend are shoe modifications and aspiration by draining the fluid from the cyst but this option has a high recurrence rate. Surgery may also need to be done to surgically remove the cyst. Surgery has a lower recurrence rate than aspiration alone but nonetheless there is still the risk for the ganglion cyst to reoccur especially if the synovial stalk of the cyst was not completely removed.
Please visit our website for more information or call 614-885-3338 (FEET) to schedule an appointment with us at our Columbus or Gahanna office
What is a Tailor’s Bunion?
Tailor’s bunion, also known as a bunionette, is a bony prominence or bump on the base of the little fifth toe bone that can be painful and be difficult fitting into shoes. These little bunions are historically called tailor’s bunion due to the fact that in the past they often happened in tailors who sat cross-legged on hard surfaces for a long periods of time causing pressure on the outside aspect of the tailors’ feet.
Some symptoms of a tailor’s bunion are pain that is exacerbated by shoe gear, redness, swelling on the outside of the feet, and/or callous formation. A major risk factor is improper fitted shoe gear that is too tight and causes the fifth toe to be held in an inappropriate position.
The following are conservative treatments for Tailor’s bunions, which may involve:
- Change of shoe gear and avoid tight shoes
- Icing and NSAIDs
- Orthotics
- Padding such as bunionette pads or toe spacers
- Corticosteroid injection to reduce inflammation
Most of these treatments will help provide pain relief however when all conservative treatments have failed, your podiatrist may then recommend surgical options especially if your tailor’s bunion is more prominent. The surgery is a common procedure of removing a wedge of bone from the lateral prominent 5th metatarsal bone bump. Call your podiatrist today to best treat your tailor’s bunion and prevent it from getting worse.
Please visit our website for more information or call 614-885-3338 (FEET) to schedule an appointment with us at our Columbus or Gahanna office
