Items filtered by date: October 2011

Congrats Columbus Marathoners! Now, what were those crazy compression socks you saw people wearing & should you get some for your next race?

Fall brings marathon season with Chicago last weekend, New York coming up the first weekend of November and most importantly, the Columbus Marathon this Sunday, October 16^th! Runners are known to do whatever it takes to reach their goals including forcing down that last Gu, waking up at the crack of dawn to get those miles in, or unfortunately, attempting to continue training through foot pain and injury. One item that many marathoners and distance runners have been seen wearing as a part of their race day uniform are tall compression socks in black and a rainbow of other colors. But the real question is: are these socks just successful at intimidating competitors on the line with their cool looks, or do they actually serve a purpose?

Interestingly, while it may seem like compression socks are the ultimate new running necessity aside from proper fitting running shoes, it is not the runner population that tends to know a bit more about the benefits and uses of compression socks. It is diabetic patients with swelling, or edema that podiatrists regularly prescribe compression stockings, or socks to. Patients with venous stasis from causes such as improperly functioning, or insufficient valves and varicose veins also can have their condition improved with the use of compression socks. With normal valves and vessel structure, the calf muscles function to pump blood upwards against gravity to prevent this pooling. In patients with the conditions mentioned, there is a slowed return of blood via the veins to the heart, resulting in some venous blood pooling. This pooling can not only result in dermatitis, or a rash, but it can also lead to the formation of dangerous deep vein thrombosis and venous ulcers. In order to help restore normal venous blood flow, compression stockings are used to gradually increase pressure up the leg, assisting the “calf pump”. While this has been shown to have positive effects in groups of people with the disease states discussed, the effects of compression sock induced decreased venous pooling, assistance of the skeletal muscle pump and increased deep vein blood speed still require more research before they can be conclusively linked to their claims of performance gains in running. Many athletes also utilize compression stockings post-exercise in order to decrease lactic acid build-up, but this use also requires more research.

So while they may look cool, and can be extremely beneficial if you have venous insufficiency in your legs and feet, compression stockings have a ways to go before they can definitely prove themselves as doing more for your race time than just making you LOOK fast. At this point, if athletic compression socks make you feel better when running, then do what is best for you – just make sure you test them out before your big race and always call your podiatrist if you develop any foot or ankle pain!

Please visit www.ColumbusFoot.com for more information or call 614-885 FEET (3338) to schedule an appointment with a podiatrist in Columbus, Ohio. Columbus Podiatry & Surgery is located on the North side of Columbus, Ohio near Worthington.

While Katy Perry was in Columbus at the Schottenstein Arena on September 13, one of her original opening acts, up and coming pop star Jessie J was unable to perform that night and for most of the tour. In June, Jessie had jumped off a stage while dancing during rehearsals and badly hurt her foot. Now, in recent interviews, Jessie has been describing the story of her injury and how she now feels it will cause her painful arthritis for the rest of her life. Jessie and anyone else who has suffered a traumatic ankle injury need to know their treatment options to avoid or cope with possible arthritis in the future.

After her ankle injury, Jessie was initially diagnosed with a ligament injury of the ankle. Unfortunately it was not diagnosed until later that she had also fractured 4 bones in her foot and ankle. While ankle sprains are one of the most common injuries that dancers can encounter, it is also important that the individual be evaluated by x-ray or other radiographic imaging for bony injury if have symptoms of tenderness when they press on bone or are unable to stand on only the injured foot. Chronic lateral ankle pain, or pain on the outside of the ankle, can result from both ligament or bone damage to the ankle, but bone fractures can also lead to arthritis of the ankle. While arthritis in the knee or hip common result from wear and tear over time, the most common cause of arthritis of the ankle is a previous traumatic injury.

The missed diagnosis of broken bones has led to a more severe situation for Jessie’s ankle. Because Jessie’s fractures were not diagnosed until later, the broken bone pieces were allowed to continue moving in an unstable manner in her foot as she continued to bear some weight on them in a brace for the ligament injury. Without proper blood supply or biomechanical stability, bone pieces cannot realign and unite. This is called a non-union and when it occurs as it likely did with Jessie a graft of bone material must be surgically placed in the foot to promote union and healing of the bones. After this “bone transplant” as Jessie has been referring to it, she now complains of chronic pain in her ankle and a possible future of painful arthritis. Because she cannot turn back time and get her foot promptly diagnosed correctly to have possibly avoided the non-healing of her bones, Jessie and all foot and ankle arthritis suffers should talk to their podiatrist about their options to reach a much less painful state. Physical therapy may be an initial step to healing and regaining motion in the joint after surgery. There are also other surgical options to help an arthritic joint function less painfully and thus with better motion, including a fusion of the bones that make up the joint or a total joint replacement. For active individuals such as Jessie, studies have shown that in arthritic patients who received a total ankle replacement were able to greatly increase their sports activity from their previous arthritic state.

Luckily for Jessie J her diagnosis was eventually caught and she will hopefully look into future treatments to alleviate some of the pain of her current condition and possible arthritis!

Please visit www.ColumbusFoot.com for more information or call 614-885 FEET (3338) to schedule an appointment with a podiatrist in Columbus, Ohio. Columbus Podiatry & Surgery is located on the North side of Columbus, Ohio near Worthington.

Halle Berry may not only have been afraid for her foot after she fractured it while shooting the movie “Cloud Atlas”, but she also may have feared for her job in revealing what she was doing when the fracture occurred! Initially Berry reported that she was taking a casual stroll on her day off around the property she was staying at. However, more recently she admitted that she was actually chasing goats with her young daughter leading up the injury! Although the idea of chasing goats does not seem to make much sense, it at least makes a lot more sense for how a foot fracture developed!

To better understand fractures and how they occur, it is important to know that fractures can generally be divided into two groups: stress fractures and general bone fractures. Stress fractures typically occur in people doing a low-intensity repetitive motion, such as running, marching or walking long distances. The bone is not able to remodel and heal itself fast enough to keep up with the repetitive stress being place on it. Muscles that are fatigued may also play a role in the development of a stress fracture because they will not be able to contract and redistribute force over a larger area.

In this acute instance however, it is more likely that Halle suffered from a general bone fracture than a stress fracture. This means that the cortex or hard outer shell of the bone was damaged all the way through in the area of the injury. It was reported that Halle heard a “crack” & felt pain immediately shooting up her foot. Because she was running on uneven terrain, it possible that Halle also sprained her ankle by rolling her foot. While it has not been reported which metatarsal Halle broke, the fifth (or little toe metatarsal) is the most commonly fractured of the metatarsals in people above the age of 5. In the instance of a 5^thmetatarsal fracture, it would be imperative to know exactly what position Halle’s foot was in and to have x-rays and other images taken to determine the location and characteristics of the fracture. If she did in fact roll her ankle, she may not only have ligament and tendon damage, but the forceful stretch of tendon’s connecting to the bone may have pulled off, or avulsed a piece of the metatarsal causing the fracture. Another scenario would be if she were propelling herself off the side of her foot, to run after a goat, she may have incurred a “Jones fracture”. A Jones fracture not only disrupts the cortex of the bone, but also disrupts the blood supply to the bone that is crucial to its proper healing. This type of fracture can require more serious treatment including surgery and longer periods of being non-weight bearing on the foot.

The most important step in adequate healing of a fracture foot is getting the correct diagnosis in a timely manner. Each of the different types of fractures described may have a slightly different course of treatment and identifying that course is critical to prevent delayed or improper healing or a longer course of foot pain for the patient. Any actress, athlete or other individual who believes they may have a fracture or other foot injury should contact their podiatrist as soon as possible to ensure that they will be able to get back to chasing goats and all other fun activities as quickly as possible!

Please visit www.ColumbusFoot.com for more information or call 614-885 FEET (3338) to schedule an appointment with a podiatrist in Columbus, Ohio. Columbus Podiatry & Surgery is located on the North side of Columbus, Ohio near Worthington.