Articles & Posts in Category: Blogs

Browse our articles and pages tagged with Blogs. My FootDr brings the very best in Podiatry care to everyone in Australia.

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By Rainer Maier
Using ankle foot orthosis at flaccid foot drop, adjusting tightening straps with velcro for fixed brace on leg.

Welcome to the world of ankle foot orthoses (AFOs)! If you’re new to the concept of AFOs, you may be wondering what they are and how an AFO may benefit you. An AFO is a medical device (orthosis) that is used to support and/or correct the alignment of the ankle and foot.

There are several different types of AFOs available, each designed for a specific purpose. For example, a solid AFO is typically used to provide stability and support to a weak or unstable ankle. On the other hand, a hinged AFO allows for some movement at the ankle joint and can be useful for people who need more flexibility and have some muscle strength.

Another type of AFO is the dynamic AFO, which uses springs, hinges, or other mechanisms to assist with movement. This type of AFO is often used for people with foot drop or gait abnormalities. Materials used to fabricate an AFO can vary from lightweight plastics to carbon fibre. Read more

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By Madison Knight

As podiatrists, we see a lot of people who are dealing with calluses and corns on their feet. These are common foot conditions that can be caused by a variety of factors, but one of the most common is footwear.
Wearing ill-fitting shoes or shoes that don’t provide enough support can cause your feet to develop calluses and corns. These conditions can be painful and unsightly, and they can make it difficult to walk or stand for long periods of time. In this blog, I’ll explain how footwear can contribute to the development of calluses and corns, and what you can do to prevent them.

What are calluses and corns? What’s the difference?

The skin is our largest organ and protects us from external threats. When the skin undergoes continuous moments of stress or trauma, the body recognises this and signals the skin to thicken. This defence mechanism strengthens our skin to these outside forces – which is a good thing. A callus is a diffuse thickening of a patch of skin, whereas a corn has the defining feature of a central core. Read more

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By Cameron Chaplin

When it comes to foot health, calluses and corns are common issues that many of us face. These hard, thick patches of skin can be painful and unsightly, and can often be caused by a variety of factors. But did you know that having a stroke can also increase your risk of developing calluses and corns on your feet?

What is a stroke?

A stroke occurs when the blood supply to the brain is disrupted, either by a blood clot or a ruptured blood vessel. This can cause a range of symptoms, including weakness or paralysis on one side of the body, difficulty speaking or understanding language, and vision problems. Read more

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Distance running is becoming increasingly popular. Marathons across the world are now getting some of the highest participation rates ever.
At the same time, distance running can sometimes lead to injuries. In fact, it is estimated that the incidence of injury in endurance runners is between 30-80% – and most of these are foot and ankle injuries.
Here are some examples of common injuries, and how you can lower the risk of injury, from distance running.

Common injuries in distance running sports

  • Stress fractures

Stress fractures in runners most typically affect the tibia and fibula leg bones as well as bones of the foot and ankle. High-risk foot and ankle fractures include fractures of the fifth metatarsal, and of the navicular bone on the medial (inner) side of the foot.
These types of injuries sometimes arise from suboptimal training loads that can lead to an imbalance between the cells that breakdown and re-build bone tissue. This in turn can result in micro fractures and breaks.
Symptoms include localised pain during training – at first towards the end of the run, but if left untreated, then earlier in the run or even during rest.

  • Ankle sprains

Ankle sprains represent about 1% of running-related injuries. Sprains to the ankles tend to be more common in sports involving stop-and-go motions, such as football and tennis.
In some cases, ankle sprains can result in persistent pain years after the injury occurred. Read more

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Morton’s neuroma is a fairly common condition that affects the ball of the foot and the toes. People with the condition may experience pain and discomfort and difficulty walking.
For some people, the condition can lead to chronic pain that makes it very difficult to bear any weight on their foot at all.

However, there are also some people with Morton’s neuroma that do not experience any symptoms.
Let’s look at what a Morton’s neuroma is, the symptoms and what you can do about it.

What is Morton’s neuroma?

Morton’s neuroma refers to a thickening of the tissue around the small nerves leading to the toes. Morton’s neuroma most typically affects the area between the third and fourth toes.
Despite the name, the condition is not a true ‘neuroma’, which is a benign tissue tumour. It is a fibrosis of the nerve – meaning excess connective tissue growth. Read more

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Over 40 and participating in high-intensity activities?

Tips to avoid developing peroneal tendinopathy.

Peroneal tendinitis (or peroneal tendinopathy) is a condition that causes pain around the outer side of the ankle and foot. There are two main tendons on the outside of your ankle – the peroneus longus and peroneus brevis. The role of these tendons is to stabilise the ankle, stabilise the arch of the foot when walking and to turn the foot outwards.

They can become painful when structural changes occur in response to increased load and overuse of the tendons, without ensuring sufficient recovery time between activities. Around the ankle and foot, tendons are often protected by layers of connective tissue known as tendon sheaths. If symptoms are left to progress, inflammation of this tendon sheath worsens, and this causes greater ankle pain, and dysfunction. Read more

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Should I worry that my child has flat feet?

We’ve all wondered about it. We’ve all heard cautionary tales from friends, neighbours or relatives. But just how worried should you be about your child’s “flat feet”?

One of the common reasons children present to our clinics is to be assessed for flat feet, often with pain. This is because around 15% of children have flat feet.1 As more people are becoming foot conscious, parents are trying to get ahead of the game by spotting anything that could cause issues for their children in adulthood.

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As an athlete, your feet are your foundations for success in your chosen sport. The 26 bones, 33 joints and over 100 muscles, tendons and ligaments present in each foot are responsible for working together to produce healthy, stable movement. And a lot of the time, this movement will be strenuous – high impact forces on the feet, rapid changes in direction, quick decelerations and accelerations, high jumps – you name it.

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It’s easy to think that the key determinants of good shoes at any age are having the right length and width paired with optimum comfort. While these factors are indeed essential, when it comes to older feet, it is important to take into account the natural changes that occur to the body and feet with age, and the cumulative effects of spending over half a century on our feet, especially with more Australians retiring later in life.

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