Important information anyone suffering from heel pain needs to know. Who has heel pain, plantar fasciitis or heel spurs? What causes the pain? Where is the best place to go for treatments? Do orthotics work? How much should you pay for orthotics? What is the best doctor to see for heel pain? This blog is directed at helping you understand that heel pain is very common and is something experienced by athletes and homebodies. Nobody is immune. The causes are many. The treatments are numerous. The pain is never normal. It can be treated. The earlier the better.
Heel pain home remedies….what works?
If you have heel pain you may have tried some of the same things I hear my patients trying before they come into the office. Here are some of the recent home remedies I have heard-that didn’t work very well for plantar fasciitis: 1. The doctor scholl’s machine at Walmart. (by the way these are not “custom orthotics” regardless of what the advertising leads you to believe. 2. Epsom salts. 3. Vibram 5 toe shoes. 4. The night strap from Walgreens. (I assume this was the “night splint” that is made of cloth) 5. Losing 10 pounds. 6. Spending $500 on inserts and shoes at the good foot store.
While all of these home treatments are understandable and may actually work for some people, the majority of the time this is a list of ways to waste time and money and continue to have pain. The truth is if you really have plantar fasciitis you need to see a podiatrist and aggressively treat the problem. You can learn more at our website dedicated to heel pain education. WWW.heelpain101.com. Request our free book to learn about what causes heel pain and to learn about treatment Options that work but will not break the bank.
How long will Ryan Howard be out with an achilles tendon rupture?
That is the question now for the Philadelphia Phillies. With their star on the sidelines his injury is potentially career ending. Granted, I do not know the doctors treating Ryan Howard and I have not seen his MRI. I really don’t know any specifics about his case. When I talk about achilles ruptures I do it generally. What I do know is Ryan Howard has everything in his corner and with the experts on hand on a daily basis watching him and helping him I am sure we will see him back on the field again. He will require a great deal of rehab and may always have some weakness on that leg, as an achilles is never the same once it has been torn. A surgeon with experience can repair most any achilles. The key most of the time is the patient doing what is needed at the pace that is appropriate for the injury. That pace can really only be determined by the surgeon because he knows the severity of the injury and the strength of his repair. None of us will have access to Ryan Howard’s medical records so we will never know how bad this tear really was. However, I do expect to see him back mid season next year hitting home runs with many years ahead of him wearing the Phillies uniform.
I am frequently asked about the shoes that “tone”. The decision today by the FTC answers that for us. Lots of companies have them-Reebok, New Balance, Sketchers….. While I have been telling people to avoid them since they came out, there is now evidence to back up the advice I have been giving. You can find a list of shoes with the seal of approval from the American Podiatric Medical Association at APMA.ORG. In the meantime this really comes decision by the FTC comes as no surprise to those of us that understand feet and shoes. Unfortunately there is no short cut to getting fit. Exercise, not shoes, makes you fit.
