Services

Our therapeutic ultrasound machine is calibrated regularly and up to standards. It is used for soft tissue healing when it comes to tendinitis, inflammation, fasciitis and even ligament damage. Even though this is seen traditionally as a physiotherapy modality, we use it regularly on our patients to get their rehabilitation started. They can then be referred onto a physiotherapist later. Furthermore, some of our patients are already seeing physiotherapy for other issues and would like us to see them for their foot rehabilitation issues instead. The key component here is that you can do no wrong by choosing us as your foot and ankle rehabilitation practitioner.

Caused by HPV (human papilloma virus), plantars warts often appear on the bottoms of your feet, and can be painful and unsightly. We don’t recommend over-the-counter medications because they may damage healthy tissue around the wart and contribute to spreading.

You have to treat the wart by creating controlled damage to the lesion. The body has been tricked by the virus to supply blood and nutrients to it and it will often become dormant. A new normal is achieved and the wart is here to stay. The body thinks it’s normal and that’s why they are stubborn to be removed and can last years.

The best way to treat it is to come into our clinic and allow one of our professional chiropodists treat them. The body needs to be stimulated into creating its own defence against the virus. There is technically no cure for warts. The body has to be allowed and set up to fight against the virus itself.

Most common with runners, shin splints (or periostitis) are a painful swelling of the connective tissue that covers the bones. They’re caused when the tissue gets overworked by repetitive activity – especially in situations where a normally sedentary person has suddenly started exercising vigorously. They can also be caused by pronation or rolling in your foot as you walk and run. We will examine your leg and may order additional tests to rule out other problems such as stress fractures or tendonitis. He will determine whether you’re wearing the right footwear when you’re exercising and recommend orthotics where needed.

There are a few common diagnoses for knee pain.

Runner’s Knee

The medical term for Runner’s Knee is chondromalacia patella – it’s the wear and tear of the cartilage on the back of the kneecap caused by abnormal motion. Symptoms include swelling, inflammation and pain in the top of the knee, with stiffness after sitting and pain going up and down stairs.

Patellar Femoral Syndrome

This is characterized as pain around the knee cap or patella rather than behind it. This is most commonly caused by improper tracking of the knee during gait or running.

Other areas

Other pain can be anywhere surrounding the knee. The inside of the knee or the outside of the knee can be different ligaments or tendons.

Lastly, there can be  just general knee pain which is most commonly knee arthritis. This is described as pain within the joint of the knee caused by the bone on bone grinding as a result of the cartilage being worn out from wear and tear. This often thought of as an old person’s condition but younger people can get this when they had improper alignment in their body added with excessive wear and tear.

Solutions

These various types of knee conditions can be caused by weak quads, faulty biomechanics or a dysfunction in the patellar tendon. Icing, therapeutic ultrasound or laser can help reduce discomfort. A stretching and strengthening program and orthotics might be prescribed, as well as a close examination of your exercise program; our chiropodist can look at your gait and the surfaces you run to help correct running-related issues.

This is literally the number one condition that we see in terms of commonality. You definitely have come to the right place if you are seeing us for heel pain.

This overuse injury is common with people who stand and walk a lot as well as runners. It can be caused by flat pronated feet, high arched rigid feet, improper footwear, increasing age and overuse. It’s characterized by acute heel pain first thing in the morning or just getting up after you rest. When the plantar fascia is under too much stress, it pulls away from its weakest insertion, causing microtears, inflammation and pain. And the more you use your foot, the more it aggravates things. Treatment involves rest, better shoes and orthotics, and may require night splints, laser therapy, physiotherapy, exercises and hot and cold therapy.

Orthopedic shoes are footwear verified by a medical professional to be wide enough and deep enough for your foot, and can be made to accommodate any pain or deformity.

There are three types of orthopedic shoes: off-the-shelf models, custom modified shoes and custom shoes. Check with your insurer to see what they cover.

• Off-The-Shelf Orthopedic Shoes are wide enough, deep enough and cushioned enough to be deemed orthopedic by the manufacturer and the health practitioner that prescribed them.
• Custom Modified Orthopedic Shoes are off-the-shelf products altered to treat a medical condition. But be aware that some insurance plans only cover the modification. For example, if you need a lift to raise the height of one shoe, your insurer may only pay for the lift – but not the shoe itself.
• Custom Orthopedic Shoes are made specifically for your foot, and are meant for a medical deformity or condition (bone protrusion, birth defect, disease or accident) that won’t fit into any shoe on the market. Custom shoes are made off-site and must be medically justified to be covered by insurance. Please note, we do not prescribe them for pain alone; the pain must be accompanied by a deformity.

Commonly caused by tight-fitting footwear or abnormal forefoot alignment, Morton’s Neuroma is the growth of a nerve or benign tumor due to irritation of nerve cells. Usually found between the third and fourth metatarsal heads, it’s characterized by numbness, pain or a burning sensation or the blanching of the toes. We can recommend better footwear, metatarsal head support or cortisone injections. In some cases, surgery may be required.

Our new treatment is sclerosing alcohol injections. These have far less side effects than cortisone and is safe to inject. Studies show that the only side effect is the injection of the syringe needle itself. The rest is symptoms free. This is effective and safe.

One of the most common problems we see in our foot clinic is ingrown toenails, can be caused by wearing shoes that are too tight in the toe and/or not cutting your nails straight across. The funny thing is you could cut your nails improperly for a lifetime and never suffer from ingrown toenails. On the off chance that you do get a spike that you can’t reach, you’re in trouble and headed for infection. They are uncomfortable and if left untreated, can cause severe pain. We will recommend treatment based on the severity of the infection, including water and salt soaks, antibacterial ointment, splints or surgical treatments.

More recently we have non-surgical alternatives like nail bracing. Click the link below to see what Podofix can do for your ingrown toenails.

http://www.podofix.com

When you have high arches, less of the plantar surface of the foot ends up bearing your weight, which increases the stress on your heel and the ball of your foot. Some have a condition which is called a “tripod foot”. You may have a tripod foot if you get calluses or pressure/pain on only 3 spots on your feet.

Feet with high arches aren’t able to absorb as much shock from walking and running, so it ends up being transmitted up your leg into your ankles, knees, hips and back, causing pain. Toes may deform into a claw-like shape, causing painful corns and calluses. You may benefit from the arch support offered by custom orthotics; it can help take the pressure off and increase your overall comfort. Talk to us about the best option for your feet.

This is the most common foot condition that patients come to see us for. Patients try to get a handle on it at home and it eventually becomes a futile cause. The real problem is reinfection. We will discuss in the clinic how reinfection happens and how to prevent it.

Also known as onychomycosis, fungal nails are an infection of the bed and plate under the nail surface. It’s caused by fungus, which thickens and discolour the nail, makes it smell unpleasant, and can cause pain when you’re wearing shoes. The infection can spread to other nails, skin and even fingernails. It’s a common problem, and can be treated with a prescription fungicidal solution. To prevent fungal toenails, keep your feet clean and dry, wear shoes in public areas, change your socks daily, put on shoes and socks that breathe, avoid nail polish, and use a quality foot powder with talcum or an anti-fungal agent.

This condition can cause the most long term damage without even noticing it.

When the arch on the inside of your foot is flat, allowing your entire sole to touch the floor, you may have flat feet. A common mistake it to look at your arch when not standing up. You need to be weight bearing in order to tell if your foot arches are collapsed or even just lowered. It’s pretty common and usually painless, though you may experience pain in your arches when you walk. Flat feet can be genetic and therefore seen in children. Flattening of the arches can also occur later on in life. It can be a sign of age-related wear and tear. We will examine your feet and prescribe orthotics to correct this as required.

For the controlled diabetic patient, simple visits every 6 months should be sufficient. This is in line with your kidney check ups and your eye exams. These are the 3 most easily damaged areas of the body if your blood sugars are too high.

For diabetics, we recommend regular foot care, with frequency depending on the seriousness of your condition, and on the extent to which you are able to care for your feet yourself. We will examine your feet on a regular basis, and recommend treatments to help maintain your foot health – and your overall well-being.

Routine nail care is to prevent ingrown toenails and routine foot care is to reduce the “hot spots” or calluses. These areas are the first to ulcerate and create the dreaded diabetic ulcer. So our services are very important in prevention and patient outcomes that see a chiropodist are much better than ones that do not.

Please note: If you have cuts, wounds or other injuries to the feet, call us immediately. Do not wait to see if things heal on their own; with diabetes, there’s a good chance that the condition will get worse, and it’s easier to treat it earlier than if it progresses into an infection.

These custom-made prescription medical devices are placed inside your shoes to correct the mechanical joint and muscle dysfunction that contributes to foot pain. They are also used to treat and prevent injury-causing pathology such as excessive pronation (rolling in) supination (rolling out) and to help make standing, walking and running healthier and more efficient.

Genuine custom orthotics start with a thorough exam, a cast of your feet using plaster of paris or a 3D scan, and a detailed prescription form, which are all sent to a professional lab. Some clinics use a computerized force plate to get impressions, which are then used to modify a pre-manufactured insole. These are not true custom orthotics – if there’s no cast, a complete impression of your foot has not been taken, and you don’t get the full benefit. Furthermore, they may use a library system where they pick amongst several pre-made shapes to most closely fit your arch profile. This is sneaky, inaccurate and usually creates an unsatisfying outcome for the patient.

Our chiropodists as well as our well trained staff are all well trained and able to do all fittings for orthotics. Chiropodists train more extensively in the function, biomechanics and orthotic manufacturing than any other foot care practitioner; when they make orthotics, you know they’ll fit right.

Thick, hardened layers of skin, caused by tight-fitting shoes or a biomechanical foot fault, can be uncomfortable and unattractive. You are not walking properly or evenly in your shoes if you are getting these. Just like getting a callus on your hands from shovelling or weight lifting, your feet will develop hard skin to protect itself. This can be very uncomfortable to walk on and potentially even open up into a wound. We will remove corns and reduce calluses quickly and easily, and offer self-care recommendations and footwear advice to help you keep your feet comfortable and looking great.

If your feet are cracked, blistered, itchy, red or scaly, most notably in the creases between your toes, you may have athlete’s foot, a fungal condition contracted in public areas like locker rooms. You may simply even have chronically dry skin that just won’t get better with moisturizing creams.

Your feet do not have to be itchy for them to be fungal. When your feet aren’t responding to over-the-counter antifungal products, we will diagnose the problem, prescribe medication to get rid of your athlete’s foot, and offer prevention advice that will help your feet stay healthy and itch-free in the future.

If you have arthritis or bursitis in your feet, we will evaluate your joints and may recommend anti-inflammatory medications, custom orthotics and/or shoe changes and surgery as needed.

There are a lot of options for you and simply alleviating the pain is not the only one. Arthritis is wear and tear on the joint. We can help you reduce that wear and tear and possibly still help you to maintain some semblance of the level of activity you like you have. Book and appointment today.

Injuries to the ligaments of your ankle joint can happen when your ankle has been forced beyond its normal range of motion. A Grade I sprain involves minor ligament stretching, Grade II moderate to severe stretching, and Grade III a complete ligament tear. Sprains can be diagnosed and treated by the chiropodist; contact the office as soon as possible to minimize further damage, and in the meantime, follow PRICE guidelines:

• Protect the joint with a splint or brace
• Rest the joint, avoid putting weight on it
• Ice the injury
• Compress with a tensor wrap
• Elevate to reduce swelling

Patient who have had some rest and immobilization for a few days can start to see a physiotherapist for rehabilitation. However, rehabilitation exercises may be too early and you would need immobilization. Perhaps there is a hairline fracture. We can assess the situation and refer you onto the physiotherapist when the time is right.