Going Home to NE Ohio

I was fortunate this past week to spend a long weekend up in NE Ohio at the 25th Annual NEOAPM Seminar.  It gave me a chance to see my former classmates and professors and learn about some new ideas.  We had excellent faculty at the conference including some doctors from the nearby Cleveland Clinic.  I look forward to having a chance to put this new information to use down here in Florida.

This is NOT recommended

Just when I thought I had seen it all, I read this story online from "Runner's World": Keith Levasseur ran Saturday's Baltimore Marathon in 2:46:58 while wearing flip flops.  Apparently, he performed the stunt for the Guinness Book of World Records.  Looking closely at the picture, they are some of the more supportive flip flops, but still I find this to be insane.  To top it all off, he finished 39th out of over 3000 runners.

Flip flops are a popular shoe all over the country, and here in Florida they can be worn essentially all year.  However, these shoes are not created to walk in for long distances or even wear long-term.  Historically, they are to protect feet to get to the beach from your car over hot pavement or to prevent you from picking up a wart or athlete's foot in a public shower or pool.

These shoes can lead to all sorts of problems such as heel pain and also provide no protection for the top of the foot or the end of the toes.  I have seen several painful toenail injuries from the wearing of these shoes.

I know I will not make many people give up their flip flops but I recommend them only for limited periods of time and certainly prefer my patients wear ones with an arch in the sole.  Our shoe store and all of our offices have available sandals and flip flops that are better for you feet than the "traditional" flip flop.

Derek Jeter's Fractured Ankle

It can happen to anyone, especially athletes.  I woke up this morning to news that one of the best players in baseball had fractured his ankle last night.  Currently the news stories do not have the extent of the injury to Derek Jeter, but they do relate that he is done for the post-season and then a 3 month recovery.  I am also sure that a CT scan and MRI are pending if not already done to determine the damage and treatment.

Many people are not aware that podiatrists are foot and ANKLE specialists.  Everyday, I treat ankle sprains and we do also see ankle fractures.  It is important to treat ankle fractures promptly because if the joint is disrupted from the fracture it can lead to traumatic arthritis.  This can be a lifelong problem that will need treatment with bracing and even sometimes a surgical ankle fusion to manage the pain.

UPDATE (on 10-16-12): It looks like Derek Jeter will have surgery to repair his fractured ankle.  I have not seen x-rays to know but usually this means the ankle joint is out of alignment and surgical repair is an attempt to allow the ankle to heal in proper alignment and reduce the chance for further problems.

High Heel Horror

I just found an interesting article on yahoo regarding "dangerous" high heels.  The article can be found here: http://shine.yahoo.com/the-thread-how-to/scariest-shoes-time-173900092.html

Needless to say, these shoes are not podiatrist approved!  It doesn't take a professional opinion to conclude these shoes are an accident waiting to happen.

Kobe Bryant's "Mild Foot Discomfort"

I admit that I am not a huge basketball fan, but I do keep an eye on the sports headlines.  Being a podiatrist, a recent headline caught my attention.  It turns out that yesterday Kobe Bryant missed both LA Laker practices with "mild foot discomfort."  I am sure one of the greatest basketball players of all time will be closely evaluated but anyone can take note of this headline.  Foot pain is not normal!  If Kobe Bryant would have tried to "work through it" he could have made the condition much worse.  I can not tell you how many times I see a patient who waited several months or even a year with significant foot pain.  This patient is much harder to treat as the condition has often worsened.  As with most things the sooner you deal with an issue, the easier it is to resolve.  Moral of the story: foot pain is not normal and we should take it seriously.