Kobe Bryant's Scar

There has been a lot of talk recently regarding Kobe Bryant's quick recovery from his achilles tendon surgical repair.  Not to down-play this recovery, but being a physician who has performed several achilles tendon repairs, I noticed something about this scar.  When looking at it, I notice that it is obviously healed well, but I also notice that the scar stops further up on the ankle.  To me, this means that he likely didn't require a more complex repair that often involves some detachment of the tendon from the heel bone.  In this case, the repair, though still very successful, has a much longer recovery time.  This is because hardware is often used to reattach the achilles tendon to the heel.  In this case, the patient must partake in a much more gradual return to activity, especially to perform at the high level needed to play in the NBA.

If you have any achilles tendon problems, keep in mind that it is important to address them and not wait.  Patients who wait have a much higher chance of needing surgical correction.

It's That Time of Year Again

I admit I am a bit late talking about this, but being from the North I am not quite used to putting up Christmas decorations in 75 degree weather.  As the holiday season approaches, may of us are undoubtedly busy and on our feet.  Some of us do a lot more walking with all our holiday shopping than we are used to.  Our feet and ankles don't like this sudden increase in activity and this is when we set ourselves up for "overuse injuries."  These injuries include: stress fractures, tendonitis, plantar fasciitis, as well as pain from any arthritis that might be present.

Of course we want to avoid foot and ankle pain, so the best advice I can give is to wear a supportive shoe.  If you do experience foot pain after a long day shopping, icing is a safe way to bring down pain and inflammation.  If the icing still does not help, do not put off seeing a podiatrist as often these conditions can just worsen and be more difficult to deal with and also take longer to treat.

"Shape-up" shoes

I am sure everyone is aware of these shoes.  They claim to help "tone" your lower body.  I do have patients that say they like these shoes.  However, there are several lawsuits over these shoes not doing what they said they were going to do.  One woman in Ohio is also suing for causing a stress fracture in her foot.  I tell my patients that I believe shape-up type shoes take away the effects of a tight achilles tendon.  This is also known as "ankle equinus."  When wearing them with the rocker bottom, the foot does not have to compensate as much.  This is fine if you are going to wear these shoes all the time, but most people still want to wear other shoes or sandals and end up with foot pain.  I have even had a patient train for a marathon in them and she developed significant tendonitis because of this.  Thankfully, we were able to get her running again with treatment.