Basic Steps to Take Care Of Your Body

Image via WikipediaIf you're aiming to keep yourself in good physical shape, especially with advancing age, it is never really too late. When it comes to healthy living, there is no age limit and starting off with a well-balanced diet comprising of fruits, nuts, green leafy vegetables, fish, and a right serving of meat is the initial step.

Next is proper exercise to promote muscle tone and increase blood circulation which is actually great for your heart and lungs. Always remember to take your daily doses of vitamins and minerals. It is also important to eat foods rich in antioxidants, this will help reduce free radicals and could prevent cancer. These are beans (red, red kidney), berries (wild berries, blue berries), vegetables (spinach, kale), and even coffee, rich in antioxidants.

Another important aspect of keeping your body healthy is of course is to prevent any kind of injury as much as possible. If you have sustained an injury or in any kind of chronic pain, seek medical attention immediately.

One of the most ignored injures of the body is probably anything involving the foot. At times, we can manage or treat any kind of heel or foot pain with pain relievers, a simple massage or placing ice packs on the affected area. But when the pain persists in spite of all these simple treatments, we tend to take more pain relievers than usual. When the injury is not managed properly, this can lead to chronic foot pain. All sorts of foot pain conditions like plantar fasciitis, bunion or Achilles tendinitis can occur and with these kinds of conditions, it is best to consult a podiatrist.

Family Foot and Leg Center is a medical center specializing in healing health issues with lower leg and ankle. Come to us to get treatment for all your foot and lower leg disorders.

Do Not Ignore Your Heel Pain

Image via WikipediaHeel pain affects hundreds of people each year. Sad to say, this health condition is mostly ignored in America. Statistics show that foot injuries in America are very common compared to other parts of the body. Surprisingly, the feet rank lowest on the list of body parts and functions that Americans consider important to their health according to the American Podiatric Medical Association.

The condition of the foot is directly proportional to a person's quality of life and health. When our feet are functioning normally and in good condition, we can do about anything and have a normal, pain-free life, without any kind of limitations.

However, when the foot is under some sort of pathologic condition and is experiencing even the slightest pain, this could mean all sorts of health conditions like diabetes, arthritis, obesity, circulatory problems and a lot more.

Most often, Americans don't seek a podiatrist even when experiencing foot pain and usually self medicate by taking pain relievers. This practice provides only temporary relieve and in fact, this can cause more injury to the foot.

We experience foot pain when there is something wrong with its biomechanics. This could be an inflamed fascia, a torn ligament, a slight fracture or even just a minor irritation. This pain tells the brain not put too much pressure to the affected foot, that's why we sometimes limp when we walk. Sometimes, when pain is severe, we are forced to rest and lay immobilized even if we don't want to. This has an important purpose, as resting the foot allows it to heal itself. Now, if we take pain medications this healing process is skipped and can lead to further injury or worse: chronic heel or foot pain.

Family Foot and Leg Center is a medical center specializing in healing health issues with lower leg and ankle. Come to us to get treatment for all your foot and lower leg disorders.

The Use of ESWT for Heel Pain and Other Joint Pains

Extracorporeal Shock Wave Therapy or ESWT is a new treatment used for heel pain, foot pain, various types of joint pains. This new medical device is approved in the US by the FDA for treating foot pain due to plantar fasciitis and tennis elbow. There are many more future approvals from the FDA with the use of ESWT for other health conditions like Achilles tendinitis, patella tendinitis and a lot more.

ESWT is a unique treatment because it stimulates the natural healing properties of the body and can cure chronic pain. There are two theories on how this device promotes tissue healing:

1. The shock waves produced by ESWT machine induces microscopic injuries to the affected area, creating new growth of vascularisation. Increased vascularisation means more blood flow to the injured muscle tissues, ligaments and tendons.

2. Since there are tiny injuries produced by shock wave, the body naturally treats the newly induced injuries and at the same time heals old joint injuries that the body has been ignoring or desensitized to. This makes ESWT very ideal for treating chronic pain.

Extracorporeal is a medical term which means that a medical procedure is done outside the body. It is a low-risk and non-invasive procedure with minimal or no side effects.

The procedure is simple and is very similar to ultrasound. First, the damaged tissue is located around the painful area of the body. Once the targeted tissue is found, multiple shock waves are introduced to create micro injuries which actually help to induce the natural healing process, creating new tissue growth and therefore repairing new or chronically damaged tendons.

This is all done in just 30 minutes and depending on the extent of damage, it may require successive sessions to treat the pain. Some patients feel mild discomfort after the procedure. For some, the pain relief is observed with a single treatment while for others, heel pain is relief is gradual with ESWT treatment.

Things You Should Know About Heel Pain

Image via WikipediaHeel pain is probably the most common foot problem in adults. It occurs mostly among active individuals, people who are overweight, those using improper of footwear, females, and those who have reached the age of 40 and above.

While walking, the foot has a vital role of absorbing all the weight of the body. At the same time, the feet help provide stability and balance. The foot has a total of 26 bones and the heel bone is the largest.

The heel is the part of the foot that first comes in contact with the ground while walking. Daily walking or other activities like running or jogging can put stress to the heel. Over time, this stress can result to injury to the heel leading to heel pain.

At first, heel pain is only minimal and is quite tolerable. This is commonly ignored because the heel naturally heals itself and the pain usually disappears. But in some cases, the healing process is overcome with the constant injury induced by daily activities. If this is not addressed properly and again ignored, this can lead to heel pain.

The occurrence of chronic heel pain happens when an acute pain is managed with pain medications. Pain relievers help alleviate or totally stop the pain. This is an improper way of treating foot pain because it can mask foot problems which can actually get more severe in the future. When the pain is gone we continue to use the injured foot instead of resting it and giving it time to heal.

Heel pain in general can be caused by several factors but commonly involves injury to the plantar fascia (plantar fasciitis) and the Achilles tendon (Achilles tendonitis). In some cases, the cause is muscle tension and strain. Bone formation can occur due to the inflammatory response called periostitis. The bone always grows towards the pulling and can cause severe pain.

Whenever heel pain is felt, it is best to consult a podiatrist or foot doctor at once for proper evaluation.