Blog Archive
Living with a hammertoe can be uncomfortable and frustrating. Hammertoes are a common foot condition, and many individuals wonder whether they truly need treatment or can simply live with the discomfort. Our experienced medical team at Washington Foot & Ankle Sports Medicine in Kirkland, Washington, will explain the importance of...
Ingrown toenails can be a painful ordeal. Most of us have experienced the discomfort of an ingrown toenail at least once. While it may seem tempting to try and treat it at home, knowing when your ingrown toenail requires professional treatment is essential. The board-certified team of experts at Washington...
If you experience back pain regularly, you’re not alone. Over 72 million Americans suffer from chronic back pain. Causes of back pain vary and may result from sitting or laying down too long, overexerting yourself, or an underlying disease. But did you know your footwear could cause back pain? Are...
Shin splints are a painful condition that commonly affects runners. The experienced team of experts at Washington Foot & Ankle Sports Medicine specializes in preventing and treating musculoskeletal wear-and-tear injuries of the lower extremities, including shin splints. Here’s what you need to know about reducing your risk of developing shin splits: 1. Wear the right...
Pediatric foot issues are common and can significantly impact a child’s overall well-being. Many foot and ankle problems affect your child’s mobility and comfort. The dedicated team of experts at Washington Foot & Ankle Sports Medicine specializes in diagnosing and treating pediatric foot conditions. Let’s discuss the five most common...
Plantar fasciitis occurs when the band of tissue connecting your heel to your toes (plantar fascia) becomes inflamed, causing sharp pain when putting weight on the injured foot. The inflammation can lead to you avoiding moving about, bringing down your quality of life, and potentially causing other health problems. At...
You may have wondered what was wrong if you’ve ever felt major pain in your shins while running or exercising. You probably have an extremely common condition known as shin splints. Shin splints can hobble many runners and keep them from exercise while they heal. But fortunately, you can take...
Spraining your ankle badly can cause chronic ankle instability. Spraining an ankle is not an injury that you want to leave alone to heal itself. Proper care and treatment can help to prevent long term or permanent damage. There are a variety of techniques you can use to treat the...
Injuring your ankle or foot can present a setback. You may wonder if you’ll ever feel normal and healthy again. This form of trauma can cause a difficult recovery. The good news is that you can regain your full functioning again. But unfortunately, it doesn’t usually happen on its own. You usually...
Bunions often start as something fairly minor. You can manage it on your own if you catch a bunion in its early stages. Home care solutions for bunion treatment usually require wearing medicated pads to reduce discomfort as the bunion rubs against the side of your shoe. But other times,...
You’re certainly not alone if you’re a regular runner and your toenails are black. Black toenails are caused by a blood blister or a bruise underneath the nail. It’s both unpleasant to look at and also a sort of pride for runners. It’s also a form of foot trauma caused...
If you’ve twisted your ankle or sprained it, you can sometimes wait it out at home. Some self-care measures for a sprained ankle work well to manage the condition yourself. It’s a common trauma that can get worse if left alone. However, other times you have to seek professional care. Following a...
If you suffer from low back pain, your problems may actually be caused by your feet. You may not think about your feet very often, but they do an essential job of helping your whole body move. When your feet suffer, it stresses other parts of your body, including your...
Athlete’s foot is a prevalent foot infection spread by a fungus called tinea pedis and thrives in warm, wet environments. Because athletes often spend a lot of time in these environments, that’s the origin of the infection’s name. But if you catch a case of athlete’s foot, you may find...
You are probably committed to working out if you have a regular exercise habit. You strive to perfect your form and your body. But as with most things, getting too much of a good thing is possible. Overtraining is a common topic in sports medicine. If you exercise regularly and don’t...
It’s not uncommon for adults to need to see a podiatrist, but you might not expect to need to take a child for a visit. But children often need to visit a podiatrist to deal with a plantar wart, which is not unusual. Plantar warts are much more common among...
If you wake up in the morning and feel immediate pain when you get on your feet, you may have plantar fasciitis. You may feel it as a stabbing pain in your heel or you may feel like the bottoms of your feet are bruised. Plantar fasciitis is a very common...
If you have bunions, you probably deal with a lot of discomforts. They can make it difficult to stand and walk. If you don’t get them taken care of, they can eventually even alter your walking pattern (called your gait). Bunions are bony growths on your foot. They can start out...
Your posture affects more than just how you look. Your posture also affects your entire body, including your digestion, headaches, and your breathing. Chronically poor posture is also linked to neck and head pain and can even lead to arthritis. But there’s more that you can do about your posture...
Heel spurs are one of the most common foot problems, affecting about 2 million people in the US each year, or about 15% of the population. When you have heel spurs, it can make it difficult and even painful for you to walk. This condition tends to be the most...
Bunions are a very common problem that can affect your feet. Usually, in the early stages, bunions don’t cause pain. But over time, they can cause a lot more pain. These common growths on your feet can have a genetic cause, although they can have other causes as well. It’s...
Having rheumatoid arthritis affects almost every part of your body. But often, one of the first parts of your body to be affected is your feet. The inflammation that’s characteristic of rheumatoid arthritis is different from the wear-and-tear associated with osteoarthritis. Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is associated with flat feet, with...
When you’re choosing shoes for your child’s feet, you need to consider a lot of factors. You might be tempted to use hand-me-downs from an older child or choose shoes based on fashion, but price and style shouldn’t be your only considerations. The choice of shoes for your child has...
If you’ve got an ingrown toenail, you’re probably used to walking around with a lot of pain. Ingrown toenails are very common and many people get them. While you might feel like you can treat it yourself, it’s not a good idea to let it go untreated for too long....
Having foot pain in the morning is enough to almost make you dread getting out of bed. If your feet hurt as soon as you put pressure on them in the morning, you might assume that you have plantar fasciitis. Although plantar fasciitis is a very common cause of foot...
When you get custom orthotics made for your shoes, it affects more than just your feet. Orthotics have a powerful impact on your health, including your posture. When your posture is correct, it can help your back pain, too. Poor posture is more than just slumping your shoulders or failure...
Athletes aren’t the only ones who can get athlete’s foot, despite the name. Athlete’s foot is actually a type of fungus and it’s extremely contagious. Anyone can get it, even if you’ve never played a sport in your life. The fungus that causes athlete’s foot (which is also the same...
Your gait is also known as the way that you walk and run. Even if you’re able to run with no problems, your gait could still be off, which could put you at a greater risk of experiencing an injury. When you get a gait analysis, we look at your...
Plantar fasciitis is a real problem. This condition causes intense pain, mostly in your heels, as a result of the plantar fascia becoming inflamed. The plantar fascia is a band of tissue that connects the balls of your feet to your heels. Plantar fasciitis can occur in anyone who stands...
Choosing the right shoes for your children is a more important decision than you might realize. You need to take more into consideration than fashion or affordability. Selecting the right shoes is critically important because it can impact your child’s foot development. Just as you would take the recommendations of...
If you play sports, you may not give much consideration to your feet and ankles. However, if you injure them, you may very well have a long time to think about them. Rather than waiting until you suffer an injury to consider protecting your feet and ankles, take steps now...
Ingrown toenails are common. Because of this, you may be tempted to see if one will go away on its own. This, however, wouldn't be the wise thing to do. There are several reasons why you should seek medical attention for an ingrown toenail, especially if you have diabetes. In...
Plantar fasciitis is a foot condition that causes sharp, stabbing pain in the heel. It usually causes the most pain when putting your feet down after a period of inactivity, such as when getting out of bed. If you have plantar fasciitis, there's hope. Plantar fasciitis is treatable, and it...
Heel spurs are a common cause of foot pain. Often associated with plantar fasciitis, heel spurs can make it uncomfortable to put pressure on your feet and can make it more difficult to live an active lifestyle. While heel spurs aren’t dangerous, they can be painful and limit your activities....
A bunion is a bony growth that forms at the base of the big toe. Because of their location, bunions can make walking and moving about uncomfortable. In this blog, the providers at Washington Foot & Ankle Sports Medicine explain what causes bunions, their signs and symptoms, and the treatment...
Some situations — such as recovering from an injury or being obese — can require that you avoid putting stress on your feet and ankles. However, this doesn’t mean you have to sit on the couch and avoid all physical activity. If you’re advised to avoid weight-bearing activities, we still...
More than 40 million Americans run on a regular basis. And it’s clear to see why, because it has numerous health benefits. Unfortunately, with running can come an increased risk for developing certain injuries. In fact, 80% of running injuries are due to the repetitive stress of the activity. Some...
The weather is starting to turn colder, and the days are getting shorter. We all know these signs mean winter will be here before we know it. If you’re a dedicated runner, you probably don’t let the weather stop you from your activity for several months of the year. However,...
Shin splints are a very common problem, especially among new runners and those who have been away from activity for a while. Even experienced runners can experience them if they overwork their muscles or rapidly increase the number of miles they run. The condition usually manifests as pain, soreness, or...
A broken toe isn’t usually the same kind of major emergency as, say, a broken wrist. But it can still cause a great deal of pain. Whether you got a broken toe as a result of running or stubbing your toe on the coffee table, it can cause pain and...
Overuse injuries happen more often than you might think. Perhaps you’ve experienced one yourself when you started training for your first marathon or got serious about fitness. Injuries to your ankles from overuse can feel a lot like a sprain, but the causes are different. Don’t let overuse injuries sideline...
If you live with lower back pain, you have a lot of company. Millions of Americans deal with acute lower back pain, and, unfortunately, this pain becomes chronic for 20% of sufferers. And when it comes to back pain, there’s one cause that’s often overlooked: your feet. The connection between...
Running barefoot brings up images of a carefree time, perhaps running in the backyard or down the beach to the ocean. However, it’s not just a fun thing to do here and there. It’s also a popular sport among serious athletes. “Barefoot” running often doesn’t mean running without footwear. It...
Heel spurs, which are bony growths on the heel, are a common foot condition experienced by many athletes. Heel spurs develop over time, and as they progress, you may notice redness and feel swelling or pain. You may also notice bony growths under the skin. However, many people don’t see...
Hammertoe is a painful condition that can sideline any runner. When you’d rather be out running, it’s a real bummer if you have to spend your time putting up your feet instead. Hammertoe, which is a condition that causes your toe to bend downward at the middle joint, typically affects...
Plantar fasciitis is the kind of condition that can keep runners sidelined on the couch. It’s a painful foot condition that’s often at its worst when walking after waking up or sitting for a while. If it gets bad enough, you may find it extremely painful just to move about,...
Pain in the feet and ankles is commonplace for arthritis sufferers, especially as aging causes a progression of the condition. The human foot has 30 joints, and each one can become a source of pain and stiffness. At Washington Foot & Ankle Sports Medicine in Kirkland, Washington, our podiatrists work...
You probably never think much about the heel of your foot until you develop a problem. Then it seems like your heel is all you can think about! Because it’s the biggest bone in your foot, your heel can be the source of pain and mobility problems. At Washington Foot...
Biomechanics is the science of human movement. It takes mechanical principles and applies them to how the human body moves. In podiatric medicine, biomechanics focuses on the forces that affect your feet and ankles. It looks at how your biomechanics can cause foot and ankle problems. When applied to sports...
If you’ve sprained your ankle, you may think that you just need to walk it off or take it easy for a few days. But what you may not know is that, without proper treatment, your ankle could still be a problem after it heals. A sprain can weaken your...
The components in your foot, which include muscles, bones, joints, and connective tissue, give it the flexibility you need to walk, run, and jump. Your arch runs along the bottom of your foot from your heel to the ball of your foot and helps bear some of the weight of...
It stands to reason that your feet are more likely to stay in good condition if they’re not stressed by the constant pressure of excess weight. The National Foot Health Assessment 2012 study performed for the Institute for Preventive Foot Health revealed that over half of survey takers who classified...
Bunions are fairly common: They’re reported in 23 percent of people 18 to 65, and in 36 percent of people older than 65. As such, many people might find them harmless and not needing to be addressed. However, in addition to pain and discomfort, bunions can cause long-term problems for...
Summer will soon be upon us. And this presents its own set of challenges for our feet. Whether you’re hiking, walking on the beach, or regularly wearing sandals, you’ll want to take some extra precautions to keep your feet happy and healthy during the upcoming season. At Run Doctor, Dr....
Are you struggling with foot pain but have no idea what might be causing it? If you’ve ditched the high heels, found some supportive shoes, and you’re still experiencing discomfort, it might not be what you’re wearing on your feet that’s the problem but how you’re using your feet. Everyday...
Running is a healthy pastime that can help you maintain an appropriate weight and improve your physical fitness. However, if you don't take the proper precautions, running can also lead to injuries. One of the most vulnerable parts of the body for runners is the ankle. Why are the ankles...
Heel pain is one of the more common types of foot pain, especially among athletes and very active people, as well as among older men and women. At Washington Foot & Ankle Sports Medicine, we help men and women relieve heel pain and related symptoms with custom orthotics, which are...
Plantar fasciitis is one of the most common causes of foot pain, especially among athletes, older adults, and people who spend a lot of time on their feet. If you’re very overweight or if you have a certain type of foot shape or walking style (gait), you can also be...
Hallux Valgus, a.k.a. the bunion, is a very common foot deformity that involves the subluxation of the first metatarsal, the bone right behind your big toe. While genetics plays a huge role in the development of this condition, lifestyle choices like footwear preferences may either cause or worsen the existing condition. Women...
If you’re dealing with chronic foot pain, wearing specially-made orthotics to help reduce those symptoms makes sense. After all, orthotics are designed to provide the extra support and cushioning your feet need to compensate for foot-related problems like arthritis, bunions, corns, and hammertoes, and they can also help correct problems with...
Faced with the endless possibilities in sporting goods or athletic apparel stores, there are a few standard methods people use to choose a running shoe. Some opt for the best-looking shoe. Others search the clearance racks for the best possible price. Some meticulously try on style after style until they...
An injury to the largest tendon in your body, the Achilles tendon, can be devastating. This tendon helps your foot move in just about every direction and is essential to walking and jumping. When it’s torn, surgery is often recommended, especially if you’re young and active. In fact, surgery is...