Podiatrist's Top 10 Recommendations to Alleviating Foot Pain!

Podiatrist Top 10 Recommendations 

to Alleviate Foot Pain

The Basics

1. Stop Walking Barefoot. This is absolutely crucial! We are living longer and we are living on concrete floors. It's your feet versus the concrete and the concrete is going to win. Walking barefoot leads to arthritic joint changes, degenerative joint disease, stress fractures, tendonitis, and promotes knee, hip and lower back pain (to name a few). If you do not stop walking barefoot, the foot pain will never resolve.

2. Stop walking around the house wearing only socks. Socks offer only minimal cushioning and they offer zero protection for your joints against the ravages of time and concrete floors. Socks are great for sleeping in or wearing with excellent shoes, but not walking in. The best socks to get are microfiber socks or any man-made fiber socks, which are far superior to cotton socks. 

3. Stop wearing flip-flops. Wearing flip-flops is better than walking barefoot, but not much. Even the 'best' flip-flops aren't good enough for your feet as they do not have the added protection of having rearfoot strapping, which I will discuss later in this article. 

4. Stop wearing flimsy bedroom slippers. Flimsy is bad. Ninety percent of slippers are flimsy and they offer only minimal protection for your foot joints. The world is full of flimsy shoes and bedroom slippers because that is what sells and that is what people think they need, but what actually feels much more comfortable and is better for your foot is to have a solid, supportive shoe with a thick, rigid and non-flexible sole. Like a firm mattress that has a cushioned top cover for more comfort, the same idea works with shoes. You need a firm, rigid sole (for more protection and support for your foot) and then it needs a cushioned top. 

5. As a bedroom slipper, I've listed your best options below. The only time that you should be barefoot and standing is when you are in the shower. I would recommend that you get a cushioned shower mat to stand while in the shower. As soon as you get out of the shower (or bath), step onto a thick, cushioned rug and, right after you dry yourself, immediately put on your bedroom slippers. If you get up to go to the bathroom in the middle of the night, step down directly into your slippers and then stand up and go to the bathroom. At our office, we treat a great deal of injuries that are caused by people walking barefoot between the bed and the bathroom in the middle of the night. Wearing a good slipper will prevent injuries as well as prevent falls for geriatric patients. 

Crocs Specialist (with no vents)

Don't purchase the Specialist Crocs that have the vents as they aren't as good. Crocs don't work as well for patients who have narrow feet because they tend to be wide. If you order these online, you need to order the next size up as they only come in full sizes. For instance, if you wear a size 7.5, then order an 8. If you wear a size 8, then order a 9. If your toes are touching the end of the Croc, then they are too small. If they feel too big, then that is the correct size. Remember, you have to be able to slip into them without fussing with the rear foot strap because you are using them as a bedroom slipper. They are only meant to be worn to get you from the bed to the bathroom and while you are puttering around in the morning. Once you are ready for your day, put on better shoes, such as the New Balance choices listed below.

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Fleece Crocs

The fleece Crocs are a great choice if you live in a cold environment or if your feet tend to be cold. If you have severe athlete's foot or sweaty feet, this may not be your best choice. 

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Orthofeet Diabetic Slippers 

This is my favorite choice for geriatric patients because they can slip into it easily and it offers great stability. It only has minimal rearfoot control, but the sole is extremely supportive. If Crocs don't work for you, this is an excellent choice.  

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Orthoheel Vionix Relax Slippers

This is another great choice for geriatric patients. It is easy to slip into and the sole is supportive and it has excellent arch support. 

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Birkenstock Sandals

For patients who don't like to wear enclosed shoes, the Birkenstock sandal is a good choice. Also, if you have sweaty feet, hot feet or chronic athlete's foot infections, the Birkenstock sandals is an excellent choice.

6. Wear only excellent shoes! This doesn't mean that you have to spend a fortune on shoes. This only means that you have to know what you are looking for when shopping for new shoes. For a shoe to be good enough for your feet, they must meet these three criteria, which are listed below:

7. Only wear shoes that have a thick, rigid and non-flexible sole. This concept is counterintuitive, but extremely important. If you are wearing a shoe that is flimsy and flexible, then you are allowing too much motion through your foot joints, which causes joint damage such as osteoarthritis and degenerative joint changes as well as stress fractures, tendinitis, and mechanical strain. For example, if you are recovering from a Lisfranc's Injury and you have just gotten out of a below-the-knee walking boot, then the last thing you want to do is wear a flexible shoe that re-aggravates the injury. You have to continue to protect your foot with a thick, rigid sole that never allows motion through the injured joint. And, yes, that is for the rest of your life. 

8. Only wear shoes with a wide toe-box. Pointy-toed shoes cause constant pressure and irritation to the toes, which causes bunions, hammertoes, ingrown toenails, corns, Morton's Neuroma's, and joint damage. It is important that you wear shoes with a wide and preferably soft toe box.   

9. Only wear shoes with rearfoot control. The reason why flip-flops don't work for anyone is that, without rearfoot strapping, then you are forced to scrunch down your toes to stay in the flip-flop, which causes more mechanical strain on your tendons, ligaments, and joints. It also increases your risk of injury as well as strain to your knees, hips and lower back. 

10. Wear arch support. Even if you think that you don't need arch support, the analogy I use is that bridges have arches and engineers put struts under bridges to help decrease stress and strain. Unless you are one of the ten percent of people who cannot tolerate arch support, then I would recommend trying either custom-molded orthotics or at least an excellent over-the-counter insert. Talk to your podiatrist about getting orthotics. Also, most podiatrist offices carry excellent over-the-counter inserts that are much less expensive and quite effective. The over-the-counter insert I recommend is Powersteps, which I've listed below. 

Powerstep Inserts

Best Shoe Choices:

Women's New Balance 928

The NB 928 is an excellent choice for anyone with foot pain. I always recommend that you go to the New Balance store to try them on and get properly measured. Try to go shopping after 2pm when your foot is a little more swollen and ask the store personel to measure your feet. If there is any pressure on your toes, go up a half size or width. Before you purchase the shoe, double check and make sure that the forefoot sole is not bending or flexing! Ten percent of shoes can be defective, poorly made or broken. Do not buy any shoes that have a sole that is bending or flexing. It's a waste of time, money and it defeats the purpose.

Women's New Balance 1540

If the NB 928 is not to your liking, the NB 1540 is a great second choice. It's not as good as the NB 928, but it is still better than anything else that I've found in the stores.

Women's Hoka One One Stinson ATR

This is a great choice for anyone with plantar fasciitis as it has amazing extra cushioning for the foot. Be aware that the toe box tends to run narrow. 

Remember, if your foot hurts then follow up with your local podiatrist for x-rays and a full evaluation. Avoid surgery and pursue conservative treatment first. 

Have a great day!

Dr. Cathleen A. McCarthy 

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Thinking About Foot Surgery? Ten Things You Need To Think About BEFORE You Have Foot Surgery.

Ten Things You Need To Think About

BEFORE 

You Have Foot Surgery.

1. You need to exhaust conservative treatment before you decide to have foot surgery.

Assuming that you are having foot pain, before you have foot surgery you should try three months of this regimen: no barefoot walking, no walking around the house in just socks, no flip-flops, and no flimsy bedroom slippers. You should be wearing RX Crocs in the house as a bedroom slipper and you should try New Balance 928 or 1540 with custom-molded orthotics. If you cannot get a custom-molded insert, try over-the-counter inserts such as Powerstep or Superfeet. 

Even if you have surgery and you get a perfect result, if you are not doing these things and wearing proper shoes after the surgery - you are setting yourself up for more foot problems and a higher risk of the problem coming back. Yes, bunions can reoccur - even after a successful surgery.

2. The goal of foot surgery is to take an abnormal painful foot and turn it into an abnormal non-painful foot. 
A common misconception of foot surgery is that, after the surgery, you are going to have a normal foot that is cosmetically pleasing. Of course, that is the desired outcome but in reality - the goal of foot surgery is to have a non-painful and cosmetically pleasing foot that functions well in proper shoegear and orthotics. 

I've been running an unoffical patient survey for years. I ask patients who had foot surgery years ago if they were pleased with the outcome and, if they could go back in time, would they do it again. Eighty percent of patients say they are not happy with the outcomes and that it was more painful and took longer to heal then they originally thought and that they would not do it again. About twenty percent of patients are happy with the results and say they would do it again.


3. The only time you should consider elective foot surgery (meaning it is not an emergency situation) is if conservative treatment has failed and you have hit a point where you are having so much pain that you can't do your normal daily activities.
Years ago, an elderly gentleman came into the office for a second opinion on whether or not he should have bunion surgery. 
As he was taking off his shoes I asked, "Does your bunion hurt?" When he said that the bunion didn't hurt, I said, "Then don't have surgery." He started laughing and said, "Aren't you going to wait for me to take off my shoes?" I told him that he was eighty-two years old and if his bunions didn't hurt, he doesn't need surgery. 

My experience has been that if you do a bunion surgery on an older but active patient and have them elevate and rest their foot for six weeks - that person might like resting too much and might not want to get up and get going after they are healed. If you are active and your bunions don't hurt - let's keep you active and enjoying life. 

4. If any doctor guarentees the outcome of your surgery - RUN!
In medicine, there are exceptions to every rule and there are no guarentees - especially with surgery. When you sign a pre-op consent for any surgical procedure, you are signing that you understand that a possible outcome of the procedure is everything from infection, chronic pain, failure of the implant, disability and possibly death (to name a few). 


5. Be proactive and get a second opinion. 
If you line up ten different doctors, you are going to get ten different opinions. It's frustrating but true. 

As a patient, you have to be proactive. Do your research, ask questions and get a second and even third opinion. A good doctor is not offended or intimidated by a patient getting a second opinion. If your doctor is offended by you getting a second opinion then that is his or her problem. Your decision to have surgery and choose the surgeon is not about their pride - it's about you making the best decision possible and gathering information is an important part of the decision making process. 

6. Foot surgery is more subtle and complex than you think - the foot heals slower, hurts more and swells more because while you are trying to heal it, you are walking on it. 
Because the foot is weight-bearing, recovering from a foot injury or surgery can be frustrating. If you break your nose, it's going to heal much faster than your foot because you are not walking around on your nose. 

Hammertoe surgery sounds easy but is one of the more subtle and complex surgeries. It's actually quite easy to do the surgery. What's hard is getting good results. I have a practice full of ladies who had this surgery twenty-plus years ago and are very uphappy with the results. Their toes are not cosmetically pleasing and often still have painful corns and ulcerations.  

7. After foot surgery, you can have swelling and low grade pain for up to one year. 
This may not be the case but you should expect that there is a good chance that this will occur. The best way to prevent this from happening is to be compliant with the post-op plan that your surgeon will reveiw with you. If you are non-compliant and do too much walking and do not enough rest and elevate your foot after the surgery - you dramatically increase the chance of having more pain and swelling. 

8. If you think you can have foot surgery and you will be able to wear ballet slippers and flip-flops and walk barefoot - you are kidding yourself. 
Of course, you can have the foot surgery and continue to wear poor shoegear but there is a high probability of eventually developing more foot issues and possibly getting a re-occuarnce of the original foot problem. 

Think of it like this, if you went through all the time, money and pain of getting a foot surgery - why wouldn't you protect that investment with proper shoes and orthotics? 

Not doing so is the equivalent of getting skin cancer and, after getting all the cancerous lesions surgically excised, deciding that you don't need to wear sunscreen. 

Protect your investment!

9. If you are not compliant with your surgeon's post-operative plan, you are going to sabotage the success of your surgical outcome.
The next time someone tells you their 'nightmare' bunion story - ask them if they did what their surgeon advised them to do. Did they stay in their surgical shoe or CAM Walker for the allotted time? Did they rest, elevate and ice their foot? Did they take the time off from work that was recommended so that the foot would have time to heal? The fair amount of 'nightmare bunion' stories come from patient non-compliance. Did you know that if you have hammertoe surgery and do too much activity or are non-compliant that you can get a complication called 'sausage toe'? Having a toe that looks like a fat, ugly, red sausage is one of the dreaded complications of hammertoe surgery. It's difficult to treat and patients get very upset. The typical response is they want their hammertoe back! 

If you have done your homework and found a good surgeon then you have a responsibility to follow post-op protocol so you can get the best possible result. I can't stress this enough - rest and elevate your foot. Stay in the surgical shoe or CAM walker as directed by your surgeon. Take off time from work if you are able. 

Overall, if you are compliant - you will get much better results, have less pain and have a more cosmetically pleasing foot. 

10. Make sure whoever is doing your surgery is Board Certified. 
If I had to have foot surgery, I know exactly who I'm going to! 

And you can bet that that Podiatrist is Board Certified. 

When I completed my residency, I took the first part of a two part  National Surgical Board exam and passed, which made me Board Qualified. Once you are Board Qualified, you have seven years to do 'x' amount of surgeries and put together case reports on each of these. Once you submit the required number of cases, then you do  the second part of the exam where you are grilled by other Board Certified Surgeons who test you face to face on the cases that you have submitted. It is a grueling process. 

Three years after I became Board Qualified, I faced an ethical question. I wasn't doing enough surgeries. If I wanted to become Board Certified then I had to start doing way more surgeries so that I could get the numbers I needed to be eligible to apply for the second part of the exams. The problem was - how was I supposed to get the numbers that was required unless I started doing surgery on people who I did not think needed surgery?

I came to the conclusion that I would no longer do surgical procedures. I still do simple procedures in the office but I would no longer do the more complex surgeries. Currently, if I have a patient who needs surgery, I will refer them to a Board Certified Surgeon. 

Make that Eleven...

11. Check the state board to see if your surgeon is being sued for malpractice. All surgeons eventually get sued but if your surgeon has a high number of malpractice cases - that is a red flag.  
Your state board of Podiatry has a websight where you can look up any malpractice cases that are filed against your surgeon. Every surgeon is going to eventually get sued for malpractice - that's just a fact of life for surgeons. But, if your surgeon has an excessive number of malpractice cases - get a second opinion from another surgeon. Ask your Primary Care Physician or other Specialists who he or she would recommend - other doctors are an invaluable source of information. 


If I have to leave you with one final thought - do not rush into foot surgery. The only time you should consider foot surgery is if you have reached a point where you have tried everything and nothing works and the pain is so bad that you are unable to do your normal daily activites. 

For more information, check out my two articles in this blog, which you can find by using the 'search' box):

"My foot hurts - top ten things to alleviate foot pain today."

"Shoe recommendations for patients recovering from Lisfranc's fractures"

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On a non-Podiatry note, check out my new novel 'Gunning For Angels', which is available as an ebook on Kindle. 

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Thank you so much for your support!

:)