Dr. Mark Reed & Dr. Brian Constantine Blog Page

Plantar Fasciitis

Mon, 27 Dec 2021 19:26:17 GMT

Heel Pain / Plantar Fasciitis Treatment

PLANTAR FASCIITIS: A thick ligament, called the plantar fascia is attached to the bottom of the heel and fans out into the ball of the foot. The plantar fascia is made of dense, fibrous connective tissue. If there is excessive pronation (flattening) of the foot during walking, the plantar fascia weakens and tears in the arch or where it attaches into the heel bone causing pain. After rest, pain is most severe as the plantar fascia is stretched out with weight bearing. The diagnosis of heel pain and heel spurs is made by a thorough history of the course of the condition and by physical exam that may include weight bearing x-rays. Plantar Fasciitis treatment involves calf muscle stretching with the use of a night splint to keep the plantar fascia tears stretched that includes supportive shoes and insoles. A functional foot orthotic maybe prescribed and fitted by your foot doctor to control pronation. Surgery to correct heel pain is rarely indicated as cortisone injections. For many trying home treatment, is a long frustrating journey. Please consider making an appointment with Dr. Mark Reed who has healed thousands of patients with plantar fasciitis.

My First Blog Post

mark.reed.dpm@gmail.com (Mark Reed) — Mon, 23 Jan 2017 05:34:36 GMT

Bunion Correction - A Conservative Perspective!

Bunion - "The Turnip"

The word "bunion" is derived from the Latin word for "turnip". The deformity can be described as a misalignment of the big toe joint as it spreads away from the rest of the foot due to the ligament between the first and second knuckle bones in the ball of the foot becomes stretched. The concept that a bunion is a large bump is really a complete misnomer because there are no large bumps on the side of the big toe joint but the bump is due to the angle of the big toe moving toward the second toe. Correction surgically can be complicated, but simply stated it is to bring the big toe back to alignment next to the second knuckle joint.

We have had many patients that are seeking bunion surgery and second opinions from aggressively inexperienced Podiatrists in the area. Our approach is to initially treat a bunion deformity conservatively and only use surgery as a last resort. A survey of the internet reveals there are way too many Podiatrist selling bunion surgery with crazy claims such as painless bunion surgery, laser bunion surgery and no incision bunion surgery. The facts are bunions progressively get worse over time and the sooner you treat it conservatively, the better the outcome will be. If your parents or grandparents have bunions, chances are you will have them too! We inherit our foot type from our family, and our foot type can cause strain in tendons and ligaments from daily walking. This constant straining can result in a painful bunion formation. Therefore, it is imperative to have it checked out at the earliest signs using an X-ray, or even before they start occurring if your family members have them!

Bunions form as the result of the bones, tendons, and ligaments shifting over time. If you feel like your bunion occurred over night, or within a week, chances are that it has been there for a while and you just never noticed it. Most patients do not pay close attention to their feet unless they have pain or an injury.

Treatment for bunions can vary widely depending on the degree of severity. Initially, modifying shoe gear proves most effective, and using a toe silicone spacer. Increasing your shoe's width, and not size, will prevent a lot of irritation and rubbing to the area. Wearing supportive shoes and inserts, known as foot orthotics, will hold your entire foot in better alignment and prevent a lot of strain to the tendons and ligaments in your foot. The orthotics will help prevent the progression of the bunion as rapidly as it naturally occurs. Padding the area of irritation also proves successful. Many times, if the area is inflamed, there may be fluid from the inflammation, and steroid injections or oral medications can help decrease the inflammation and soft tissue swelling. If the pain becomes constant and inhibits your daily activities, even after trying all of the aforementioned treatments, surgical options should be explored. There are two major bunion surgeries for mild to moderate bunions and severe bunions. For mild to moderate bunion deformities, typically with surgery, the patient remains weight bearing in a walker boot for approximately 4 to 8 weeks and will then gradually transition into a sneaker and then into normal shoes/high heels. For severe bunion deformities, non-weight bearing in a knee scooter for two months is the standard recovery until X-ray healing has been demonstrated. Recovery time includes resting, elevating, icing the foot, and mild physical therapy once healed.

As a patient, if you notice any abnormalities to your foot, please come in and have it checked out as soon as possible. The method for evaluation is to take annual X-rays to assess the severity of the bunion deformity and to also evaluate if any arthritis has occurred. The sooner a proper preventative treatment plan is implemented, the better the outcome will be in the future in preventing the progression of the bunion and correcting the deformity if medically necessary. To make an appointment, call the Podiatry Office of Dr. Mark Reed and Dr. Brian Constantine at 714-528-3668.

10 Reasons You Should Love Blogging

mark.reed.dpm@gmail.com (Mark Reed) — Mon, 23 Jan 2017 05:34:36 GMT

Blog posts are a great way to get recognized within your community and share your voice. Here are the top 10 reasons you should love writing blog posts.

Anyone can make one:
For better or worse, anyone can write a blog post about anything they want. Everyone has a voice and the best voices will rise to the top.

The writer can show their personality:
In blog posts, the writer has more leeway to add in their voice and personality than other types of writing.

Blogs are a great form of mass communication:
You can help people, learn new things, entertain your audience—the possibilities are endless and amazing. Blogging opens up all of these to a very wide audience.

You can make money:
Get the right blog going and you can make a lot of money through advertising and sponsored posts.

It allows people to craft better thoughts:
Instead of reading haphazard, uneducated Facebook statuses, it’s much better to see people’s thought process in a well-written blog post.

You can establish a community:
Blogging allows you to connect with other individuals who share the same interests. Sharing ideas and opinions within your community helps establish yourself as a thought leader.

Good for SEO:
Keeping content on your site fresh and relevant, you can use your blog to boost the search engine ranking (SEO) of your site and your business.

It brings people back to your site:
If your blog is strong enough and updated regularly, people will come back looking for more and bring traffic back to your site as well.

It’s free:
It costs you a grand total of zero dollars to post to the blog, so if you have something to say, there’s nothing to stop you.

You can establish yourself as a thought leader:
A blog is a great place for your original thoughts, and it can be a wonderful way to show off your individuality. If people like your ideas, you can become a thought leader in your industry!

What else do you love about blogs? Let me know!