Dr. Dana Waters a podiatrist in Hillsborough and Piscataway, NJ explains how to treat ankle sprains at home. There are different treatments you can do at home, but if the pain persists you need to see a podiatrist.

How You Walk Shows Early Signs of Dementia and Alzheimer’s

The elderly population is booming and more than ever, people are living longer.  This is causing great energy in the medical community to explore diseases affecting our aging population.   Though we expect our bodies to age, it often troubles us to see ourselves or our loved ones have a decline in cognitive ability.  Alzheimer’s disease and Dementia can be a very painful disease for all involved.  New ways of detecting these diseases are being developed rapidly and now researchers are watching the way we walk to gain insight into our aging cognitive ability. 

The study of gait as it relates to medical pathology has been an increasing interest since the 1970’s.  You may notice that your podiatrist, orthopedist, physical therapist, or other health professionals take special interest in the way you walk.  Some offices now have gait labs that use state of the art technology to gain information about your walking patterns.  The way you walk gives great insight to a podiatrist on the cause or effect of different foot and ankle pathologies.  Gait analysis can be used to help train professional athletes to improve their performance, detect postural related pathology or injuries, and identify stroke patterns or other neuromuscular ailments.  Now science is discovering that our gait may give great insight into our cognitive ability.

In recent studies exploring gait patterns in the elderly population a correlation was found between a person’s gait pattern and their overall cognitive, memory, and executive function.   It appears that a person’s gait becomes slower and more variable as their cognitive function declines.  One study also evaluated brain atrophy using an MRI and found atrophy of the entorhinal cortex related to a decrease in gait velocity.  This portion of the brain functions as the center for a widespread network for memory and navigation.   Those patients with Dementia and Alzheimer’s disease showed measurable variations in gait compared to healthy individuals and as the severity of the disease increased.

Though it may seem logical that as we age we move slower, but these studies demonstrate gait to be much more dynamic than a simple, automatic, motor activity.  Gait is dependent on our cognitive ability and with cognitive decline, our ability to walk within normal parameters declines.  As the science of gait continues to evolve it may become common to have a doctor study your movements as you walk into the treatment room.  Examination of your gait may become as common as taking a blood pressure

Click here to have your gait analyzed by podiatrist in order to learn your chances of developing Alzheimer's Disease or Dementia. 

Peroneal Tendonitis: A Common Missed Problem in an Ankle Sprain

Below the outside ankle bone there are two tendons that can be easily injured during an ankle sprain.  These tendons are called the peroneals.  The longer tendon is called the peroneus longus and the shorter one, the peroneus brevis.

The function of these tendons is to turn the foot outward.  Most anklesprains occur when the foot and ankle roll inward causing an excessive amountof tension on these tendons.  The brevis tendon attaches to a bone on the outside of the foot, called the fifth metatarsal.  Due to this, it is very common to have the tendon pull off a piece of bone during a sprain.  When one sprains his ankle, most emergency room physicians will order only an ankle x-ray.  A foot x-ray is also needed to diagnose this fracture.

Ankle sprains are not the only cause of peroneal tendon injuries.  Feet with severe high arches will cause excessive strain on thetendon.  This is because the foot is naturally severely inverted (turned in).  Another culprit of peroneal tendonitis is direct trauma, so anything that hits or rubs against the tendon.  Besides the above causes, improper or abnormal shoe wear is a huge reason people get pain along these tendons.  Flip-flops allow the foot to move in all directions without any support and can cause a myriad of problems.  In addition, shoes with worn out sides cannot support the foot or ankle. 

When you have pain in this region, the doctor will first get an x-ray to rule-out a fracture. The next step is to treat this problem with the RICE method.  This is rest, ice, compression and elevation.  Depending on the severity of the pain or injury, you will either have a removable compression sleeve or a soft cast and a walking boot for a week or two.  If there is a fracture, then a hard cast and crutches might be necessary for 4-6weeks.  In really severe fractures, where the bone is displaced, surgical intervention is required.

Once the initial inflammation calms down, an injection of a steroid (anti-inflammatory) might be needed, as well as physical therapy to strengthen the area as well as to increase mobility and decrease swelling.  The final treatment would be a custom orthotic, which is an insert, made specifically for your foot, which will control the foot’s poor function. Family Foot & Ankle Specialists in Piscataway and Hillsborough NJ also offers a painless FDA approved laser to not only treat the pain but to help in the healing process of the tendon.   In very rare instances, the tendon is bogged down with scar tissue, and surgical intervention is needed to clean it out. 

As you can see, peroneal tendonitis is not something you want to ignore.  If you are suffering with this condition, go see your local podiatrist as soon as possible.  Remember, the faster you treat this, the quicker it will heal and get you back into the game.