Roethlisberger’s Shoe Made Out of Steel After Foot Injury.

The Pittsburgh Steelers will be taking a bit hit with Roesthlisberger’s foot. Originally reported as a foot sprained, some press releases are now reporting that the Steeler’s Quarterback has a broken bone in the foot. The official release from the Pittsburgh Stealers states that Roethlisberger injury is an aggravation of an old injury where scar tissue is present. So, is he going to play on Sunday?

It is believed that the Steeler’s Quarterback broke his fifth metatarsal bone. This bone is a long tubular bone located on the outside portion of the foot. The fifth metatarsal fractures are a highly researched topic and there are variable ways of treating this injury depending on the location. The majority of fractures in this bone can be treated conservatively with casting and rest. Occasionally, the fracture location or dislocation requires surgery and screw fixation.

Considering, that Ben has persisted that he will be playing on Sunday, we can assume this is a minor fracture that does not require surgery. He is currently ambulating in a walking boot and has been on light practice this week. The Steeler’s trainer stated that the Quarterback will be wearing a special shoe with metal plates protecting the injured area.

The fifth metatarsal is a common fracture site in athletes especially dancers. This is due to the extensive pivoting and jarring on the bone and surrounding tendons. Because of the bone’s location and soft tissue attachments, it does not take a traumatic event to break the bone. Simply landing on the foot wrong can cause such an injury. Recovery of most fractures in this area is easily treated with rest and decreased activity. Protection ambulation with a walking boot often all that is needed to make a full recovery.

When you are a professional athlete and have a record of 8-3, the rules of treatment are different than the average person’s. Winning games, egos, and pressure will push you in a direction that is not always the most beneficial for your body. It is probable that Roethlisberger’s foot break will not debilitate him or prevent him from throwing touchdown passes. It is also probable that his injury can worsen and the long term consequences of poor healing in the foot can mean chronic pain. Playing a a professional foot game in a metal shoe is not necessarily resting the injury.

Joints Under the Weather

It is that time of year when the air gets crisp and you enjoy evening walks through the leaves. Unfortunately, it is also the time of year when arthritis pain flares up. After the rain, before the storm, and changes of temperature seem to have a poor relationship with our joints. Much like pollen aggravated seasonal allergies; the change in seasons aggravates joints. Is the weather really the cause of your joint pain?

Science has not been able to justify the theory. It is believe that the change in weather alters the pressure and changes the pressure threshold within your body. The tissues are able to expand or swell to a greater capacity. A number of large studies closely examined arthritis pain and compared it to temperature and air pressure. Unfortunately, the research has not given us any concrete answers. So many of my patients relate their joints are better weather predictors than the weather man and I can’t disagree with them.

Whether it is an old wise tale or the cold hard truth, joint pain can put a halt to your fall activities. Arthritis has a number of different causes. Most arthritis is causes by years of wear and tear that leads to damage in the cartilage. Cartilage provides a glossy, lubricated surface that allows for smooth pain free movement. As the cartilage degenerates bone comes in contact with bone and the joint loses its ability to move freely without causing irritation. Irritation leads to inflammation and inflammation leads to pain.

To treat arthritis, we start with trying to decrease the inflammation. This can be done with Non steroidal anti-inflammatory, and corticosteroids. Depending on the degree of arthritis, decreasing the inflammation to decrease pain is nearly impossible. In the foot and ankle, arthritis is very difficult to combat because we never give our feet time to relax. We are constantly up on our feet and push through pain because we have to. When conservative care fails, many patients ask for surgery.

There are generally two surgical options for foot and ankle arthritis. The joint can be replaced with an artificial joint made of titanium or stainless steel. The joint can also be fused, eliminating motion at the site. Not everyone or every joint is suitable for a joint replacement or a joint fusion. Many are turned off by the thought of having a joint fused, but in many cases it is very suitable for the condition and the patient can quickly adjust. The big toe is a joint that gets fused often and has a very high patient satisfaction rate.

Arthritis can be a very difficult and aggravating disease to combat. In our busy lives and our growing concerns on staying active and healthy, joint pain can really hinder the ability to live life to the fullest. You can however give the weather man a run for his money with those weather predicting joints!!!<

Is Brett Favre’s Ankle Serious

The reason Favre is so enjoyable to watch is because you never know what is coming next. No one could have predicted the scene at Lambeau as the Green Bay Packers defeated their rival and hero, the Vikings with Bret Favre. Are you really a Hero when you play through injuries and avoid medical attention during a game?
I have read many articles trying to decipher this ankle injury, but the reports are vague only stating Favre suffers from two minor ankle fractures including a stress fracture and an avulsion fracture. I have also read a report that discusses a so called “heel” problems or injury. The reports say neither injury is severe and surgery is not necessary and the Vikings star is not practicing and resting in a controlled ankle motion boot (CAM Walker). Whether Favre will play on Sunday is still unknown.

I cannot predict or diagnose an injury without seeing them physically but here is what I know about Favre’s recovery time. Bone takes about 6 weeks to regain adequate strength after it breaks. Stress fractures heal faster since they are only hairline defects but still require a significant time of rest and decreased activity. Most stress fractures are secondary to overuse over time and not the result of a blunt trauma. Avulsion fractures result when ligaments or tendons pull off a piece of bone during a traumatic event. This injury most certainly happened after Favre was tackled. These injuries do not always need surgery, but they do require time to heal.

I find it interesting we nearly praise someone for playing through pain and injury when infarct they are only hurting themselves and their team. Ignoring an injury that is visibly impairing you can be very dangerous. I worry that many young men athletes think Favre’s actions are heroic. High school football injuries are getting a lot of attention this year. Many are suffering from damaging concussions and few have even died during a high school football game. Favre may be sending the wrong message to these young athletes. Your body does have a limit and ignoring a painful limp does not make you superhuman. It is after all just a game.

The future hall of famer, the Green Bay legend and the greatest quarterback of all time will always be remembered as a man who redefined the odds of the game and was at times above the game.

Today, we wonder if Childress and Favre are reading comic books or pretending to be Superman. You can’t play football with a broken ankle, a heel problem and tendonitis in your throwing arm. Well, Favre probably can but will he be any good? Favre has proven everything he possibly could on the field, now it is time to prove he can sit the bench. Not even Favre can go beyond his body’s limits.

Do You Suffer From Neuropathy?

This is a great article by my friend and fellow podiatrist, Dr. Andrew Schneider. I use Neuremedy in the office and have gotten some great results. "http://www.facebook.com/#!/notes/andrew-schneider/can-a-can-a-medical-food-help-control-the-symptoms-of-peripheral-neuropathy/427051660996"

The Dangers of Lawn Mowers

Some people enjoy cutting the lawn. Some give the job to their child or the neighbor. Who would think a common summer chore can be so dangerous? There are over 77,000 lawn mower injuries every year. Over 3,000 of them are in children. Some people even die after a lawn mower injury

I recently had a patient that lost part of his foot from a mower accident. It is devastating to see how much damage a blade can cause. After some research, I discovered exactly how much strength is behind the monster on wheels. Being hit by a mower blade is equivalent to being hit by a 21 pound object dropped from a height of 100 feet or 1.17 pounds traveling 232mph. This is three times the force of a 0.357 magnum gun!

Fortunately, these injuries are preventable, but we have to start taking our lawn mower chores more seriously. So many people choose to cut the grass bare foot. It feels good to have the grass between your toes but it is such a bad idea. First, there are a lot of things to step on especially in long grass where sharp object can be easily hiding. Secondly, the sharp mower blade can easily cut debris in the lawn into smaller sharper object. Though a shoe will not be strong enough to withstand the force of the blade, it will help decrease some severity of the injury.

Make sure you children understand the dangers of mowers. It is hard for a child to understand the complexity of a lawn mower. A push mower looks and sounds a lot like a vacuum. Since children are smaller, the injuries from a lawn mower are much more devastating than those seen adults. Adults will often lose toes or part of their foot, a child may lose their entire foot or part of their limb. Children are also more likely to put their hands near the blades and lose fingers, hands, and arms. There have also been many reports of accidentally running over children with the lawn mower. Remember to pay attention to what is behind you and tell your children they cannot come near you when you are cutting the grass.

These types of injuries are very prone to infections since the blade is so dirty. Luckily, early antibiotic treatments after such an injury cuts the rate of infection to a near minimum. If you suffer such an injury, it is imperative that you report to the ER immediately. The sooner you see a doctor, the less likely you will have complications from the injury.

My patient was lucky his injury was not more severe. He had 3 of his toes cut off with the blade and we then decided to remove his existing toes off to help him with ambulation and shoe fitting in the future. He is now walking normally; he is back to his normal job, and he is wearing normal shoes.

Knee Pain Is A Foot Problem

Up to 75% of athletes have chronic knee pain. Is your knee pain driving you crazy? There are a million different reasons why so many people suffer from knee pain. Henry (Hank) Aaron, a home run king, is one of many professionals that suffer from arthritis in the knee. Is there anything you can do to treat or prevent these aches and pains in the knee?

All arthritides are irreversible. Once you have arthritis, you will always have arthritis. The first thing to identify is what is causing the arthritis. Weight is a very important factor. The heavier a person is the more stress and strain that is place on the knee.

Many people attribute activities to knee problems. Though high stress, pivoting, and jarring activities put a lot of stress on the knee, it does not always lead to arthritis. More importantly, a person’s biomechanics can cause chronic increased forces and instability that leads to damage and injuries. The knee is the most unstable joint in the body.

Most other joints have boney boarders that help stabilize the joint. The knee is simply two bones separated by cartilage and ligaments and surrounded by muscles, tendons, and ligaments. These are all soft tissue structures. The knee is surrounded by two more stable joints in the body, the hip and the ankle. However, small problems in these joints easily affect the unstable knee joint. Thus, if someone has chronic ankle or hip problems, it is not unlikely that they will also suffer from knee problems.

Since soft tissues are the major stabilizers of the joint, they can be strengthened with physical therapy, strength training, stretching and range of motion exercises. A biomechanical exam can be done to assess your ankle and hip range of motion, stability and muscle tightness that causes changes in joint function. Most people benefit from several different forms of physical therapy and other treatments gauged at correcting the mechanics of the joint, such as orthotics, custom shoe inserts made by a podiatarist.

Orthotics are not just for your foot pain! You may not have any foot pain and still benefit from orthotics. Many of my patients are extremely active in sports and running. From weekend warriors to obsessive marathon runners, I have heard patients say their orthotics helped their knees, hip, back and everything in between. Biomechanics is the application of mechanical principles to the human body and is studied extensively by podiatrists. Many of the basic concepts are also applied in physical therapy and sports training are biomechanical in nature. Orthotics are devices that enhance function and compensate for biomechanical problems in the leg. Changing joint positions and alignment in the foot and ankle have a direct effect on your knee and hip.
Not everyone needs orthotics, but many people benefit from them.

My clinical experience has me convinced me that orthotics are necessary treatment modalities for a number of musculoskeletal disorders in the lower extremity including arthritis.

My broken Ankle was Fixed, so Why does it Still Hurt?

Some of us are very sensible and still end up in accidents. Some of us do foolish things and obviously end up in accidents. Whether it was a car accident, sport’s accident or a stupid accident, should we have to suffer for the rest of our lives? Ankle fractures are very painful and the surgery includes multiple screws and plates. The recovery period is long and hard. But one would think five, ten, twenty years down the road your ankle would be free from pain. For some, this is true. For others, and ankle fracture leads to lifelong arthritis and pain.

There are four bones that make up your ankle. The tibia, fibula, and the talus articulate with one another to make the ankle joint. Many ligaments surround the joint to stabilize the bones into proper alignment to provide optimal function. Typical ankle fractures involve the breaking of the tibia and fibula bones and damage to a number of ligaments.

To reestablish a competent joint, surgery is almost always necessary. The surgeon will realign the fragments and fixate them back into place using screws. Plates are also used to stabilize the injured area of bone. Essentially, the surgeon will reposition the bones as close as possible back to normal.

Unfortunately, many suffer long term effects from an ankle injury. When the bones break and the ligaments lose their integrity, the bones can slam into and damage the articluar cartilage. The talus, the other bone that makes up the ankle joint, has a thick layer of cartilage that is poorly vascularized. The poor blood flow to the cartilage and the extent of the damage can make it difficult for the body to self repair the injury. These injuries to the cartilage are difficult to assess during surgery. If a surgeon chooses to address these small and difficult injuries, it involves more studied, more procedures and more cost to the patient. Thus, many surgeons chose not to address the injury.

The majority of the time, the body does a sufficient job at repairing the cartilage damage. If the lesion is small, the body’s repair process works sufficiently. Occasionally the lesions are larger and lead to osteoarthritis or degenerative joint disease. It is believed that this may be the reason why some people have residual pain after an ankle fracture. Treating larger cartilage lesions is done by using grafts, preferably from the patients. They will take small pieces of cartilage from your knee or other joints. Some synthetic transplants can also be used. An ankle fracture surgery is already very complex and doctors are not certain treating the cartilage problem at the time of the ankle surgery is what is best for the patient. The longer a surgery takes, the higher the risk of complications.

Some are willing to accept that arthritis is an unfortunate side effect of ankle fractures, but many doctors are studying and researching ways to reduce the number of people living with pain after a fracture. Doctor’s want to make their patients feel better, but sometimes there are too many barriers to completely eradicate the pain. Please be assured that we are dedicated in helping you with your foot and ankle issues even if the battle seems impossible.