Podiatrist - Bloomington, IL
and Normal, IL
10 Heartland Drive, Suite B
Bloomington, IL 61704
Phone: (309) 661-9975
Fax: (309) 661-9920
Archive:
- 2012
- 2011
- September (8)
- Beware the Male Platypus!
- The Feet of a Solider
- My Adventure to Becoming a Podiatrist
- Halle Berry – And the Case of the Walking Boot…
- Survivor – Heartland Foot and Ankle Edition!
- Derek Jeter and Minka Kelly: GAME OVER
- Sons of Anarchy Season Premier- A Hit!
- Wedding Bells are RINGING and my FEET are throbbing!!
- August (8)
- Heidi Klum’s Project Runway: Footwear Frenzy!
- Jessie J Hobbles Around at the 2011 MTV Video Music Awards
- Soccer Stars and Super Athletes
- Football Lockout Does More than Keep Players Off the Field during Summer 2011
- My Daughter’s ‘Pedicure’
- Get Your Toes in Tip Top Shape!
- Little Feet can have BIG Problems
- Royal Newlyweds and Your Feet?!
Tags
- Summer (2)
- Swelling (1)
- Sports (10)
- Children (4)
- Shoes (10)
- Athletes Foot (2)
- Fungus (6)
- Nails (7)
- Tendons (3)
- Injuries (13)
- Deformities (1)
- Nerves (2)
- Football (5)
- Soccer (1)
- Baseball (2)
- Podiatrist (3)
- Sweating (3)
- Odor (3)
- heel pain (2)
- injury (2)
- achilles (1)
- Exercise (1)
- Ingrown Toenails (2)
- amputation (1)
- frostbite (1)
- Holidays (1)
- Falls (1)
- Fall (1)
Categories:
Being new to the world of blogging, I decided it was necessary to do some “research.” As I was conducting this research, I came across a blog that delivered a very interesting, random fact: the male platypus secretes poisonous venom through a spur on the calcaneus, also known as a heel spur. The venom isn’t fatal to humans but does give a sense of hyperalgesia, or heightened sensitivity to pain to the affected area.
Unlike the heel spur of the platypus, many of us humans experience heel spurs that are “harmless” to others. Many people have experienced the pain of a heel spur; however it’s very seldom that the actual heel spur is the issue causing the pain. The plantar fascia is the thick ligament on the bottom of your foot that attaches at the ball of the foot and the front part of the calcaneus, or heel bone. The point where it attaches to the heel bone is the area that most often is painful for people. The plantar fascia can pull at the insertion point on the calcaneus and become inflamed, causing pain. The pulling of the fascia on the bone can cause bony growth, creating a spur. The spur, in a sense, is your body’s way of trying to decrease the stress and pulling on the plantar fascia.
In order to decrease the pain it is necessary to stop the inflammation. This is done by icing and/or a consistent dose of a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory such as Aleve or ibuprofen. Once the inflammation is calmed down it is necessary to maintain good biomechanical support to prevent it from reoccurring.
For those of us suffering from plantar fasciitis stretching and good supportive shoes will be our best friends for life. Stretching, especially after prolonged periods of rest, is necessary to loosen up the plantar fascia before activity. This will help to decrease those painful first steps in the morning and after sitting for a long time. Supportive shoes and/or arch supports, such as Powersteps, or even custom orthotics, will help the biomechanics of your foot and stabilize the plantar fascia to keep the inflammation at bay.
While the heel spur of the male platypus can cause pain to others, our heel spurs do not. However, the plantar fasciitis that coincides with the spurs can be in some cases just as painful as the platypus’ venom!