Treatment of foot pain by the podiatrist

Foot pain can appear in many ways and cause many accompanying symptoms every day.

Thanks to the high level of the podiatrist’s expertise, however, you can count on treatment that is completely customized to your needs and condition. These professionals possess the latest technology to treat your pain quickly and accurately.

It is the podiatrist’s duty to keep up with the latest intervention techniques to get rid of your foot pain. Thanks to their continuous training, you can be sure that your feet are in good hands.

Discover the most important treatments that podiatrists use every day to remedy foot pain.

Shockwave therapy

Shockwave therapy uses an applicator to send high-intensity percussion waves into the painful area of the foot. These waves penetrate through the skin into the area being treated and accelerate healing by causing microtrauma that triggers the body to respond.

So you could say that shockwave therapy shakes things up a bit to activate the healing process even more. This is especially valuable in the treatment of:

• Heel spur;
• Achilles tendonitis;
• Bursitis and tendonitis;
• Any sports injury.

Treating foot pain in this way may seem counterintuitive at first. However, shockwave therapy offers several benefits that have been proven with time:

• Few side effects;
• Avoid surgery;
• Simple and fast;
• Increased precision.

Now, while shockwave therapy is usually harmless, there are some details to keep in mind. In particular, it should be avoided in people with anticoagulant, diabetes, immunosuppressed individuals, pregnant women, or those with cardiovascular problems. Again, the podiatrist is your best bet to learn the best way to treat your pain.

Ultrasound treatment

Ultrasound treatment involves the podiatrist using a terminal and applicator to treat your pain with ultrasonic sound waves. These waves create a vibration in the skin that soothes your foot pain.

However, the ultrasound treatment does not only relieve the pain, it also helps:

• Promote better circulation;
• Soften certain tendons;
• Reduce swelling and inflammation;
• Speed up the healing process.

Ultrasound can also treat an impressive number of foot injuries and pathologies, like:

• Ankle sprains;
• Fractures;
• Sores and ulcers;
• Spasms and stiffness;
• Lower back pain.

It should be noted, however, that in the vast majority of cases ultrasound is used in conjunction with other types of treatment. Again, the good practices of the podiatrist are invaluable in making sure everything goes smoothly.

 Cortisone injection

Cortisone, derived from cortisol, is a steroid hormone secreted by your kidneys that was discovered between the 1930s to 1950s. It is normally used by your body to regulate itself and manage stress, but cortisone also has well established therapeutic properties. It is used for the treatment of:

• Ankle pain;
• Heel pain;
• Knee pain;
• Pain under the foot.

If you would like to relieve inflammatory foot pain, sometimes a cortisone injection is the solution. It is mainly used when conservative treatments are not enough to get rid of your foot pain.

Contrary to some myths that have been debunked several times, cortisone injection has very positive effects on your treatment:

• It penetrates the tissues easily;
• It facilitates convalescence;
• It accelerates pain relief;
• It is a natural, non-toxic and non-allergenic hormone.

While cortisone is absolutely safe, it can cause some side effects such as itching or redness. You can count on your podiatrist’s expertise to know how to limit the number of injections so that these side effects are avoided.

Custom-made foot orthoses

New technologies like 3D digital imaging allow the podiatrist to design an orthotic that perfectly matches the morphology of your foot based on an impression.

These orthotics are very durable and long lasting, and differ greatly from those available over-the-counter at pharmacies.  They can be flexible, semi-flexible or rigid, depending on your needs. This type of device is used to correct a wide range of problems affecting the feet, ankles, heels or knees, such as:

• Flat or cavus feet;
• Foot bunions;
• Foot deformities;
• Legs of uneven length;
• Postural problems.

Wearing an orthotic requires a short period of adaptation, but the recommendations of your podiatrist will allow you to quickly get used to it. You will rapidly forget about them even being in your shoes. Now, the best part is that there are foot orthoses for everyone:

• Children;
• Athletes;
• Diabetics;
• The elderly.

You can even get shorter insoles that fit easily into any type of shoe. Trust your podiatrist for a comfortable and custom orthotic.

Foot care

Performed by a podiatrist or a nursing assistant specializing in podiatry, foot care can treat nail problems, such as onychomycosis or ingrown toenails. It is also used to treat plantar warts, cracks in the foot, corns and calluses.

Foot care treatments have for purpose to alleviate certain nail deformities that can result in pain, thanks to a variety of physical, pharmacological, surgical (if necessary), and orthopedic techniques. Here are some examples of foot care most commonly administered by podiatrists:

• Applying special creams;
• Assessing the pressure points of the foot;
• Performing surgical debridement of corns and calluses;
• Trimming and thinning out nails;
• Performing foot baths.

Whether it is a nail deformity, fungal infection or diabetes, foot care helps to relieve your foot pain. Trust your podiatrist to provide you with the most appropriate care.

Podopediatry

Podiatry covers everyone, and children are no exception! Before your child takes their first steps, it is important to examine their feet and look for abnormalities as early as possible. From the first month of life until puberty, your child can count on the podiatrist’s expertise to help prevent foot pain later in their development. It’s always better to prevent than to cure.

Here are some signs that your child may need an examination by a podiatrist:

• They often experience pain in legs or feet;
• They frequently stumble and have difficulty moving easily;
• The arch of their foot seems to have sagged;
• They get tired quickly after exercise;
• Their feet and legs don’t seem to be in good shape.

Podopediatry allows your children to grow up without problems and quickly benefit from adapted solutions for:

• Flat or cavus feet;
• Posture or gait problems;
• Fatigue and pain.

In short, there really is no age when you can’t benefit from the expertise of a podiatrist.

Postural assessment

Along with the biomechanical examination, the postural assessment also plays an important role in determining your treatment. This technique allows you to confirm or refute assumptions that the podiatrist may have made during your biomechanical exam.

In order to determine what exactly is at the root of your pain, you often need to observe things that are invisible to the naked eye. Think of phenomena like:

• Unequal legs;
• Misalignment of the knees;
• An asymmetry of the pelvis;
• A problem of posture.

Accurate, objective, safe and fast, the postural assessment provides results during the same session with your podiatrist. Using special cameras that project light, your doctor can take detailed images of your body to understand your condition and explain it to you. This type of imaging speeds up the assessment and also allows you to measure changes in your posture during treatment.

It is a highly efficient process that helps avoid many mistakes!

Bone surgery on the foot

Bone surgery on the foot involves particularly problematic situations where your pain level or movement restriction needs to be curbed.

Some podiatrists are specially trained in foot surgery, which is taught in the United States. This specialization allows these podiatrists to operate on you while maintaining the highest applicable medical standards. Thanks to their expertise, you can expect surgery that is sometimes a bit more complex, but never painful. Here are some examples:

• Morton’s Neuroma surgery;
• Plantar fasciitis surgery;
• Hammertoe surgery;
• Hallux valgus surgery.

In this type of surgery, the podiatrist-surgeon will alter the architecture of your foot to eliminate pain and give you relief in your movements. This last resort is used in the most extreme cases when other treatments are simply insufficient. One thing is clear, however: a podiatrist who specializes in foot bone surgery is the best professional to perform this type of operation.