What is Gout? Gout is one kind on inflammatory arthritis which is caused by a buildup of uric acid crystals in the joints which is caused by too much uric acid in the blood. It causes a sudden burning sensation with pain, stiffness and swelling in a joint. These attacks may keep reoccurring until and unless it is treated. Causes of Gout As mentioned above, Gout is mainly caused because of excessive uric acid in the blood. Uric acid comes from purines, a chemical compound found mainly in high protein foods, such as meat, poultry and seafood. Uric acid generally is dissolved in blood and is excreted from the body in urine via the kidneys. But if too much uric acid is produced and blood is not able to dissolve it or if not enough uric acid is excreted from the body, it can build up needle like crystals which sometimes is found in joints. There are few factors which increase the probability of Gout, these are, Age and Gender: Since men produce more uric acid than women, it is more likely to be seen in men. However after menopause women also might reach the same level of uric acid. Genetics: A family which has a history of Gout is more likely to reappear in future generation. Food and Beverage choice: Too much alcohol consumption disrupts the excretion of uric acid from the body. Also consumption of food which have more purine might also increase the amount of uric acid in the body. Lead Exposure: Chronic lead exposure might also be linked to Gout sometimes. Medication: There are few medicines which increases the level of uric acid in the body. Therefore consult with your doctor before taking any medicine. Weight: More the weight, more is the production of uric acid in the body and thus more is the probability of having a Gout. Kidney problems: Sometimes because of some kidney problems there can be a disruption in the excretion of uric acid. Treatment of Gout As they always say, prevention is better than cure, here we will first discuss about preventive measures and then talk about Treatment. Prevention of Gout: Water consumption: Maintain a high fluid intake and consume at least 2-4 liters of water every day. Food and beverage: Don’t consume too much alcohol regularly. Also consume meat, poultry and seafood only to a certain extent. Here’s a list of food which contain high purine.  Anchovies  Asparagus  Beef kidneys  Brains  Dried beans and peas  Game meats  Gravy  Herring  Liver  Mackerel  Mushrooms  Sardines  Scallops  Sweetbreads. Weight: Maintain a healthy body weight and automatically that will control your uric acid production in the body. Gout Pain Relief Treatment: In case if you are already attacked by Gout, there’s no other way but to go through proper treatment. Most common medicines are NSAIDs, colchicine or corticosteroids. These medicines are taken to reduce inflammation and reduce pain. These medicines are taken orally. To prevent future attack, your doctor might also prescribe some medicines which will reduce uric acid build up in your blood. Read More: Heel Pain Causes & Treatments Neuroma: Symptoms, Causes & Treatment Heel Spur Feet – Causes and Treatment

What is Neuroma? A neuroma is mostly benign i.e non-cancerous in nature. A neuroma is an overgrowth of tumor or nerve tissue, however it is often painful and occurs mostly between third and the fourth toes. Neuroma is more painful while walking and the only way to stop the pain at that moment is to stop walking at that time. This means that a neuroma can be major hindrance while walking. The pain felt is often described by patients as having a stone in between their feet. The pain is accompanied by a burning sensation or mere numbness in the area. Causes of Neuroma: Neuromas are commonly found in women. The exact cause for this condition is unknown. Yet the major factors contributing to the formation of a neuroma can be: Pressure, stress or trauma can lead to inflammation of a nerve tissue. Improper shoes like pointed toe shoes and high heels can increase the pressure at the forefoot area. Pointed shoes can squeeze the toes in a problematic fashion. Natural deformities like flat foot or high arched foot again can lead to the formation of a neuroma. How to Treat Neuroma: The best way to never develop a neuroma is to wear proper shoes. It is always a good idea to wear roomy shoes. Avoid high heels. Actually shoes that are flat should be a choice for you to avoid not only the growth of neuromas but it can actually keep many other hoot problems at bay. It’s best to see your podiatrist immediately, if you are already affected with a neuroma. Neuromas can cause excruciating pain if left untreated. Wearing orthotic insoles and over the counter shoe pads always prove helpful. To relieve the pain immediately try massaging the area gently and put an ice pack. Never ever use a heating pad, this might alleviate the swelling. The severity of the neuroma determines the mode of treatment. If detected early, then there is low chance that surgery will be done. But if has turned into a full-fledged tumor then surgical removal of it is the only way out. When detected early chances are that the problem will get resolved on its own provided pressure is relieved from the affected area. Anti-inflammatory drugs and cortisone injections are prescribed to relieve the acute pain. Surgery entails removal of inflamed and enlarged nerve. It may take a few weeks to completely recover post the operation. If these neuroma foot solution can’t help you, talk to our podiatric surgeon. We can assure the best treatment for you in UAE!

What is Heel Spur? If you have read our last article about plantar fasciitis, you would know this is one of the most common foot pain people face in their life. Many people who have plantar fasciitis have also encountered with heel spur. Heel spur is again one of most commonly found problems found in foot and it affects as good as 10% of the population. Though all of them do not feel the pain and only half of them face the pain due to heel spur. Though this syndrome is more common among people who are older than 40 years but can be found at any age. Heel spur is the bony outgrow of the heel bone, better known as Calcaneus. Because of this people feel pain at certain areas of their feet. Let’s discuss about different causes of heel spurs. Causes of Heel Spurs The root is deposit of calcium on the underside of heel bone. There are multiple reason behind this deposit, which are, Strain on foot muscles or ligaments Stretching of plantar fascia Repeated tearing of the membrane covering heel bone There are few actions which might increase the possibility of heel spur, for example, If you are overweight If you are running or jogging on hard surface If you are standing or walking for a long time Bad shoes which do not provide good support to your arch If you have flat feet or high arch and you are not taking proper actions to resolve them If you are suffering from diabetes Age. The reason heel spur is more common among older people is, as you age, your plantar fascia tend to lose its flexibility which thins the heels’ protective fat pad. Natural Treatment of Heel Spur: Non-surgical Treatment: If you have read our Plantar Fasciitis article, you are almost there. All measures mentioned in that article is almost same here. Rest & exercise: take proper rest. Don’t put too much pressure on the feet. But though you can definitely do some exercise which will benefit you. Exercises like calf stretch or plantar fascia stretch will also help when it comes to heel spur. Ice: Do apply ice on your feet 3-4 times a day. Keep rolling the ice on the feet rather than keeping it at one place. Orthotic shoe insert: You can also insert an orthotic shoe insert in your shoes, this will give you some relief. Even after continuing these your pain is not reduced (which is very unlikely), then only go for surgery. Do consult with your doctor or with us before that. Surgical Treatment of Heel Spur: 90% people get cure by non-surgical treatment but if you still feel the pain, you need to go through surgery. Do contact us for any such situation. The surgery for heel spurs are mainly of two types, Release of Plantar fascia Release of the spur Though this might be a little expensive but will give you quick relief.

What is Plantar Fasciitis? Plantar Fasciitis is one of the most common heel pains. Plantar Fasciitis is basically inflammation of Plantar Fascia which is strong band of tissue, pretty much similar to a ligament. Follow the picture below for better understanding. This is a very common problem among athletes all around the world but not so uncommon among common people as well. Believe it or not every month a million people search online about Plantar Fasciitis which proves it’s a major problem for many people. 10% people have this disorder at some point of their life and many of them are not aware of this. Causes of Plantar Fasciitis Let’s come straight to the point. You would want to know the probable cause of Plantar Fasciitis so that you can stay away from this. In a nutshell whatever stretches your Plantar Fascia can be the root cause of Plantar Fasciitis. For example, If you run, walk on a hard surface for a long time (if you jog every morning on a hard surface, you might want to recheck with your podiatrist). If you are suffering from flat feet. Not sure what this is? Read this article of ours. If you are overweight which means you might be putting too much pressure on your foot. You wear shoes which are not comfortable and do not provide proper arch support. If you have a tight Achilles tendon. What is this, check the photo below Treatment of Plantar Fasciitis So this can be divided in two parts, these are Non-surgical treatment and surgical treatment. Natural Treatment of Plantar Fasciitis Rest: Take proper rest. Stop doing activities which increases the pain. You might want to stop running for few days. But this doesn’t mean you should sit idle, there are few exercise which you should do in order to get rid of the problem Calf stretch: Follow the position of the photo below. Now push your hips to the wall but in a controlled manner. Try to hold it for 10 seconds. Repeat this 20 times for each foot. Plantar fascia stretch: Follow the position of the photo below. Now try to pull down your toe in a controlled manner. Hold the position for 10 seconds. Now repeat 20 times for each foot. Apart from these two there are several other exercises for Plantar Fasciitis. Some are given below Apply ice to your feet. This can be done 3-4 times a day. Try to roll the ice on the feet instead of keeping it fixed. Medication: There are certain medicines and steroids available for the pain and inflammation. But we would recommend that you talk to your doctor first before taking them. Feel free to contact us. Shoes: Try wearing shoes which will support your arch. If confused you can talk to your podiatrist, else you can contact us. Surgical Treatment of Plantar Fasciitis: Surgery is only recommended when your pain has not eased even after 12 months of treatment. If you are facing such issue feel free to reach out to us. There are mainly two kind of surgeries performed which are, Gastrocnemius recession Plantar fascia release Though surgeries are proved to give good results but in some cases there can be certain nerve damage problem.

What are Corns and Calluses? Corns and calluses are basically thickening of skin caused by friction and pressure in our feet. Corns are mostly round in shape and they develop from within deep layers of the skin below, which can be painful at times. Causes of Corns and Calluses? Corns develop mostly due to wearing tight fitted shoes that restricts the blood flow. Corns can be either had or soft depending upon the area they grow. Hard corns are formed mostly on the toes (pinky toe) and the softer ones can be seen in between the toes (usually between the 4th and 5th toes). It’s the sweat that keeps them moist and hence soft and that is the reason why they might become infectious sometimes. Hammertoe and other deformities of the toe can lead to the formation of these. Calluses on the other hand grow on the underside of our feet. Too much walking or running is one of the reasons for their formation. They are broader in area and are mostly non painful. Salicylic acid is used in most products for removal of corns and calluses. Salicylic acid is a keratolytic and it dissolves the protein keratin which forms the layers in a corn or callus. Consult with Your Local Podiatrist to Remove Corns and Calluses A podiatrist can pare corns and calluses with a scalpel if salicylic acid proves to be non-effective. Sometimes repeated and regular trimming sessions are required. You can visit our podiatry clinic – HSMC for the same. Once it is trimmed, it is advisable to clean the area with a pumice stone every week and keep it moisturized to prevent it from growing again. Podiatrist can also advice for engineered foot orthopedic insoles so that pressure on the foot does not pinpoint on the callus. Sometimes this can be taken care of by cushions and footpads. Corns and calluses should not be self-operated, more so by patients of diabetes and people above the age of 65. Corns and calluses are not serious problems. Most of them can be treated with medical treatment. Surgery is rarely required until there is an infection. Surgery can also be performed in certain cases where bones are sticking out or to correct any other foot deformity.

Arch pain is a very broad category which is consist of different types of pains. Though anyone might face arch pain but it’s more common among older people and women. Arch is basically comprised of tarsal and metatarsal bones and some ligaments and tendons. When any of these bones or ligaments or tendons are injured or weakened or stretched you might feel a pain in the arch which is commonly termed as Arch pain. This is a very normal phenomena and almost 10% people suffers for this. So if you fall among those 10%, nothing to worry, many people face it and cure it as well. Causes and Prevention: Causes of Arch Pain: There are different types of Arch pain and for different types of Arch pain causes are also different. We have already covered few types of arch pain which you can refer to but trying to cover almost all type of arch pain here. Plantar Fasciitis – Check this article  Stress Fractures – Few bones can be damaged by overuse. So if you are running on a hard surface, this is time when you should recheck and rethink. Ligament Injury – Apart from bones ligaments are also equally important. Sometimes because of some accident, or some unwanted activities, for example landing awkwardly or twisting of the heel can lead to ligament injury. How to Prevent Arch Pain: Don’t be an overweight Don’t run on hard surface Don’t walk or stand too long Don’t wear shoes which are not comfortable, don’t wear high heel shoes Treatment of Arch Pain: Most of times arch pain doesn’t become very serious and can easily be treated without any surgery. Firstly check out this plantar fasciitis page where we have mentioned different exercise you can do to reduce arch pain and improve your arch. Few other important treatments would be Use orthotic or shoe inserts Start using arch support Wear comfortable shoes As mentioned in the other article, do continue these exercises Apply ice 3-4 times on your arch. After doing all these activities ideally you should feel some relief and after a certain time your arch pain should be gone. If that doesn’t happen do contact with our UAE based podiatrists and we will guide you to the next step.