Source: Dwayne Marae, WSBT 22 Reporter
Tuesday, June 9th 2020
Summertime means shorts, t-shirts and sandals. The warm weather may have you thinking about ditching comfort and stability for shoes with style. Taking care of your feet may be an afterthought, but if you’ve struggled with pain, you know how debilitating it can be.
"The thing that I see frequently is heel pain," said Dr. Kevin Houseman, with Goshen Health.
Dr. Kevin Houseman sees all kinds of podiatry problems. He says summertime could result in heel inflammation.
"It brings a lot of patients in, especially summertime they are going barefoot or wearing different shoes than they normally would wear. A lot of times, less supportive shoes."
He says he starts with conservative treatment measures first.
"Stretching, icing, custom insoles, shoe gear changes, injection therapy or somethings physical therapy is helpful for these patients and ultimately there is a certain amount of the population that might need surgery, but generally it’s not that common."
Ingrown toenails can also be a painful and unsightly issue that may require an operation.
"For the patients that have the unfortunate reoccurrence rate, that they keep coming back, there is a procedure I can do where I permanently remove a piece of the cells that grow the nail, either with a chemical or surgically, so that doesn't grow back and cause the patient continued problems."
There could also be a correlation between podiatry issues and another medical diagnosis- diabetes.
"For patients that are diabetic, one of the biggest risks for them is developing an ulceration or a wound that they are not aware of, which is more prevalent in patients that have numbness in their feet. I stress to all my patients to look at their feet daily and inspect to make sure there are no problems."
Supportive shoes may be your best bet in avoiding further foot damage, but if the pain doesn’t resolve on its own, it may be time to call your doctor.