The shoes you wear provide support and protection for your feet and ankles. Choosing the right footwear is an essential part of maintaining good foot health now and in the future. If you have special considerations or questions about choosing footwear that is good for your feet, ask your podiatrist for recommendations.

Make Sure Your Shoes Fit

Shoes that don’t fit properly can cause falls, broken bones, sprains, and even foot deformities. Wearing shoes that are too small or have pointed toe boxes squeeze the toes and cause them to bend inward. Shoes that are too large allow the foot to slip, causing blisters and instability when you move. Make sure that shoes fit well before purchasing them. Remember that your feet are not exactly the same size, and buy shoes that fit the larger of your feet for improved comfort.

Tailor Your Shoes to Your Activity

There are many varieties of shoes, each meant to serve a different purpose. Wearing the wrong footwear for a given activity puts your feet and ankles at risk. If you are playing a sport, wear an athletic shoe rather than dress shoes or sandals. Choose a shoe suited to the activity in which you are participating; shoes are designed differently for basketball players, runners, dancers, and baseball players. Speak to an employee at your shoe store if you’re not sure which kind of shoe is best for your needs.

Discard Old Shoes

Learn to recognize when shoes are past their prime and replace them. Shoes that have holes in the soles, cracked rubber, unstable heels, or broken laces will not protect your feet. Replace athletic and running shoes regularly, as these types of footwear tend to wear out more quickly than work or dress shoes.

Protect your feet with the help of the podiatrists at Advanced Foot and Ankle Specialists. We have been serving Sugar Land and Houston for over ten years. Click on our website or call (281) 242-3338 for help managing injuries, fungal infections, and more.

Toenails are designed to protect the toes from injury and impact. However, toenails can become loose for many reasons. This condition often affects runners, tennis players, and other athletes. If you have a loose toenail, cut the nail back to avoid catching it on your footwear. The toe can also be bandaged to keep the nail in place. Check out this video to learn more about the causes and treatments of a loose toenail.

Healthy feet are essential for a healthy body. If you have foot pain, toenail problems, or other foot concerns, contact your podiatrist at Advanced Foot & Ankle Specialists by calling (281) 242-3338. Our Sugar Land podiatry practice offers comprehensive foot care, including minimally-invasive treatments.

How to Deal with a Loose Toenail

Gout causes inflammation and pain in the joints of the body. This condition is often cyclical, causing temporary “flare-ups” of pain in the big toe or other joints in the feet, ankles, or knees. Studies have shown that certain foods can trigger or worsen gout “attacks,” so knowing which foods you should minimize or avoid can help to improve your comfort and quality of life.

Some Seafood and Meats

Some animal products contain high levels of natural substances called purines. Purines are broken down in the body into uric acid when you digest them. Because gout attacks are caused by the buildup of uric acid crystals in the joints, a low-purine diet can reduce pain and minimize the extent of a flare-up. Seafood options and meats that are high in purines include scallops, mackerel, herring, turkey, goose, and red meats.

Purine-Rich Vegetables

Purines are not found solely in animal products—they are also found in produce. Some vegetables are particularly high in purines; these include asparagus, spinach, cauliflower, and mushrooms. However, vegetables contain lower amounts of purines than meats, and the body is more efficient at metabolizing and excreting vegetable-based purines. You can include these veggies in your diet as long as you don’t eat them every day.

Beer

For those with gout, beer can prompt and prolong painful flare-ups. Beer increases the levels of uric acids in your body as it is metabolized. The alcohol contained in beer also slows down your body’s ability to flush uric acid away. While some people with gout can enjoy an occasional beer without a flare-up, you should avoid drinking beer or other alcoholic beverages entirely during an attack.

Are you experiencing foot, ankle, or knee pain related to gout or other forms of arthritis? Advanced Foot & Ankle Specialists is here to help by offering comprehensive foot and ankle care. Check us out on the web or call us today at (281) 242-3338 to explore our services or find the location nearest you in Houston or Sugar Land.

At Advanced Foot & Ankle Specialists, we use a variety of tools to diagnose and treat foot and ankle problems. Here is a close look at a few of those tools and how they work.

X-Rays

To determine whether a bone has been fractured or injured by conditions such as arthritis, infection, or other disease, specialists administer an X-ray. X-rays are performed on the hand, arm, wrist, foot, ankle, knee, or leg. An X-ray helps the doctor evaluate any changes in the bones that are caused by various conditions. They also aid in locating any foreign objects in a wound, and determining if bones are properly set after being treated for a fracture. Doctors also use X-rays to determine if a child’s bones are growing normally.

Ultrasound

An ultrasound , or a musculoskeletal ultrasonography, is a tool used to diagnose many foot and ankle problems, including bursitis or capsulitis of the joints, ligament injuries, tendinitis or tendon tears, heel spurs, and plantar fasciitis. Ultrasounds are typically used to diagnose soft tissue problems, rather than bone conditions. An ultrasound is based on sound waves that are emitted from a transducer probe and passed into the body. These sound waves are then reflected back to the probe to be recorded. The recorded image appears on the ultrasound screen, so both the patient and doctor can immediately see the area and understand the problem.

Extracorporeal Shockwave

An extracorporeal shockwave (ESWT) is a non-surgical, non-invasive treatment for chronic plantar fasciitis and Achilles tendinitis. Both of these disorders cause intense and persistent heel pain. ESWT sends shockwaves from outside the body onto the targeted tissue. The shockwaves trigger the patient’s repair mechanisms. This reactivates and stimulates healing at a faster rate than normal tissue healing. The shockwaves also reduce sensitivity to pain by over-stimulating transmission nerves.The doctors at Advanced Foot and Ankle Specialists have been performing ESWT since 2003 and offer it as an in-office procedure. Additionally, we serve Sugar Land with a variety of podiatric services, including ankle surgery, foot laser treatments, nail fungus and infection treatment, bunion removal, and more. Visit our website or call (281) 242-3338 to schedule a consultation.