Rheumatoid arthritis is a disease that can affect every joint in the body depending on how advanced the arthritis is and how long an individual has gone without proper treatment.  It is an arthritis that affects the body systemically, meaning it travels through the blood attacking the synovial fluid around the joints in our body. We see in advance stages rheumatoid arthritis attack the extremities: fingers, wrist, toes and ankles.

Many parents come into my office because they are concerned about their child having “flat feet”.  They have noticed on various occasion their child running in bare feet and from behind it looks like their ankles rolling in. On some occasions, they child will sit in my office with a confused look on their face because they don’t know why they are there.  I will ask them when the run and play if they experience any kind of foot, ankle or lower leg pain. They end up saying no.  On the other hand, I ask the same questions to another child and they know exactly what I am talking about and yes they are experiencing these pains.However, for the sake of this case study, the child I am speaking of did not have any types of symptoms what so ever. He was asymptomatic.

This past week I had a new client come into my office for an assessment to see if she was a good candidate for a pair of custom made foot orthotics.  For privacy, I will call her Betty. I asked Betty if she had a prescription from her doctor and she said no but did got to see her doctor before coming to see me.  She more so came in for a second opinion and also to explore another avenue then what her doctor had felt was the best route.

A tendonitis or tendonosis can be described as an inflammation of the tendon, caused by repetitive stress or overuse. The Achilles tendon is located at the back of the lower leg and is an extension of the calf muscle (gastrocnemius).  It attaches at the heel of the foot.

Many people do not associate knee pain to the way their foot moves. Surprisingly, people with knee problems are often told that their knee pain is the result of weak ankles or flat feet.

Here is why:

1. When weak ankles evert (roll inward), the ankle joints compress on the lateral side (outside) of the foot and excess flattening of the arch is evident. This is called pronation or fallen arches.

Have you ever started a new job that includes much more walking then your previous job, or have you started increasing your activity level and found that you start getting sharp shooting pains in you shins? This is the early stages of shin splints or clinically know as tibialis posterior tendoinitis. Shin splints are a general term that describes a variety of non-specific pain that occurs in or around the shin bone and is usually caused by overuse of the tendon or poor foot mechanics.

Metatarsalgia is the general term used to describe forefoot pain in the area of the metatarsal bones on the bottom surface of each foot. The metatarsals are the bones that connect the midfoot to the toes creating joints. There are five of these joints and they are located in the balls of our feet and are technically called, metatarso-phalangeal (MTP) joints.”

Plantar fasciitis is the single most common foot ailment seen by doctors in North America and is typically the result of overuse.  A thick band of fibrous connective tissue (fascia) runs along the bottom of the foot attaching from the heel to the ball of the foot.  This plantar fascia flattens out and elongates over time beyond its nor mal extension causing the fascia to tear at various points along its length, more often tearing at the heel bone.

With the warm weather finally here, many people are kicking off their shoes and replacing them with sandals, worse than that, with flip flops.  These easy to slip on, fashionable summer shoes have been known in the past to due more harm than good to our feet and legs.

The problem with wearing flip flops is that people tend to walk everywhere with them on their feet.  From the park, to the beach, to the office and to the mall without realizing the damage they are doing to their feet.

With the beautiful weather already among us, what a great time to be outdoors.  We put on our running or walking shoes and off we go and then the unthinkable happens and we start developing pain in our feet and lower legs up to our back. Then we realize the shoes that we put on our feet to be more active this summer are a few years old.

We head to the shoe store only to be overwhelmed by the selection of shoes to pick from. Where to begin? To help you select shoes that are right for your feet, here are 10 tips to a great shoe fit: