Foot and Ankle Solutions

 Minimalist Shoes and Stress Fractures    We discussed stress fractures yesterday. Today well focus on one specific way they can occur, and how YOU can prevent them! I put the abstract of an article that was just published this month. The article was done by Bergstra et al in the Journal of Sports and Medicine and goes on to conclude that, " This increased pressure in the forefoot region might play a role in the occurrence of metatarsal stress fractures in runners who switched to minimalist shoes and warrants a cautious approach to transitioning to minimalist shoe use."     Keep reading below if you want to learn more.    I provided the abstract to the article below, but those that are interested, I will provide a summary of this article for your own education.    I'm not anti-minimalist shoe running but I am here to provide recent literature on certain topics. If you have a topic you would like to discuss and like me ...

 Common Foot and Ankle Injuries with Athletes I'm going to discuss Foot and Ankle injuries involving sports. The best treatment for a sprain or strain around the ankle or foot is the age-old RICE. I don't have products on this blog/website but I do have suggestions. Comment or email me at zbeth02@gmail.com RICE = Rest, Ice, Compression, Elevation. Rest : Motion and impact on the injured area needs to be limited in order for the body to heal itself.  Unfortunately the foot/ankle are difficult to stay off of because you need them! Ice:  Why ice? Ice can help in acute injuries mostly. Ice no more than 20 minutes at a time because it can actually hurt your skin! Ice reduces inflammation which reduces pain and swelling. A frozen bag of peas, bag of ice is all you need. Compression: This reduces swelling which reduces pain! ACE bandage, splint, air cast all work Elevation:  Keep a pillow under your foot/leg at all times to reduce swelling! It is importa...