The weather has finally warmed up! It may be time to bring out the thongs and sandals – but before you do let’s talk about some features to look for!

Thongs and sandals are always a popular choice as the weather warms up to keep our feet cool. Just like our enclosed shoes, it is important to pick styles that will still provide your feet with the support you need.

Introducing the Vionic Islander thongs – these thongs feature a biomechanically designed footbed that hugs your arches and supports your feet in all-day comfort

We love Summer here at Border Podiatry Centre and we want your little ones feet to be as healthy as they can!

The human foot at birth is not a miniature version on an adult’s foot. In fact, when a baby is born there are very few bones that have even begun to form. Most of the foot is cartilage. By age three many of the bones in a child’s foot have ossified but the foot continues to grow until the mid-teens.

A toddler’s foot is usually wide and chubby and very flat. It’s so important to make sure you choose the right style of shoe for your child from the moment they are walking. Podiatrists recommend that a toddler has a shoe that attaches to the foot with a strap or laces, that is wide enough for their little toes to fit, and shoes that have a flexible sole. Firm soled shoes can make a child feel unsteady and off-balance.

Summer time is here and we cannot believe that pre-season training is in full swing – but it is!

We seem to be a sport mad nation, we love training, participating and giving our best to our individual and team sports, but with an increase in the volume and intensity of the sport we play in summer comes more inevitable injuries.

So prevention of injury is front of mind for us here.

We’d rather that you avoid injury in the first place so that you can stay out on the field or court and do what you enjoy best.

As summer sports are in full swing, we have been seeing more and more Sprained Foot injuries, so we thought we should shed some light on the injury so you can identify the symptoms and insure you are receiving the correct treatment.

Do you experience pain and numbness in your feet?

Do you have type 1 or type 2 diabetes?

The topic of peripheral neuropathy may be of interest to you to help protect your feet as best you can!

Diabetes can affect your feet by damaging nerves in the legs and feet. Peripheral neuropathy is characterised by a loss of nerve fibres which firstly affects the nerves furthest away from the trunk, (for example, in the toes and the soles of the foot). This condition reduces the speed of conduction of impulses along the nerve, and as a result, the function of the nerve is impaired which often presents symmetrically.

We have even put this in a video for you

Getting a good fitting shoe that your podiatrist approves may seem a little challenging, and finding one to fit your orthoses may seem downright impossible. That’s why the team at Border Podiatry Centre stock a range of footwear that will accommodate your orthoses and style needs.

Knee pain is one of the most common injuries we see in our clinic, this is partly due to there being many different types of knee pain. But today I want to talk to you about the most common knee injury we treat here, it’s known as Patellofemoral Syndrome.

Keep reading…
 
So, what is Patellofermoral Syndrome and who is at risk?

Great Question!
 
Patellofermoral Syndrome is a term to describe the pain in and around your knee cap. 
For some patients this pain can be hard to locate the source of the pain, and even harder to describe. As clinicians we describe the pain as vague and diffuse in nature.

 
Almost everyone who is active is at risk of knee pain, including Patellofermoral syndrome, but there are certain groups that are more susceptible.
 
People who exercise or play sports, particularly those that involve sudden changes in movement or speed could be vulnerable to knee injuries. This is because when you run, jump, twist and turn, the extra force and impact is taken by the knee joint. 

Do you have heel pain? We’re talking about pain and swelling at the back of the heel today.
The kind of heel pain that catches you when you walk; and is generally stiff and sore.

As we are coming into our summer sports season, our bodies may be not be ready for the increase in activity we are about to do. This is unfortunately where overuse injuries can settle in.

Achilles tendinopathy refers to injury or damage to the Achilles tendon. The tendon attaches the gastrocnemius-soleus muscles (also known as the calf muscle) to the calcaneus (or heel bone). As the calf muscles tighten, they cause the Achilles tendon to plantarflex the foot and allow for push off. Therefore, every step you take applies force through the Achilles tendon, when running and jumping this force is even greater.

Do you experience a sharp, tingling or burning pain in the ball of your foot? Does this precede shooting or numbness in your toes? You could be experiencing the symptoms of a neuroma – ouch!

Neuroma’s can be a painful condition of the forefoot caused by swelling of a nerve between the metatarsals (long bones of the foot).  At the base of the toes, the nerve splits into a “Y” and enters the toes. It is in this area that the nerve gets pinched and swells, forming the neuroma. They are often caused by tight and poor fitting footwear, and can also be caused by poor foot function and splaying of the feet.

The after sport the recovery process is vital to restore physiological and psychological function to an athlete after both training and competition days. For those athletes that compete in a regular sport, generally on a weekly occurrence, it is particularly important that they take their recovery seriously.

The recovery process is necessary to help minimize the risk of fatigue and maximize the speed of recovery between competition days.