"My Foot Hurts Even When My Sheets Touch It!!

“MY FOOT HURTS EVEN WHEN MY SHEETS TOUCH IT!!”

If this is a complaint that you have, you may have a condition called GOUT. Gout has various other names, such as metabolic arthritis or Podagra. Almost 1 million people in the United States have Gout.
Even Benjamin Franklin, who lived from 1706 to 1790, had Gout. Gout plagued Franklin so much, that he even wrote an essay titled, “Dialogue between Franklin and The Gout” on October 22, 1780. Other famous people afflicted with gout include President Thomas Jefferson, King Henry VIII of England, Charles Darwin, Alexander the Great, and Voltaire.

What is Gout?
Gout is a buildup of uric acid crystals in and around joints in the body. Gout only attacks one joint at a time. A gouty attack is when these uric acid crystals in the joint buildup, causing exquisite pain, redness and warmth. The joint can become so sensitive, that even the slightest touch can elicit an excruciating amount of pain.

A common complaint is, “My foot hurts even when the sheets touch it.” These attacks can last from hours to days. An acute gouty attack is self-limiting, however medication is necessary in most cases to reduce the pain and the inflammation.

Gout can occur in any joint; however, there are joints that are more commonly affected. These include the big toe, ankles, knees, wrists, and elbows. Rarely, uric acid has also been found in the ears, vocal cords, and the spinal cord.

How does the uric acid build up in the joints? Gout essentially is a metabolic disorder. It happens when the body has a malfunction in processing and eliminating uric acid sufficiently; it can also happen when the body has a genetic tendency to generate more uric acid than the body needs. The uric acid that gets deposited in the joints turn into crystals called tophi. These tophi can become very painful, especially during an acute attack of Gout.


Some people are more at risk of getting gout than others.
Some of the risk factors of gout include:
1. Obesity
2. Moderate to High Alcohol Consumption
3. Abnormal Kidney function
4. Hypertension
5. Some prescription drugs may also exacerbate gout.

DIAGNOSIS & TREATMENT:
Diagnosis of gout can be made by your podiatrist, by just inspection of your big toe or ankle joint. A more definitive diagnosis can be made by joint aspiration of the fluid in the joint. This fluid is taken from the joint and sent for pathology to identify the uric acid crystals. Blood Tests to check for the uric acid in the blood can also be done.

It is essential to go to your podiatrist or doctor if you have symptoms that are similar to gout. If left untreated, multiple acute gouty attacks can lead to a chronic condition of gout. This can further lead to decrease in kidney function, and the formation of kidney stones.

Your podiatrist may treat a gouty attack with pain relievers and Anti-inflammatory medication as a first line of treatment. Some medications can also lower the blood uric acid by preventing uric acid production in the body.

PREVENTION:
Once gout is diagnosed, there are many ways to prevent any further attacks of gout. These include weight loss, decrease in alcohol consumption, sufficient fluid intake, and a change in diet.
Foods rich in purine (the product which is converted to uric acid in the body) should be avoided. There are many foods rich in purine. These include, shellfish, meat, organ meat (liver, kidney, etc), fried foods, roasted nuts, etc… You can speak with your podiatrist regarding what foods to avoid, and what foods to moderate if you do have gout. Acid forming foods should also be avoided.

If you have any or all of the above symptoms of pain and tenderness, redness or inflammation, consult your Podiatrist immediately.

Diagnosis, Treatment and more importantly Preventing future attacks of gout is essential in keeping your body healthy.

 

Don’t Forget to Thank Your Feet this Thanksgiving! By Dr. Sharon S. Joag

Day after day, Month after month and year after year, your feet really do take on a beating.  They do a lot of work, carrying all of our body weight around all day long.  And during the holiday season, they take on even more.  Everything we do to our bodies affects our feet; from high heeled shoes, to the foot that we end up eating. 

So, this holiday season, start it off right; start by taking care of one of most important, yet one of the most neglected parts of our bodies, our FEET! 

1.     
Wear comfortable shoes that compliment your foot type.  For your dress shoes, try brands like Dr. Comfort, Ecco, or Clark’s shoes.  They have a bit more padding and arch support, and more importantly, they have a bit more width to accommodate your toes.  Trying to squeeze our toes into little stilettoes, and those narrow heels may look pretty amazing, but they are a disaster for your feet. 
Wearing narrow high heels can lead to painful hammertoes, bunions, neuromas, and many other foot problems.  If you must wear high heels, make sure you have a comfortable pair of shoes you can change into by the end of the night, when you are getting home from work, or going home from a party or dinner.  If you need advice on what type of shoes to wear, consult your Podiatrist.  Having a high or a low arch will define the type of shoe that best suits your feet.

2.       
Try Reflexology!This alternative massage therapy has been around for thousands of years, and it is still around for a reason.  Your reflexologist may do a lymphatic drainage as part of your foot treatment.  If you have swollen feet at the end of the day, or if you have chronic swelling called “pitting edema”, that just will not go away, lymphatic drainage is for you. 
Lymphatic Drainage is a form of manual therapy that helps to remove the excess fluid in your feet and legs and manually pushes this fluid toward your heart and lungs.  Lymphatic drainage will help to bring back your energy, and improve your circulation.  This can be done as often as is needed; once a week, or once every two weeks. 

      Eat a Healthy, Balanced Diet.  That does not mean that you need to restrict your diet, but it does mean that you need to become a conscious eater.  Putting less meat, and more vegetables on your plate is the general rule to follow.  But it is also important to eat in moderation; never eat too much of anything. 
A diet that is not balanced, and healthy can lead to Systemic Diseases, such as Diabetes Type II.  Diabetes in turn, can affect every system in the body.  An unhealthy diet, rich in purines, such as red meats and alcohol, can lead to Gout.  Knowing and thinking about what you are putting into your body is crucial. 

4.       
Walk, Exercise, Just MOVE. Take a walk during your lunch break.  Especially if your job is at a desk.  Your circulation will improve, as each time you flex your calf muscle, you are actually helping to circulate blood in your legs.
And if time permits, put your feet up at work every now and then.  You will notice that you will get a boost of energy by doing this. 

This Thanksgiving, take care of your feet, and they will take care of you!  

WHAT IS A DVT?

Have you ever heard of a DVT, but are not sure exactly what it is?

A DVT stands for a Deep Venous Thrombosis. More than one Million people suffer from DVT's each year, and out of those, 100,000 people die of a DVT each year in the United States. A DVT does not descriminate, and it can and has affected people of all ages.

A DVT is a blood clot or thrombosis which is in a deep vein in the leg or the pelvis. An embolism is also another name for a blood clot, like a PE or a pulmonary embolism which is a blood clot which travels to the lungs but originates in the leg.

Symptoms of a DVT which you can actually see in the leg include
1- Significant swelling of one leg compared to another

2- Pain and tenderness of one leg which is unrelated to a trauma.

Some signs of a PE or Pulmonary Embolism are
1- Shortness of Breath
2- Chest pain, especially while breathing in
3-Coughing up Blood
4-Sudden Collapse

Some of the risk factors which may lead to blood clots include:

1- Major surgery

2-Cancer
3-Trauma to the leg
4-Immobility

5-Pregnancy

6-Birth control or hormone replacement therapy
7-History of a prior DVT or PE
8-Obesity

There are several ways in which to prevent a DVT from occurring. Mainly, you must stay active and move your legs frequently. Making sure you take walks each and every day is very important. By doing this, you will also maintain your weight at a certain level.
If you smoke, you must stop or try to stop smoking; as a smoker you have a greater risk of developing a DVT or a PE.

If you do have any chest pain, you must report this right away!

The treatment for a DVT is immediate. You will be admitted to the hospital and you will be placed on anticoagulant therapy, such as coumadin or heparin in order to thin your blood. This will decrease the ability of the blood to clot, thereby preventing any new clots from forming in your body, and not allowing the existing clots from getting any bigger. Your doctor may also give you compression stockings to wear daily in an effort to prevent future clots.

The best treatment for a DVT is prevention! Make sure you walk on a daily basis, and eat a balanced diet.

Quailbrook Senior Center, Somerset , New Jersey

Senior Centers are places where seniors can engage in activities together during the day. It is a place to commence in friendship, and spirit.
At these centers, various activities are provided. Breakfast and Lunch are also included, as well as excursions to and from grocery stores, post offices, etc.. which may be difficult for the seniors to get to themselves. Many of the members are no longer able to drive and depend on such centers to provide mental and emotional support.
As a Podiatrist, I have found that many seniors also appreciate podiatric services to be available at the senior center. The seniors find comfort that a medical professional is able to deliver their services in a senior facility.
We visited such a center last week, in Somerset, NJ. The seniors were more than happy to see us, and found it much easier than having to travel to a doctor's office; They would have to find a relative who would have to take them there; and that could take months.

HEALTH BENEFITS FOR WOMEN WHO LIFT WEIGHTS

By: Sharon S. Joag


1. YOU WILL BECOME PHYSICALLY STRONGER: This is called Functional Fitness
Resistance training will enable you to do daily activities much easier since it increases your strength. Muscles which are worked against resistance increase in strength.
Your chores around the home will seem easier to do.


-IMPROVES ATHLETIC PERFORMANCE AND DECREASES INJURY.
-BUILDS STRONGER CONNECTIVE TISSUE AND INCREASES JOINT STABILITY BY STRENGTHENING JOINTS.


-Women at any age, even in their 70’s and 80’s have built up significant strength with weight training. Resistance training helps to fight aging by maintaining lean muscle tissue and increasing bone density.


-Women in their mid-30’s start to lose 5-10% of muscle strength each decade.

2. GAIN STRENGTH WITHOUT BULK


A long standing myth is that women who lift weights risk growing muscles like a man! This is just a MYTH.


Because women have more estrogen and less testosterone, women gain more tone and definition and less hypertrophy or bulk. Men gain muscle hypertrophy. Therefore, no matter how much a woman works out, she can never gain as much muscle as a man. This can only happen with hormone supplementation or hormone imbalance.


Another myth is that lifting weights makes women gain weight! This is not true.
You will not gain weight by lifting weights. Instead, you will actually be able to control your weight by toning your muscles. Muscle is more dense than fat, however, it takes up less space than fat. Also, muscle cells, even at rest burn more calories than fat cells.


With age, your metabolic rate decreases. That means that there is a decrease in the rate at which your body uses calories. By strength training, you offset the loss in muscle tissue that occurs when you age. You also increase your metabolic rate and prevent age-related weight gain.

3. DECREASED RISK OF OSTEOPOROSIS
Weight training increases spinal bone mineral density by 13% in 6 months. This with adequate calcium can be the best defense against osteoporosis, because it decreases the risk of fracture. Therefore, weight training improves balance, bone density, and muscle mass.

4. DECREASES THE RISK OF HEART DISEASE; and CANCER
Decreases LDL cholesterol
Increases HDL cholesterol
Decreases BP
Decreases body fat.
Decreases appetite.

5. DECREASES RISK OF DIABETES MELLITUS
-Weight training can increase glucose utilization in the body by 23% in 4 months.


6. EXERCISE INCREASES:
-Cardiac function
- Insulin sensitivity
-Bone density

7. EXERCISE HELPS ARTHRITIS:

This happens as stronger muscles can take the pressure off the inflamed joints.

9. IMPROVES PSYCHOLOGICAL HEALTH
- Fights depression: In a study done on depression, it showed that 10 weeks of strength training decreased symptoms of depression more successfully than standard counseling.
-Increased confidence and Self-esteem.
-Decreased anxiety

STUDY ON WOMEN AFTER TREATMENT FOR BREAST CANCER:
- In a study done in 2001 at St. Paul/Minneapolis, Minnesota, on two groups of women, both of whom underwent treatment of Breast Cancer within the last 3 years. One group was assigned to an exercise group and the other group of women had no exercise regimen to follow. The Exercise group met twice a week for 3 months and were then encouraged to continue the exercises for another 3 months.


Both groups were later asked questions regarding their physical well-being, mental happiness, and sexual activity.


The women who had done exercise felt that they had increased their strength over all. They had increased speed, self-confidence and a feeling of control over their bodies.
The women who did not exercise did not have such a feeling of well-being and were more depressed in general.


GUIDELINES BY THE AMERICAN HEART ASSOCIATION AND THE AMERICAN COLLEGE OF SPORTS MEDICINE:
-All individuals should do 8-10 repetitions for each of the major muscle groups: Biceps; Quadriceps; and Hamstrings.-Resistance exercises should be done on 2 or more non-consecutive days of the week.


These may seem to be simple rules to live by, but you will be surprised at how many people including yourself actually follows these guidelines.


As you start lifting weights and become stronger, you will also become more active and will have more energy.



Your overall body balance will improve.



Weight training will keep your body weight and your waist line healthy.



Your overall positive mood and increased energy will enhance your life.