Berks Foot Specialists, P.C.

Broken Toes So, you slide out of bed, headed for the bathroom, but rounding the foot of the bed....CRACK! You stub your toe and see stars. You turn the lights on and examine it. It's swollen, already starting to show bruising and hurts like anything. What do you do? Ice? Heat? Advil?... No! You see your podiatrist. Contrary to folklore, broken toes absolutely need to be professionally evaluated and treated. An untreated or improperly treated broken toe runs the risk of healing crooked...or worse, not at all. That can leave you with a chronic painful digit. Your podiatrist will perform a history of the injury, a physical examination and x-rays. These will dictate whether the break requires simple taping or possibly surgical repair. And next time...wear slippers for that trip to the bathroom...

Ankle Sprains So, you're walking along and you "roll" your ankle. You feel a sharp pain and the ankle immediately swells and starts to turn black and blue. What do you do?? Do you apply ice...or heat? Do you "walk it off"? No...you see your podiatrist! Ankle sprains are one of the most under-treated of lower extremity injuries. They more often occur on the outside of the ankle, where the ligaments are smaller and weaker than the inside. And a sprain is actually tearing of par...t or all of one or more of those ligaments. Without proper diagnosis and treatment, you could end up with a chronically unstable ankle. Your podiatrist will examine your ankle and foot thoroughly, likely including x-rays. It is very common to crack one of the ankle bones or even a bone in the foot when overturning an ankle. Then, based on the degree of ligament (and possibly bone) injury, they will prescribe a supportive taping, a splint, an immobilizer boot, and/or crutches until the injury has a chance to heal. Ice, elevation and anti-inflammatories are often recommended. Treat ankle injuries properly and promptly and you can be back on your feet, pain free, in no time.

Hammertoes Hammertoes are simply toes that have become crooked over time. They generally result from a musculotendon imbalance, not tight shoes, although shoes with inadequate toe room can irritate them. At first, they are fairly flexible (reducible) and may respond to corrective taping and increased support from better shoes and custom inserts. But the longer the deformity exists, the more rigid it becomes. A rigid, painful hammertoe is only correctable with surgery. As lon...g as adequate circulation is present for healing, contracted tendons and soft tissues are released and bone is usually removed from the joint of the toe. This allows the toe to be repositioned in a straighter position. Sometimes a pin or implant is used to assure the toe heals straight. Often, the goal is to "fuse" the joint, thus holding the toe straight permanently. It is not necessary for toes to bend for normal gait, so this option provides greater assurance the deformity won't return. The procedure is done as an outpatient and patients are walking (short periods of time initially) the same day. Hammertoes are not only unsightly, but painful and limit shoe choices. They can be corrected fairly quickly and safely.

Plantar Warts: Another common complaint in our office is plantar warts (Plantar means the bottom of the foot). These lesions caused by a virus. They are generally circular and often have small brown or black dots in them. These dots are from tiny blood vessels. They can be solitary or in clusters. They are generally painful, particularly in side-to-side compression. There are many treatment options for warts. Over the years, they have been cut out, burned, lasered, frozen an...d treated with acid and other chemicals. The important thing to remember is that warts exist only in the outer "epidermal" layer of the skin. There is no need to "cut down to the roots" since they don't have roots. If treatment violates the underlying dermis, scar tissue will form, and there is nothing more frustrating than getting rid of the wart, only to replace it with a permanently painful scar. My preferred method of primary treatment is to scrape off any overlying hard tissue and then treat the wart with a chemical that causes a small blister. The lesion is then covered with tape and in 2 weeks, all loose tissue is scraped away. This method causes some inflammation and that will stimulate the patient's immune system to help clear the virus. There is little discomfort with this treatment method and no need to stay off your feet. Patients should remember that warts are a transmittable virus and take steps not to contract, or spread them.