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2411 Crofton Lane, Suite 25
Crofton, MD 21114

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Posts for tag: Foot Injuries

By Crofton Podiatry
June 07, 2017
Category: Feet Safety

The warm weather means more than fun in the sun. It also means caring for your lawn and fixing up your landscaping around your house. For those that maintain their lawns on their own, it’s important to be aware of the risks that come with using motorized landscaping tools like power mowers with rotary blades.  Thousands of Americans suffer power mower injuries each year, with hand and foot injuries topping the list of injury sites. Children younger than the age of 14 and older adults seem to be more likely to get injured.

At Crofton Podiatry, we put the safety of our patients first. The following are guidelines you can follow to prevent injuries while using a power mower:

  • Safety gear: Wear goggles, hearing protection, long pants and closed-toe shoes with gripped outer soles. Use protective gloves when putting your hand near the blades (Try to use a stick or something else instead of your hands if possible) to fix something or replace blades.
  • Weather: Only mow lawns in good weather. A wet lawn can put you at risk of slipping and injuring your foot.
  • Children: Keep children and pets away from the lawn while mowing or using other landscaping tools. They may run up to the machines without you realizing it. Do not allow them to ride on the lawn mower, and do not allow them to even sit on an adults lap while on a lawn tractor as they can get injured while getting on or off.
  • Clear the Lawn: Before you start mowing, clear the lawn of toys, branches, and other debris so that they do not become projectiles when caught in the rotary blades. Children should be at least 12 years old before using a lawn mower, and at least 16 years old for a riding mower.
  • Power landscaping tools: Buy ones that have auto shut-off when your hands release the handle. You also need to get one that is appropriate to your landscape – steep hills are a no-no for riding mowers.
  • While mowing: Always keep the clip bag attached. Mow across and not up and down hills. Also, never mow backwards unless you don’t have any alternative as it is high risk for injury if someone is behind you.
  • Tool maintenance: The power tools should be stored away from high traffic areas and out of reach of children. Only adults should adjust blade settings. Power mowers can get very hot and cause an explosion or fire. Refueling when hot can lead to burns. Never service the mower while it’s running (including unclogging or unjamming the blades) – shut it off and let it cool down first.

Injuries from power landscaping tools should be treated promptly! Go to the emergency department for severe injuries. For strains or sprains from using mowers, come see our board-certified podiatrist, Dr. Brad Toll at Crofton Podiatry. Make an appointment by calling (410) 721-4505. Our team is ready to assist you at our Crofton, MD office, which also serves the surrounding Gambrills, Odenton, and Bowie areas.

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By Brad Toll
November 30, 2014
Category: Removable Boot

A new fad is popping up across social media outlets such as Pinterest, Facebook, and Twitter. Hundreds of photos tagged with the likes of #celebsinsurgicalboots are popping up online as more and more debutants hit the red carpet wearing the least fashionable item in the medical armory. It seems the trend is nearly inescapable, with its most recent additions to membership including: Shia LaBeouf, Reese Witherspoon, Kobe Bryant, David Beckham, and even ex-PODUS daughter Chelsea Clinton. While many fashion critics are lauding the new statement, medical practitioners across the nation are rejoicing as celebrities unofficially endorse the most effective (yet least patient appreciated) treatment for the foot and ankle.

Before you begin to ‘burn the boot’ it is important that you put into perspective just why your foot and ankle specialist put you into one in the first place. For starters, no – your doctor does not want to keep you from looking cute, and this is not (typically) a punishment for being a bad patient.  However, it is one of the most fundamental modalities for protecting your feet following an injury like sprains, fractures, plantar fasciitis or even surgery. Walking boots are specifically designed to evenly disperse the pressures of walking below your feet, providing open wounds or soft tissue injuries the time and environment they need to heal. Many physicians also suggest stretching and exercise techniques to maintain muscle strength during use. These are also critical to your recovery, as they increase blood flow to the injured area and prevent muscle atrophy.

Oftentimes at my clinic in Crofton Maryland, I’ll see patients who want quick healing, but aren’t willing to wear their boot. Trust me - we wouldn’t put you into these devices if it wasn’t absolutely critical to your healing. Ultimately –a walking boot may be one of the many components of an effective treatment plan; however, in many cases strict adherence to its use is quintessential to success. Following the instructions from your doctor (and respecting the boot!) is a crucial step in getting back into the shoes you actually want to be wearing.

By Dr. Brad Toll of Crofton Podiatry

Here's one of our wonderfully positive patients embracing the boot!

 
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By Brad Toll
November 29, 2014

Investigators say they used footage from 2014 Miss Toyota Grand Prix contest in Longbeach, CA to catch insurance fraud in the act. A 22 year-old beauty contestant was arrested after authorities discovered her featured in an online video competing in the competition, all while allegedly collecting disability from a reported foot injury.  Little did the 22 year old know that the cameras she was so eagerly posing for would be the same cameras capturing the evidence needed to book her on 3 counts of serious insurance fraud.

The contestant was Shawna Palmer, a clerk at a nearby grocery store who had recently filed for workman’s comp after allegedly injuring her toe during work hours. However, within two days after leaving her doctor’s office in crutches, Palmer was seen competing in a beauty contest in little but high heels.  To make matters worse, Palmer was seen competing in high heels in yet another beauty competition, less than a week after telling physicians that she ‘could not place any weight on her foot, move it in any direction, or wear a shoe for any length of time’.  If convicted, she will face a possible a year in prison and repayment of the $24,000 in benefits she has collected on disability leave so far.

However, true cases of workman’s compensation is nothing to joke about.  Unlike this contestant, most of my patients in the Crofton and Gambrills area who see me for far an evaluation want to reduce the amount of work time lost as a result of a foot injury.  This is why I work with all of my patients with work related foot injuries to get them back into regular shoes as quickly yet safely as possible.  If you have any foot pain or injuries that are keeping you from doing what you want to, it is important you seek the consultation of a foot and ankle specialist and if you’re in the area click here to schedule a visit with me at Crofton Podiatry.

 

By Brad Toll.

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By Brad Toll
January 25, 2014
Category: Foot Pain

Let’s talk about the future of Jimmy Graham for a moment.  In case you’ve missed it, Jimmy (a fabled tight end with the New Orleans Saints) was diagnosed in week 7 with an injury to his foot.  As the end of 2013 drew near, the controversy grew over the fate of Graham’s future career, with speculations ranging to every extreme. So just what exactly did Jimmy do, and just what does his future look like? 

Our feet are just as complex as our hands; featuring a similar formula of bones, ligaments and tendons.  In addition, they bear all of the pounding forces our bodies create as we walk.  Overtime, repeated impacts on our feet wear and tear our plantar fascia (the ligamentous band running along the bottom of our feet).  This prolonged stress creates micro-trauma in this band, bringing pain, inflammation and swelling to our feet until they are allowed to heal.

In Graham’s case, he was diagnosed with a partially torn plantar fascia.  And while he chose to play through the rest of the season, you can be sure it wasn’t without discomfort, and constant worry.  Thick tissues like fascia have a reduced blood supply, and as a result, take much longer to heal than other parts of the body.  Continuing to play on an already compromised fascia, Graham continued to damage an already weakened part of his body.  Running the risk of completing the tear in his inflamed fascia could result in an extremely painful and intense rupture of his fascial band.  Such an injury could set him back many months of training, and may cost him top dollars in his upcoming contract renewals.

In the end, it doesn’t take an NFL tight end to tear your plantar fascia.  It is easier than you think, and anyone from the weekend golfer to the Olympic athlete can experience complications.  If you are feeling pain in the bottom of your feet at the end of the day, or just as you are getting your morning started, come by and see Dr. Brad Toll at Crofton Podiatry in Crofton, MD to get the best tips and tricks for reducing your foot pain and preventing damage to your plantar fascia. Dr. Toll is anexperienced foot and ankle surgeon, and has decades of expertise in preventing and treating foot injuries.

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2411 Crofton Lane, Suite 25
Crofton, MD 21114

Podiatrist - Crofton, Crofton Podiatry, 2411 Crofton Lane, Suite 25, Crofton MD, 21114 (410) 721-4505