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Posts for tag: Gout

By Crofton Podiatry
October 24, 2018
Category: exercise
Tags: swelling   Gout   stretch   walking   orthotic   comfortable shoes   obesity  

It’s easier than ever to lead a sedentary lifestyle. Most people work at a job where they sit for most of the day, the latest movies are readily accessible without even leaving the comfort of your home, and there are even robots that will vacuum the house for you! Yes, it’s convenient, but is it also making us less healthy?

If you feel that you have begun to lead a more sedentary lifestyle, it may be time to reassess how much time you spend engaging in physical activity. One easy way to do this is to incorporate a brisk walk into your day, on the treadmill or around your block. You can use this time to clear your head, meditate, talk to a friend, or listen to an audiobook. Plus, your body will thank you!

Benefits of Walking for Overall Health

  • Walking can help you manage your weight. You can power walk or walk for longer periods with inclines to help you burn more calories for weight maintenance or weight loss. Maintaining a healthy weight can reduce the risk of developing other health problems.
  • It can improve your mood and help you de-stress. Take meaningful and controlled strides to help you feel grounded.
  • Strengthen your bones and muscles; engage your tendons and ligaments; get your blood pumping.
  • Reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease and high blood pressure by exercising your heart.

Benefits of Walking for Foot Health

  • Strengthen the bones and muscles of the feet and ankles.
  • Increase flexibility and stability in the muscles, tendons, and ligaments.
  • A healthy weight can reduce the risk of obesity, which can put a lot of strain on the feet and ankles.
  • Increase circulation and reduce swelling. (For those who have gout attacks in the joints of the feet, walking encourages circulation, which can help reduce the pain due to uric acid build up.)

Tips for enjoying your walks:

  • Make sure to wear comfortable and supportive shoes, with socks! If you need extra support, our podiatrist can assess your orthotic needs.
  • Warm up and loosen up stiff muscles before you set out on a brisk walk.
  • Stretch after each walk to cool down and encourage muscle recovery.
  • Start slow, but challenge yourself to gradually take slightly faster walks.

If you notice pain or a problem with sensation when you walk, our board-certified podiatrist, Dr. Brad Toll, can properly assess your foot and ankle problems. Make an appointment today at Crofton Podiatry by calling (410) 721-4505 or contacting us online!  Dr. Toll and his dedicated staff look forward to serving you at our Crofton, MD office, which also serves Gambrills, Odenton, and Bowie areas.

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By Crofton Podiatry
August 15, 2018
Category: Arthritis
Tags: swelling   Gout   shoes   injury  

Gout can be a very debilitating condition to have. It can affect your daily life and require you to make many changes to your lifestyle. This form of arthritis is caused by a buildup of uric acid in your joints. It commonly affects your feet, especially your big toe joint. However, it can also affect other joints like the ankles and knees as well.

Following several painful bouts of gout, you may notice a pattern to when they arise. Participating in some activities or eating certain foods can put you at higher risk of experiencing a gout attack:

  • Eating foods that are high in purines (seafood, alcohols) and other inflammatory foods, such as those with a lot of refined sugar (sugary drinks)
  • Drinking excess alcohol
  • Not drinking enough water (dehydration)
  • Taking certain medications that cause a flare-up as a side effect
  • Being sick (including hospitalization, surgery, kidney disease)
  • Wearing poorly-fitting and unsupportive shoes (shoes that aggravate the affected joints can trigger an attack)
  • Jumping or other high-impact activity, injury (impact or trauma to the affected joint can cause a bout of gout)

You may also learn to recognize the symptoms of an oncoming bout of gout, including but not limited to:

  • Feeling: burning, tingling, pain, stiffness, and/or soreness in the joints
  • Seeing: redness and swelling

Do your best to avoid increasing the risk of a gout attack. However, if you have indulged a bit, you may want to take steps to reduce your chance of a prolonged and painful attack. This is especially the case for those who experience gout without warning, even being woken up by sudden painful gout attacks.

When you feel a bout of gout about to happen, or if you want to reduce the risk of gout attacks, try some of the following:

  • Hydrate! Drink lots and lots of water to assist you in flushing out excess uric acid.
  • Exercise! If symptoms have not fully set in, but you feel an attack coming on, you’ll want to keep moving (walk around) in order to promote circulation. It will help you prevent large uric acid buildup. However, if symptoms have set in and you are in pain, it’s best to rest.
  • Rest! If you’re already in pain, sit and elevate your feet. An excess strain on painful joints will worsen the gout attack.
  • Use ice packs or cold compresses and/or take NSAIDs (non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs) to reduce inflammation and pain.

Once you’ve been diagnosed with gout, you should keep up with a healthy lifestyle and diet. Keep up with your medications to reduce your chance of a gout attack. However, if you need additional assistance with foot care for gout, make an appointment at our Crofton, MD office to see our board-certified podiatrist, Dr. Brad Toll. At Crofton Podiatry, we will use the latest treatment options to assess and take care of your foot and ankle care needs. Contact our dedicated team at our Crofton, MD office, which also serves the surrounding areas of Gambrills, Odenton, and Bowie, MD.

 

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By Crofton Podiatry
August 08, 2018
Category: Foot health
Tags: swelling   Athlete's Foot   Gout   Orthotics   Diabetes   surgery   pain   arthritis   injury   psoriasis   fungal   ingrown   cracked heels  

There are some obvious times to visit a foot doctor:

  1. Foot injury – A podiatrist can help you find the best way to take care of foot injuries, with anything from orthotics to surgery.
  2. Ankle injury – Yep! Podiatrists also take care of ankle issues.
  3. Foot and ankle pain – If you suddenly notice pain or have ongoing pain that doesn’t seem to get better with time or at-home treatment, our podiatry team will help you figure out what’s going on.podiatrist

Beyond the more obvious reasons for visiting a podiatrist, some other very important times to call our office for foot health care are:

  1. Annual foot examinations – Some foot and ankle issues can arise with subtle symptoms. Catching a problem early can allow for a simpler intervention. Additionally, since a foot doctor is a fully-licensed medical professional, they can help diagnose other problems that may present symptoms affecting the feet. In fact, some patients learn about their diabetes after coming for a foot problem checkup.
  2. Conditions or diseases like arthritis, gout, or diabetes – Speaking of diabetes, folks with certain diseases can develop side effects that affect the feet. A podiatrist can help you manage symptoms like pain or numbness.
  3. Swelling or numbness – If you have swelling or numbness that is unexplained or persists for a long time, come in to check for underlying conditions.
  4. New deformities or changes in skin – Sometimes changes in the feet go unnoticed compared to changes in other parts of the body. That’s why it’s important to check the feet often for any changes that might need treatment. Additionally, severely dry, cracked heels, as well as other conditions like Athlete’s foot or psoriasis may require podiatrist help for treatment.
  5. Ingrown or fungal toenails – Most times, moderate to severe cases of ingrown or fungal toenails requires the attention of a podiatrist. Trying to treat these toenail conditions at home may be fruitless or even more harmful (e.g. trying to pry out ingrown toenails can lead to infection).

As you can see, there are many reasons why you might want to make an appointment at our Crofton, MD office to see our board-certified podiatrist, Dr. Brad Toll. At Crofton Podiatry, we will use the latest treatment options to assess and take care of your foot and ankle care needs. Please contact us and visit our podiatry team at our Crofton, MD office, which also serves the surrounding areas of Gambrills, Odenton, and Bowie, MD.

 

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By Crofton Podiatry
May 21, 2018
Category: Arthritis
Tags: Gout   Orthotics   arthritis  

If you’ve got arthritis, everyday activities that used to be simple have probably become more difficult. You may have to adjust how you do things with your hands, wrists, hips, knees, ankles, and feet. The joint inflammation can affect how long you can stand, walk, and work because of pain, stiffness, and/or swelling.

Don’t let arthritis keep you down! Keep living your best life by incorporating some of the following changes.

At Home:

  • Mats – Use foam mats wherever you tend to stand for long periods of time, such as in front of kitchen and bathroom sinks, as well as in front of the stove.
  • Rugs or Carpet – Invest in thick rugs or install carpeting in your home to reduce the impact on your feet, ankles, and knees.
  • Indoor Shoes – You may want to buy highly-cushioned shoes to wear indoors, especially if you have hardwood or tile shoes.

At Work:

  • Take breaks often and move your feet and ankles. Sitting or standing for a long time can cause them to become stiff and swollen.
  • Also, it’s best to stay hydrated to help reduce inflammation and increase circulation.

During Leisure Activities:

  • Schedule in breaks whenever you engage in fun activities. From hikes to swimming, and exploring a new city, take a rest so that your foot and ankle joints do not become inflamed (like with gout). If your feet become too swollen or inflamed, you may not be able to participate in any other activities the rest of the day.

For Your Body:

  • You may have to adjust the types of activities that you can perform, but that doesn’t mean you should just stay home and do nothing. Find other fun activities that your body can handle.
  • Continue to exercise and eat nutritiously. Your physical therapist or occupational therapist can help you find exercises to help you stay mobile and prevent joint stiffness. Watch your weight and eat plenty of anti-inflammatory foods.
  • Wear comfortable, cushioned shoes since outside irritation can make your joint inflammation worse. If your feet have become deformed from arthritis, custom orthotics may be necessary.

Make an appointment at our Crofton, MD office to see our board-certified podiatrist, Dr. Brad Toll. At Crofton Podiatry, we will use the latest treatment options to take care of your foot and ankle care needs. Our team is ready to assist you at our Crofton, MD office, which also serves the surrounding Gambrills, Odenton, and Bowie, MD areas.

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By Brad Toll
February 11, 2015
Category: Gout

Whether you were a Seahawks or Patriots fan it is undeniable that this year’s Superbowl will go down as one of the most memorable finishes in NFL’s history. While the Patriots were busy positioning themselves for the 28-24 surprise win over the Seattle Seahawks, football enthusiasts across the nation were positioning themselves for another round of snacks and drinks. During Superbowl Sunday, it was estimated that American’s ate approximately 1,083,333 football fields worth of wings, over 120 million pounds of avocados, 325 million gallons of beer (enough to fill an Olympic-sized swimming pool 1,938 times), over 29 million pounds of chips, 3.8 million pounds of popcorn, and 4 million pizzas!

While these stats are almost as amazing as the stats of the players themselves – they also bring more than just the misery of your favorite teams defeat. Many of these foods (and especially the beer that washes them down) may predispose us to a painful condition known as gout. Painful gout attacks occur due to the buildup of micro-crystals in our blood, something that can be exacerbated by diets rich in purines. These crystals deposit themselves in the joints of our peripheral extremities, and as a result affected joints will appear red, swollen, warm, and will be extremely painful to move or bend. 

If you think you or someone at your football party may be suffering from a gouty attack following this Sunday’s feast, it is important they see their local podiatrist right away. Untreated, gouty crystals will only continue to be painful, and may cause permanent damage to the joint.  Gout can be easily treated with medication, and a simple conversation regarding what foods may predispose to gouty flare-ups may significantly reduce the likelihood of future occurrence. If you live in the Crofton or Bowie area and suspect you may have gout – call my staff at Crofton Podiatry to make an appointment today!

By Brad Toll.

Food statistics courtesy: http://mashable.com/2015/01/28/super-bowl-food/

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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