Our team: Linda provides foot care at our Neepawa office.
Benefits of Foot Care: A trained foot care nurse can examine, diagnose and treat many foot problems. It is essential that a diabetic patient get their feet checked regularly. Diabetics must take extra care of their feet due to the negative circulatory effects of their condition. Foot care nurses are trained to recognize abnormal deformities of the foot and recommend appropriate treatment or referral if needed. They also are trained in recognizing callus patterns and removing calluses from the feet that can often alter how you walk.
Foot Care Nurses Treat:
Bunions Bunions are often described as a “bump” on the side of the big toe, caused by a mal-alignment of the big toe joint. The big toe leans toward the second toe, rather than pointing straight ahead.
Heel Spurs The heel bone is the largest bone in the foot. It is the first part of the foot to strike the ground while walking and it supports 50% of your weight while standing. A heel spur is a bony growth that usually begins on the front of the heel bone where the muscle of the foot attaches to the heel bone. In adults, heel spurs usually develop on the underside of the heel bone.
Callus or Corn A callus or corn is thickening of the skin due to repeated pressure or friction. The skin thickens in response to the pressure; this is your body’s way of protecting the underlying tissue. Calluses usually present on the bottom of the foot and corns will form over the “knuckle” or joints of the toes.
Ingrown Toenail An ingrown toenail occurs when the side of the toenail turns downward and presses into the skin or when the nail grows into the skin. Ingrown toenails can be very painful and limit activities of daily living. Once the skin is punctured, the area is vulnerable to infection. Usual signs of infection include redness, swelling, warmth, pain, and sometimes a weeping discharge. Plantar Fasciitis Plantar Fasciitis is a common but serious and painful condition that occurs when the ligament on the bottom of the foot becomes inflamed. This ligament extends from the front of the heel to the ball of the foot. The pain associated with plantar fasciitis is often described as very painful first thing in the morning or after sitting or resting for a while, and then somewhat subsides after walking several steps.
Plantar Warts A plantar wart is a condition that is caused by a virus. It may develop over a period of days, weeks or several months. The virus enters the body though a microscopic opening in the skin. Warts can appear anywhere but when they are found on the sole of the foot, they are called plantar warts. Warts can occur individually or in clusters, they range from very tiny to very large, from no pain to very painful. Although anyone can get the virus that causes plantar warts, children tend to be more susceptible than adults.
Hammertoe Hammertoe is the name given to a toe, which “curls” and is shaped like a “hammer”. It can develop in the second, third or fourth toes, however is most common in the second toe. Hammertoes are classified as flexible or rigid. The flexible hammertoe joint allows movement and the rigid hammertoe has limited movement and can become very painful. The longer you have a hammer toe the more rigid and “curly” the deformity can become.