Your Foot or Heel Pain Could Be Plantar Fasciitis

You may not even be familiar with the term “plantar fasciitis,” but you’re almost certainly familiar with the condition. It’s one of the most common orthopedic complaints that doctors and chiropractors hear about.

The name is drawn from the plantar fascia ligaments in your leg that support the arch of your foot, acting as a kind of shock absorber when you walk or run. As you might expect, these ligaments get daily workouts, and as such, experience a lot of wear and tear over time. Sooner or later, there’s bound to be a problem, and that problem expresses itself in the form of sharp, shooting pain in your heel or in the middle of your foot.

While anyone can develop the condition, it’s most common in people who are overweight, or people who jog or run regularly. It also occurs regularly in people who have very active jobs that see them on their feet for several hours of each day. Finally, although this does not describe a huge percentage of people, if you have high arches or flat feet, you are more likely to develop the condition.

If you experience sharp, shooting pain in your heel or the middle area of your foot, especially first thing in the morning when you get out of bed and take your first steps, odds are good that you have it. Although, you should consult your doctor or chiropractor to be certain.

It can be treated at home by staying off your feet as much as possible and applying ice for up to twenty minutes at a time, three to four times a day. Adding stretching to your morning routine can help, as can wearing arch supports in your shoes. For pain relief, Ibuprofen, Motrin, Advil or Aleve (NSAIDS) work best to reduce the inflammation in your ligaments.

If the pain is severe, your doctor or chiropractor can offer additional forms of treatment, but in the vast majority of cases, the home remedies mentioned above will get the job done.

Ways to Avoid Injury When Moving To A New Home 

Moving is one of the most stressful events in a person’s life, ranking comparably with marriage, divorce, or the death of a loved one.

While those other events can cause more intense emotional stress, moving also causes emotional stress. It is also very likely to result in personal injury in ways that those other stressful events typically don’t.

Fortunately, there are a few simple strategies you can employ to minimize your risk of injury during the move, which will result in less stress for you overall.

1. Planning Is Essential – Your moving plan should be flexible enough to ensure that you’re not moving in the pouring rain, during a severe snowstorm, in the middle of the night, and the like. If you find yourself having to move under these conditions, odds are that not enough planning went into the move. The simple truth is that moving a house full of heavy objects is dangerous under even the best of conditions. Moving in the conditions described above magnifies your risk many times over.

2. Don’t Do It Alone – Even if you feel a bit like Superman, you’re not, and if you try to lift really heavy objects (furniture or heavy boxes) on your own, you’re more likely to get hurt. Speaking of boxes, too often, people fill a box to capacity regardless of its total weight. Don’t make that mistake. Even if it takes you a few additional boxes, be sure that each container isn’t so heavy that you’ll strain something trying to lift it. The big lesson here though, is that moving is never a solo job. Get help. Enlist family and friends as needed so no one person is having to do too much.

3. Body Mindfulness – This one should go without saying, but it bears repeating anyway. Even when you have adequate help, practice good posture and proper lifting procedures. Lift with your legs, not your back!

Moving is stressful and there’s not much that can be done about that. At the very least though, you can keep your risk of injury to a minimum!

Regular Computer Use May Contribute To Health Issues

Last year, the smartphone replaced the personal computer as the primary means people use to access the internet.

The King may be down, but he’s certainly not dead. Every day, tens of millions of us use our PCs to work and access the internet for entertainment, but there’s a problem. Using your PC for extended periods of time can be a real pain in the neck, both literally and figuratively, and it can cause a variety of other aches and pains. Here are a few simple tips for avoiding the most common types of computer-related injuries:

Posture, Posture, Posture!

The most common type of computer related injury is pain in the neck and shoulders. Invariably, this is caused by poor posture when sitting for hours at a time in front of your computer. In addition to simple mindfulness, there are a number of fixes for this, including:

  • Making sure that your monitor is at a proper height, so you’re looking at it straight on, rather than down.
  • Investing in an ergonomic chair
  • Buying an extra lumbar support cushion, even in cases where you have an ergonomic chair

It’s also important to keep your legs out in front of you and feet on the floor, and make sure your chair is properly height adjusted. Those ergonomic features only work if you take those steps, after all.

Padding

Wrist strain and carpal tunnel are two other commonly occurring injuries. Here, your best friend is a wrist pad that sits just in front of your keyboard, giving your wrists a comfortable cushion to sit on. Also, if you don’t already know how to type properly, practice that skill. Learning to type will ensure that your hands are in a position that will minimize your risk of injury.

Take Frequent Breaks

Leg and back pain are also commonly reported injuries, and here, the easiest way to prevent them is regular stretching. Every hour, make it a point to get up, stretch, and move around. Pro tip: If you drink lots of water while you’re at your computer, Mother Nature will tend to take care of this detail for you!

The bottom line is, while computers are glorious inventions, they can also lead us to harm. Fortunately, avoiding that harm is easy to do, so long as you’re mindful of it.

Keep Kids Safe This Back To School Season

It’s back to school time, and as any ER doctor will tell you, that means lots of spills, falls, injuries and accidents.

The first week back to school is among the busiest times of year for Emergency Rooms and chiropractors alike.

Here are the most common types of accidents to watch out for, and how you can keep your kids safe:

  1. Falls – Most of the falls that occur happen either in the school building or on the football field. While there’s no way you can protect your child from accidents in the school halls, you can stress the importance of mindfulness and being careful. Many falls inside the school itself are caused by distraction, with use of a smartphone and/or ear buds being one of the most common forms of distraction. If you feel that taking these things away from your child is too much, at least consider sitting them down and reminding them how dangerous it can be to get distracted.
  2. Biking Injuries – Every year, innumerable scrapes, bruises, strains and sprains are caused by tumbles while on a bicycle. Stress safety, and if you’re especially concerned, insist that your child wear a helmet. While it won’t prevent the spills from occurring, it will mitigate the damage done.
  3. Crossing The Street – The injuries that can occur when a child crosses the street tend to be the most serious for obvious reasons. A good rule of thumb is not to allow children under ten to cross the street unsupervised. Older children should be reminded of basic safety protocols (look both ways, observe and obey traffic signals, and walk facing traffic!)

Accidents can be traced to a variety of other sources, but if you keep the big three in mind, you’ll go a long way toward keeping your child safe as the new school year gets underway.