I am 20 years old and have mid-arch pain on my instep. I have very flat feet and this only started recently with my new custom orthotics. Should I go back and get some new ones made? Depending on your flat foot flexibility, you may not need orthotics at all and often custom orthotics can increase the pain in a rigid flat foot deformity. You might try no orthotics at all with some good calf stretches to see if this lessens your instep pain.Reference: Maryse Bouchard, MD and Vincent S. Mosca, M...

My son is 7 and has very flat feet. I am concerned that this will cause him problems in the future. Is there anything that we should be doing now for him? If your son has a flexible flatfoot then there is typically nothing to worry about. A kid with flexible flatfoot will have an arch in sitting that will disappear with weight bearing whereas a rigid flat foot will not present with an arch at all. A rigid flatfoot is more likely to cause problems in the future, however not necessarily. It i...

I am told that I have plantar fasciitis but nothing I am doing is helping. My pain is on the inside of my foot, near my arch and is tingling and numb at times. Is this really plantar fasciitis?

Q: I have had plantar fasciitis for six months now and have worn the night splints and a walking boot and had custom orthotics made but still have it. My doctor wants me to see a physical therapist. What can they do for me and is this necessary?

My mom has several toes that are painful and crossed under. She says that I should not wear high heels because that is what caused her problem. Is this true or am I just doomed to have my mom’s feet when I get older? High heels are identified as a major cause for toes crossing or becoming stuck in a bent position, called hammer toe. Shoes with a narrow toe box or shoes that place an excessive amount of force across the base of your toes can cause hyperextension of the toe joints (bending...

I am no longer able to straighten my second toe. It does not hurt but I don’t like the way it looks when I wear flip-flops. Is there anything I can do to straighten it out? A bent toe is typically due to ligamentous instability surrounding the toe joint. Depending on the progression of the deformity (whether or not it is rigid or still flexible) there are several options. Conservative treatment would be shoe alterations and physical therapy for foot strengthening and addressing your wa...

I had surgery about three years ago for bunions (on both feet). Now I've developed bunions on the little toe side of my feet. Is this essentially the same problem and would surgery help? Bunions and bunionettes are anatomically similar -- just located on different sides of the foot. With a bunion of the big toe, a large bump seems to grow out of the side of the great toe. But in fact what is happening is that the two bones that meet to form the big toe joint angle away from each other. A bump we...

This is kind of a weird question but here goes. My sister tore her Achilles tendon about two years ago. They put her in a rigid ankle brace with her foot wedged in a pointed position. I just did the exact same thing (tore my Achilles tendon). Can I just wear her brace for awhile and skip seeing the doctor? It fits perfectly. A quick review of anatomy might help us answer this question. The Achilles tendon is a strong, fibrous band that connects the calf muscle to the heel. The calf is actually f...

I need some answers quickly. I tore my Achilles tendon playing tennis yesterday. Went to the emergency department. They put me in an air-cast until I can see an orthopedic surgeon. That's tomorrow. I absolutely can't function with a cast that won't allow weight-bearing. Will I be able to talk the surgeon into a walking cast? Research continues in the area of treatment for Achilles tendon ruptures. The last 10 years has brought a change from placing patients in a nonweight-bearing cast to using a...

I work in an assisted living facility as a lunch server. I notice how many of the seniors (even the younger ones) seem to shuffle in and out of the cafeteria. Why is that? Does everyone lose the ability to pick up their feet as they get older? I don't want this to happen to me! When we see someone shuffling along without picking up their feet, it's easy to just attribute it to "old age" or being "out of condition." But if you've noticed this and wondered about it, it's likely you may have also w...

Dad continues to complain everyday about how his feet hurt. And when I took a look at his shoes -- no wonder! He's still shoving his very wide feet into a size 8 and he hasn't been a size 8 since Nixon was in office. How do we convince him to ""upgrade"" so-to-speak? You have uncovered a very well-kept secret among our older adults. Studies show that as we get older, our feet tend to spread out and get wider. But shoe manufacturers have not altered shoes to accommodate for this change. And many ...

Believe it or not, I have gone through rehab three times now for a weak (or easily injured) Achilles tendon. My wife says just have surgery and be done with it. I'm not convinced surgery is the answer. What do you think?

We have a 13-year old gymnast for a daughter who insists she is going to join the Cirque du Soleil circus as soon as she leaves home. My husband is seeing the medical bills piling up for injuries of all kind. As a former gymnast (local only) myself, I assure him she will be trained to avoid injuries. What else can I tell him to get him to calm down and see reason about this decision?

Can you tell me what paratenonitis of the Achilles tendon is? I've heard of tendonitis but what's paratenonitis? Is it just a different way to spell the same thing?