Simple childhood problems compound with aging

Do you know that pygmies in New Guinea who have never worn shoes get bunions?
That’s because most foot problems are inherited and not the result of wearing stylish shoes instead of the oxfords our parents insisted on.
Correcting common misconceptions about foot care is important to Santa Cruz Medical Clinic podiatrists Timothy Blakeslee, D.P.M., and Jon Nordgaard, D.P.M., who stress that identifying and adjusting poor foot biomechanics early on can keep people out of the operating room.
“Going through life with painful feet isn’t normal,” Dr. Nordgaard said. “If your feet ache when you’re young, you may have foot and ankle biomechanics that can predispose you to bunions, hammer toes and arthritis in middle age. Add some more mileage with those same biomechanics and the problems can become much more disabling in the latter stages of life.”
“Simple gait analysis allows us to determine if treatment with foot orthoses can help you avoid future problems,” he said.
A gait analysis identifies biomechanical disorders that predispose people to problems such as shin splints, tendonitis, heel pain, arthritis and many other overuse syndromes. Orthoses, which are customized shoe inserts made from impressions of your feet, can control foot and ankle motion, often slowing progression of deformity and alleviating pain.
“We take a sensible, ethical and conservative approach to the whole gamut of foot and ankle problems,” Dr. Blakeslee explained. “We do what’s ‘tried and true’ and based in science.”
They treat other conditions such as plantar warts and ingrown toenails “which seem to be a rite of passage for adolescents around here,” Dr. Blakeslee said.
Santa Cruz’s active community keeps them busy seeing all forms of foot and ankle trauma. They care for people of all ages, including infants.
“For nine months a baby is wrapped up in a ball in his or her mother’s womb and doesn’t come out a mini-adult,” he said. ”Children might have in-toeing or flat feet. Many will outgrow these conditions, but it’s reassuring for parents to check with us so we can watch it over time. Later, over-the-counter or custom orthotic inserts might be necessary.”

Diabetic foot problems are something they are seeing more of. “It’s important to meet diabetics early on for education and because many problems are frequently very preventable,” Dr. Nordgaard said. “We approach our diabetics as a team with other physicians in specialties such as vascular surgery, infectious disease and endocrinology, with our focus on keeping diabetics’ limbs intact.”
A wide array of conservative treatment options for all kinds of foot and ankle disorders includes activity modification, anti-inflammatory medications, antibiotics, physical therapy, shoe changes, shoe inserts or orthoses, padding, callus removal and gradual weight loss,
When surgery is needed, Dr. Nordgaard said, “techniques in both foot and ankle surgery and anesthesia have evolved dramatically in the last 20 years. Most procedures can be performed on an outpatient, “come and go” basis with monitored anesthesia.
“Using this very safe form of anesthesia, an anesthesiologist provides sedative medications while we use local anesthetics to provide long lasting comfort,“ Dr. Nordgaard explained. “The medications even provide a temporary amnesiac effect so that patients in the recovery room often ask, ‘When are we going to start?’”

Dr. Nordgaard and Dr. Blakeslee are both board certified by the American Board of Podiatric Surgery and practice together in the Santa Cruz Medical Clinic’s Orthopedics and Podiatry Department located in the Sutter Maternity and Surgery Center. They have a combined 32 years of experience treating foot and ankle disorders, each averaging 4,000 patient visits per year.

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