According to the American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons, 48% of Americans over age 18 suffer from some pain in the musculoskeletal system. That’s nearly half of the adults in this country walking around with pain in bones or muscles!

Pain management is something we talk to patients about here often at Feet First Foot Care Specialists, LLC. It’s no surprise when you look at the foot too! In each of your feet, there are 28 bones, 30 joints, and over 100 muscles. It’s might seem like a tall order to keep all those moving parts healthy, but it just takes a few steps.

We’ve put together the following simple tips to keep your bones and joints healthy and pain-free:

• Try weight-bearing exercises like lifting weights, jogging, kickboxing, or power walking. Low-impact exercises like swimming can also keep your muscles and joints active.
• Wear the right gear. Getting the right shoes and protective gear for whatever activity you’re taking on is necessary to keep your body safe.
• Don’t overdo it. Pain is your body’s way of telling you: “Cut it out!” Pushing past pain, or trying to “walk it off” could result in further injury.
• Get the proper minerals. Vitamin D and calcium work in tandem to keep your bones healthy. Calcium can be easily attained from dark leafy greens, dairy, and some nuts. Vitamin D helps your bones absorb that necessary calcium, and can be obtained by soaking up the sun or through a vitamin supplement.

Not taking care of your body can have painful recourses. Here are some of the medical conditions that can arise in your foot’s musculoskeletal system.

• Arthritis – chronic pain in the joints is usually because of arthritis. Common forms of this are osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis. Maintaining healthy joints can help slow the onset of arthritis in some cases.
• Osteoporosis – osteoporosis makes your bones brittle and weak, which can easily cause fractures. Calcium and vitamin D in the right amounts can help prevent this disease.
• Gout – if you have high levels of uric acid in your body, it could cause a sudden painful inflammation of the joints in your big toe. This condition is often caused by eating too many foods high in a substance called purines.

If you are suffering from pain in your joints, muscles, or any other part of your feet or ankles, it’s time to make an appointment with us. Dr. Adam Mucinskas offers state-of-the-art diagnostic and treatment at his office here in Cromwell, CT. Request an appointment online or call us at (860) 632-5499.

Corns that occur on the foot are the result of great amounts of pressure and friction. They form because the body produces a thickened skin defensive response to the friction. They may seem helpful; however, they can become infected or be the source of ulcers. These issues may be inconvenient for some, but can be devastating for anyone with diabetes or neuropathy since poor circulation in those individuals can cause problems with healing and allow infections to develop more readily. When corns are not treated on a timely basis, they can cause significant discomfort since the pressure that initially produced them will not go away. Factors that tend to increase the likelihood of this condition are shoes that fit too tightly or abnormal toe structures.

Treatment for this condition includes:

• Use of correctly fitting shoes with wide toe box areas so that there is plenty of space around the toes at all times.
• Utilizing padding or orthotics to reduce pressure on the toes.
• Use of a pumice stone to scrub the outer layers of the corn. This is best accomplished by soaking the corn in warm water multiple times a day to make the skin softer and easier to remove.
• Use of toe wedges to help place space between the toes which can reduce pressure and alleviate current pain from corns.
• Surgical procedures may be required to fix a bone deformity that may be causing this condition.

Corns can be a problem if you allow them to become one. The best way to keep them from becoming infected is to obtain needed treatment in a timely manner. So contact us to receive a comprehensive examination to determine the best treatment plan for your corns. Here at Feet First Foot Care Specialists, LLC located in Cromwell, CT, podiatrist Adam Mucinskas, D.P.M. will alleviate pain in your foot caused by this condition and will do his best to ensure that they don’t reoccur in the future. Moreover, please make an appointment today by calling our office at (860) 632-5499 and check out our Patient Education library for further helpful information.

Arthritis of the foot or ankle is a seriously disrupting condition in terms of pain experienced and the reduced motion that results. This condition causes inflammation of the joints which leads to discomfort and rigidity and eventually makes it hard to walk or take part in routine activities.

There is no outright cure for this condition; however, there are various forms of treatment that can alleviate symptoms and slow down its progression. There are some common forms of this condition, which include Osteoarthritis, Rheumatoid arthritis, and Post-traumatic arthritis. Osteoarthritis is a wear-and-tear form of this condition and generally affects middle-aged individuals. Rheumatoid arthritis is a lingering form that reaches multiple joints and initiates in the foot and ankle. This type of arthritis generally affects the same joints in both feet. Post-traumatic arthritis occurs following trauma and is seen typically after dislocations or fractures. These conditions all cause cartilage of the joints to wear away.

Care for this condition includes:

• Lowering high-intensity activities that can cause this condition to get worse.
• Keeping weight down to alleviate pressure placed on the foot’s joints.
• Physical therapy to keep the joints mobile.
• Medications such as anti-inflammatories to reduce inflammation and alleviate discomfort.
• Surgery may be required if the pain caused by this condition does not subside with conservative treatments. The type of surgical procedure performed will depend on the type of arthritis that has formed in the joints of the ankles and feet. If necessary, post-surgical pain can be controlled with pain medications.

Due to the long-lasting nature of this condition and the damage it can produce, care for this condition is crucial for maintaining a routine lifestyle. Therefore, please contact us for a consultation. Here at Feet First Foot Care Specialists, LLC located in Cromwell, CT, podiatrist Adam Mucinskas, D.P.M. can provide your feet and ankles with the best possible chance of fighting through arthritic conditions. Please make an appointment today by calling our office at (860) 632-5499 and take a chance to review our Patient Education library for further information.

Neuromas are nerve complications that occur after sustaining damage. Generally, they develop in the ball of the foot. This location is the most frequent source of neuroma formation since it is subject to repeated stresses that can cause the nerve to become inflamed. Nerves are delicate and damage to them cannot be reversed. So, if proper treatment is not sought at the beginning stages of this condition, a permanent injury could develop. Symptoms of this condition include, but are not limited to, foot discomfort, numbness, burning and shooting pains. Causes for this condition include sprains, bunions, hereditary traits, arthritis, using poorly fitting shoes or any activity that places abnormal amounts of stress on the ball of the foot.

Treatment for neuromas involves:

• Using medication to alleviate nerve pain.
• Ultrasound.
• The use of correctly fitting shoes.
• Orthotics to help alleviate pressure in the heel area.
• Padding placed strategically around the heel of the foot that can also help mitigate high amounts of pressure being placed upon it.
• Massaging the ball of the foot will help to alleviate pain.
• Anesthetics could also be injected into the site of the neuroma to reduce swelling and to numb the pain, which can be severe depending on the level of injury to the nerve.
• Surgical procedures will be used if the neuroma must be physically removed due to a lack of success with conservative treatment methods. Although this can be used to eliminate pain, since this procedure involves nerves, there may be a long-term numbness around the area of surgical removal.

Nerves play an important part with foot sensation. Neuromas can lead to frustrating circumstances which you can help to avoid by taking the time to contact us for a consultation. Here at Feet First Foot Care Specialists, LLC, located in Cromwell, CT, podiatrist Adam Mucinskas, D.P.M. offers you the best chance of beating this condition. So please make an appointment today by calling our office at (860) 632-5499 and take a look at our Patient Education section for further helpful information. 

Foot Ulcers are nasty and painful. They appear as openings in the skin of the foot and uncover what’s beneath. Ischemic ulcers are severe, develop from a lack of blood flow and take a long period of time to heal due to a reduction in blood flow. Neuropathic ulcers, however, cause a loss of foot sensation. Diabetes is a major contributor to this condition since it causes numbness in feet. This can make it difficult to detect any abrasions or cuts in the skin simply because they cannot be felt. When these wounds are not noticed, they can result in ulcers. Moreover, these ulcers may not be noticed by patients with diabetes until they become severe and require more comprehensive forms of treatment.

Treatment for foot ulcers involves:

• Utilizing foot support devices such as a special boot that can help to drastically relieve pressure around an ulcer.
• Using special creams or dressings around the ulcer location to prevent infections from developing.
• Increasing exercise or any other forms of physical therapy to increase blood flow to the ulcer site, as doing so can reduce healing time.
• Managing blood sugar levels at the levels recommended by a medical professional to prevent the onset of diabetes.
• Closely studying feet for any wounds.
• Washing feet daily to prevent any microbes from entering open wounds.
• Keeping feet dry.
• Using moisturizing creams.
• When the above methods are not successful in removing the ulcer, surgical procedures may be required to remove any infected skin from the ulcer.

Ulcers are a nasty surprise and should be treated with urgency. Please contact us if you have this condition or have diabetes and susceptible to acquiring it. Here at Feet First Foot Care Specialists, LLC located in Cromwell, CT, podiatrist Adam Mucinskas, D.P.M. will do his best to ensure that your feet don’t fall victim to ulcers. Please make an appointment today by calling our office at (860) 632-5499. Our Patient Education library is a great way to learn more about this and many other conditions!