Every August is Psoriasis Awareness Month. These awareness months are great times to highlight common chronic diseases, especially ones like psoriasis that could be mistaken for other illnesses.

What causes psoriasis?

Psoriasis is an autoimmune disease that causes overactive cell generation in concentrated areas. Your body produces a type of cells known as T cells. With psoriasis, your body triggers the T cells to think they’re fighting an infection or healing a wound, and they flood to a certain area. This leads to excessive skin cell growth and inflammation in an area. Psoriasis is thought to be genetic.

Symptoms of psoriasis

Psoriasis symptoms can appear at any place on the body and most commonly pop up in areas surrounding the nails, scalp, elbows, shins, and feet. When it is on the feet, it is referred to as Palmar-plantar psoriasis. Typically, it appears on the soles of the feet, but can show up anywhere. Symptoms in the feet typically look like:

• Cracks or splits
• Redness
• Thickening
• Scaling
• Swelling
• Blistering

Because of their appearance, these symptoms are occasionally incorrectly self-diagnosed as athlete’s foot.  That’s why it is important to see your podiatrist if you notice any of these changes in your feet.

Often, toenails exhibit pits and holes, thickening, discoloration, and nail bed separation due to psoriasis. It can also lead to fungal nail infections.

How do you treat psoriasis?

As always, you should check in with your podiatrist if you’re experiencing pain or notice any sudden changes in your feet. If you have been diagnosed with psoriasis and are looking for relief at home, here are a few tips:

• Wash the area with a mild soap
• Use a hypoallergenic moisturizer frequently
• Try a coal tar cream or a gel or ointment that slows skin growth
• Apply salicylic acid to soften thick scales
• Corticosteroids can also help relieve symptoms

If you think you have psoriasis symptoms and are not sure, Feet First Foot Care Specialists are here to help! Dr. Adam Mucinskas utilizes state-of-the-art diagnostic techniques and cutting-edge treatments at our conveniently located office in the Cromwell, Connecticut area. Please give us a call today to schedule an appointment at (860) 632-5499.

Each year an average of 6 million people in the United States break a bone. Most people remember their first bone break; they fell out of a tree, or took a kick wrong in a soccer game, or simply tripped down a flight of stairs. It happens all the time! Most people also remember getting a cast put on that broken bone; trying to shove a pencil down it to scratch an unreachable itch or the ultimate feeling of relief when it’s finally removed. Broken bones are common but are serious injuries that should always be assessed by a medical professional.

In the podiatry field, we see broken bones a lot. Here at Feet First Foot Care Specialists, Dr. Adam Mucinskas can help assess a broken foot or ankle bone and see what kind of treatment it needs.

How do bones break?

Although bones are stiff and rigid, they still have some “give” to them, allowing them to bend to a little pressure. It doesn’t take much pressure, though, to push that flexibility to the limit and break or fracture the bone. The harder the force applied to the bone, the more severe the break will be. A more intense trauma will cause a worse break, which will, in turn, take longer to heal. A very serious break could even require surgery and the installation of metal pins and plates to rebuild the bone.

What do casts do?

A cast doesn’t actually heal the bones, but rather it keeps them in place so they can heal on their own. It also adds an extra layer of protection over the sensitive area where the bone was broken.

How are casts made and applied?

Casts are constructed from plaster and fiberglass. The top layer is typically a colorful fiberglass wrapping. To administer a cast, your podiatrist will take an x-ray of the broken foot or ankle to assess the damage. They will then disinfect the area and set the bones so they are positioned for best healing. It takes about 45 minutes to administer a cast to the affected area, but the cast won’t be completely set and dry for about 72 hours. In that time, it’s important to keep it away from water so the materials don’t break down.

If you recently broke a bone in your foot or ankle, give Feet First Foot Care Specialists a call! Dr. Adam Mucinskas can help answer any questions you might have about casts or about foot health. We feature innovative treatments and state-of-the-art technologies at our conveniently located office in the Cromwell, Connecticut area. Please give us a call today to schedule an appointment at (860) 632-5499.

For such a small part of our body, our toes do a lot of hard work down there. In order to keep our bodies well-balanced, the toes take on quite a bit of pressure. Sometimes, when toes are compressed into too-tight shoes or if the pressure is shifted from high-heeled shoes, it can be detrimental.

That added pressure can cause toe deformities. Two of the most common deformities are underlapping and overlapping toes. Toes crammed and forced into unnatural positions can end up with painful conditions like calluses, corns, and blisters.

Overlapping toes

The most typical overlapping toe condition is when the fifth toe has shifted on top of the adjacent toe. Another common overlap is the second toe overlapping the big toe, but any toe may overlap another. Overlapping toes can be caused by genetics, by a growing bunion shifting the foot’s shape, or by shoes that constrict the toes’ movement.

For infants, tapping and stretching their feet can help with overlapping toes, but they can come back with age. Toe straighteners, separators, or caps can help spread the toes apart. If you’re shoe shopping, make sure you purchase flexible shoes that have plenty of room in the toe box – this will help ease inflammation and pain. If conservative solutions do not work, your doctor can discuss surgical options.

Underlapping toes

Typically, underlapping toes involve the fourth and fifth toe. This fairly common condition is often caused by an imbalance in the toe muscles that pulls the ligaments, causing the toe to shift underneath the next one. Tight shoes can exacerbate the problem, but the exact cause of underlapping toes is undetermined.

Treatment involves toe caps or straighteners which provide relief and help to start realignment. If the condition is painful enough that you are having difficulty walking, surgical options might be the next recourse. Discuss this with your podiatrist.

If you are dealing with underlapping or overlapping toes, give Feet First Foot Care Specialists a call! Dr. Adam Mucinskas can help answer any questions you might have about your toes or about foot health. We feature innovative treatments and state-of-the-art technologies at our conveniently located office in the Cromwell, Connecticut area. Please give us a call today to schedule an appointment at (860) 632-5499.

If you have pain in your feet and ankles, there’s a good chance it is affecting more than just your feet and ankles. Often when our feet hurt, we put some ice on it, take a quick break, and then get right back to what we were doing. We even just ignore the pain and hope it will subside on its own. Unfortunately, this can have lasting consequences on not just your feet and ankles, but also your hips, back, neck, and even your head. Here are some foot and ankle issues that can affect your whole body and vice-versa:

• Incorrect gait – The way you walk is called your gait, and your walking pattern affects your whole body. If you have a limp or are distributing your weight unevenly, the pain can quietly travel up to your knees and eventually your back. An incorrect gait can also up the risk of rolling or twisting your ankle. Get your gait assessed by your podiatrist. A fix could be as simple as slipping a custom orthotic into your shoes.
• Pinched nerve – A compressed nerve in your back can cause pain in many different parts of your body, sometimes even evading the area where the nerve is pinched! If you notice shooting pain or tingling randomly occurring in your feet and/or your back, get it assessed as soon as you can.
• Foot drop – If you are physically unable to lift your foot up to walk, this could be an ankle or back issue. If you are also experiencing pain radiating from your calf to the top of your big toe, it is most likely something going on in your back.
• Inability to walk on tip-toes – Tip-toeing is something you learn to do at such a young age that you might not realize how many parts of your body work together to make it happen. Your leg, ankle, and feet need the strength, stability, balance and flexibility to sustain it. Back pain could be contributing to this issue. It might not seem like an obvious connection, but tell your podiatrist if you are unable to stand on your tiptoes.

Are you experiencing pain in your feet and ankles that might stem from back pain? Here at Feet First Foot Care Specialists, Dr. Adam Mucinskas can help answer any questions you might have about your feet and ankle health. We feature innovative treatments and state-of-the-art technologies at our conveniently located office in the Cromwell, Connecticut area. Please give us a call today to schedule an appointment at (860) 632-5499.

Walking is one of the best things you can do – not only for your heart rate, but for your feet too. It is safe compared to high-intensity sports, but often comes with the same benefits. So, you’ve strapped on your FitBit and made a lofty goal of getting in a certain number of steps every day. How do you get started? How do you incorporate walking activities into your day? We’ve compiled a few helpful and creative tips for sneaking in some extra steps throughout your day.

Trick yourself

• Park a long way away from where you’re headed. This will help you quickly find a parking spot, and also help you get a lot more steps!
• Find ways to “forget” to bring something to the other room or to an office meeting so you have to go back to your original point.

Find excuses to move

• If you work at a desk, it can be tough to find reasons to get up and walk around. One great way is to always take the steps instead of the elevator.
• Instead of picking up the phone and calling or emailing your coworker, trek over to their desk!
• Use a smaller cup so you have to walk back to the kitchen more frequently for refills. Water is great to stay hydrated too!
• Use a bathroom that’s further away, rather than the one right next to you. Bonus points if you walk up the stairs to another floor!

Take it seriously

• A pedometer or activity tracker app is a great tool to help monitor your goals. It doesn’t have to be anything fancy, just something that counts your steps throughout the day (unless you’re the kind of person who likes to count every single step you take!).
• Set attainable goals and keep yourself accountable. Use an exercise diary to write how you feel physically and emotionally when you get all your steps in each day.
• Get a buddy. Partners can help keep you motivated and make sure you’re staying on your goals.

Are you searching for ways to stay in shape and keep your feet and ankles healthy? Here at Feet First Foot Care Specialists, Dr. Adam Mucinskas can help answer any questions you might have about your feet and ankle health. We feature innovative treatments and state-of-the-art technologies at our conveniently located office in the Cromwell, Connecticut area. Please give us a call today to schedule an appointment at (860) 632-5499.