Mercer-Ocean Podiatry, PC

Do you recall suffering frequent heel pain as a child? If you do, that’s not unusual; children’s bones haven’t fully fused together, and they are more vulnerable to overuse injuries than adults. However, nobody likes seeing their child in pain, and if a child frequently suffers from sore heels, there may be a biomechanical issue at play. At Mercer-Ocean Podiatry, we assist patients of all ages, so we thought it would be a good idea to explain Sever’s Disease, a common source of childhood foot problems, in more detail. Sever’s disease, or calcaneal apophysitis, is inflammation of the growth plate connecting the back of the heel bone to the bone’s main body. The back of the heel bone is where the Achilles tendon, one of the strongest tendons in the body, attaches. When the calf muscles or the tendon itself are tight, the tendon will pull the heel up and backwards, causing soreness in the soft growth plate. The calf muscles are likely to tighten up after a person has been running and jum...

Are you concerned about your children staying safe while playing sports? If so, we at Mercer-Ocean Podiatry, PC can provide crucial diagnostics and post-injury care. Recently, the American Academy of Pediatrics released a study on soccer injuries in children and adolescents. They found that, although soccer is a good way for children to get exercise, there are some particular risks for the lower limbs that parents and athletes should take precautions against. Soccer is the second-most common sport to result in severe injuries among girls and the fourth most common among boys. Ankle strains and sprains were among the most common reported injury types, and most of them were acute injuries resulting from contact with other players. However, overuse injuries are a possibility and are more common among girls. Young players are also at risk of developing apophysitis, which means inflammation of the growth plates between bones. Stress fractures are uncommon but account for over a fourth of ...

With the fall sports season underway, now is a good time to pay attention to the dangers of turf toe. We help people with a lot of foot problems at Mercer-Ocean Podiatry, and sprains to the big toe usually respond well to treatment. But people need to know to take turf toe seriously or else their recovery may be delayed and compromised. “Turf toe” gets its name from the astroturf fields where big toe sprains commonly occur. The metatarsophalangeal joint that connects the big toe to the foot links to a complex network of ligaments and sesamoid bones that prevent the toe from moving too far sideways and allow it to curl and lift. When the toe is hyperextended, as can happen when the toes are supporting the weight of the whole body, the ligaments may tear or fray. Hyperextension is likelier to happen on surfaces that have less give. Whenever a person suspects they have a sprain, they should rest, ice, compress, and elevate (RICE) the foot. We’ll conduct a thorough movement and imaging tes...

Fractured ankles require professional examination and care, but they often heal well. When a person suffers an ankle injury, we at Mercer-Ocean Podiatry are ready to assist them with every stage of their recovery. We find that patients are less daunted when they have an idea of what to expect, so we wanted to explain a bit about what a fracture is and what we do. The ankle is where the tibia, fibula, and talus bones meet. Any of them may have a stress fracture or a major break. A minor fracture may only require brief immobilization. A brace boot or even a high-top sneaker may protect and reinforce the ankle while it heals over a few weeks. But if imaging tests indicate that the break is severe, the patient may have to undergo surgery. Either way, they will need to keep their weight off the ankle. Surgery would be necessary if the gap between the bones is too wide for us to be confident that they’ll knit back together, if a fragment of bone is floating freely, or if the bones have shift...

We’re committed to helping our patients avoid sports injuries at Mercer-Ocean Podiatry. Many strains in the muscles and tendons can be prevented by warm-ups and stretching, but people may not understand how to do these in a safe, effective manner. The tendons are slow to heal because they lack their own blood supply. A warm-up is meant to make muscles and tendons more limber by getting more blood flowing into the area. For this reason, it is counterproductive and dangerous to stretch a limb before it has been warmed-up. Static stretches, in which a person holds a pose, should be saved for the cool-down. A good warm-up should last for about five minutes and include dynamic stretches, which are those which keep the body in motion. Part of yoga’s popularity derives from its use of dynamic stretches. Leg-swings, butt-kicks, and running in place are other means of increasing blood flow to the lower extremities. It is also recommended that people do toe-touches as a fluid motion. Work-outs s...