Common Foot Problems

Diabetes is a serious disorder that can lead to:

• Blindness
• Amputations
• Kidney failure
• Stroke
• Heart attacks

Diabetes warning signs:

• The frequent urge to urinate
• Excessive thirst
• Extreme hunger
• Abnormal weight loss
• Increase propensity to infections
• Blurred vision
• Tingling or numbness in the feet

If you have more than one of the above symptoms, you should contact your physician.

If you have any of the following symptoms in your feet, see your Podiatrist immediately:

• Pain in the legs, either at rest or while walking.
• Bleeding within the skin around corns or calluses.
• Color changes of the skin.
• Dry cracks in the skin (around the heel).
• Swelling of the foot or ankle.
• Fungus — Infected or ingrown toenails.
• Open sores
• Higher skin temperature.

Surgery is performed at Memorial Hermann Katy Hospital, Memorial Hermann Memorial City Hospital or St. Catherine’s Health and Wellness Center.
Some procedures can be handled in the office setting itself. Examples include:

• Ingrown toenails
• Excision of warts
• Removal of corns and calluses

Procedures that require the same-day surgery facility:

• Bunion corrections
• Hammertoe corrections
• Non-invasive Ossatron shock wave therapy for heel pain
• Heel-spur resection and plantar fascia release
• Minimum-incision endoscopic heel surgery
• Neuroma removal
• Pump hump (Haglund’s deformity) excision
• Amputations, including both toes and partial foot

While there are many more procedures that can be done on an out-patient basis, the above list constitutes those which are the most common. If you have a questions regarding surgical options and procedures, feel free to contact the office or send us a message. 

 Sports injuries include:

• Ankle sprains and strains
• Stress fractures
• Metatarsalgia (pain in the ball of the foot)
• Heel pain
• Tennis or runner’s toe

Re-occurrence of injuries, once sustained, can be prevented through:

• Education
• Sports orthotics
• Stretching and strengthening exercises

A wound is defined as the disruption of the normal anatomical structure and function of tissue.Treating wounds involves:

• Control of infection
• Deal with vascular disease
• Wound management
• Dealing with complications based on bony architectural abnormalities (i.e., prominences and protrusions)

If you have a wound that does not heal over time, or seems to get worse, it is imperative that you get proper treatment for it quickly so that it does not degrade to the point that an amputation is necessary. 

The most common cause of abnormal nails is Onychomycosis, which is the infection of the nail with fungal organisms.   Onychomycosis can be caused by

• Dermatophytes
• Yeasts
• Molds

Therapeutic options include:

• Topical treatment
• Systemic antifungal drugs
• Surgical intervention

Other problems commonly encountered include:

• Ingrown toenails
• Separation of the nail plate from the nail bed (Onycholysis)
• Trauma-induced lesions
• Bacterial infections