Have you ever twisted your ankle while participating in a sport?  Or maybe you simply slipped while walking?  Either way, ankle sprains and fractures should not be ignored.  Ankle sprains are common injuries that occur when ligaments are stretched or torn, with nearly 85% occurring laterally, or on the outside of the ankle joints. By visiting your podiatrist in New York, you can receive the care you need to get back on your feet.

Symptoms of a Sprained or Fractured Ankle

Your symptoms upon spraining your ankle may vary depending on the severity of your pain and how it occurred. The symptoms of an ankle sprain may include:

• Pain or soreness
• Swelling
• Bruising
• Difficulty walking
• Stiffness in the joint

All ankle sprains will produce some level of pain at the time of your injury and the joint will also feel tender, beginning to swell.  If your sprain is mild, you may experience a slight loss in the function of your joint.

With a more serious sprain, you will most likely fall during the initial impact of the injury.  It will often be difficult to move or put weight on your injured ankle, producing bruising and swelling from the ankle to the foot.  Once you have had ankle sprains or other ankle injuries before, you may have a weakened joint that creates more of a chance for future injuries to take place.

Common symptoms of an ankle fracture are similar to ankle sprains, and include:

• Pain to touch
• Swelling
• Bruising
• Inability to walk on the leg
• Deformity around the ankle

Treatment and Prevention

Treatment for your ankle sprain begins with self-care.  The RICE evaluation is highly recommended upon the initial onset of your injury:

• Rest
• Ice
• Compression
• Elevation

When your podiatrist feels you are ready to begin participating in sports and exercising, you can help prevent further sprains and fractures by wearing an ankle brace during the first initial months of being back on your ankle.  Special wraps are also available to protect your ankle. 

If your symptoms still persist after taking the initial step of at-home-care, or if you suspect you might have a fracture, a visit to your New York podiatrist may be in order.  With a consultation with our New York, NY podiatrist, your ankle sprain or fracture can be treated and further prevented.  There is no need to put an end to your athletic lifestyle with recurring ankle injuries.

There are a variety of treatments for fungal nail infections, including pills and (rarely) procedures to remove the infected nail, but topical ointments are among the most popular solutions prescribed by podiatrists.

Jublia and Kerydin Fungal Treatment

Call Kenneth R. Meisler, D.P.M., FACFAS, P.L.L.C. Today!

“Oh, my aching feet!” How many times have you found yourself yelling, “Oh, my aching feet,” but then shrugged it off, figuring that aching feet are a natural part of life? You don’t have to put up with aching feet.  Your podiatrist in New York urges you to not ignore that ache in your feet.  When pain occurs, it is the first sign that something isn’t right, so a trip to Kenneth R. Meisler, D.P.M., P.L.L.C. & Associates is in order.

Gout is a form of arthritis, and it can often cause extreme pain to your feet.  Approximately one million Americans suffer from gout, and although its source is a systemic problem within the body, there are some suggestions for how to treat gout that may help reduce your chance of having a gout flare-up. 

Diagnosis and Treatment

Because the joint inflammation of gout can resemble that of a joint infection or other form of arthritis, diagnosing gout requires removing a small amount of fluid from the joint and examining it for uric acid crystals.  Once diagnosis is made, your podiatrist in New York can recommend a gout treatment plan to help:

• Stop acute attacks
• Rapidly relieve pain and inflammation
• Avert future attacks
• Prevent the development of tophi, kidney stones and kidney disease   

Gout treatment will most likely involve anti-inflammatory medications to relieve acute pain and inflammation, as well as urate-lowering drugs to control urate levels and prevent future attacks.

Other gout treatment strategies might include the following:

• Avoid foods with high purines, such as organ meats, anchovies, shellfish, bacon and gravies, and increasing intake of dairy foods.
• Avoid alcohol, which increases the production of urate and impairs excretion
• Lose weight to reduce blood urate levels
• Avoid medications that contribute to hyperuricema, including diuretics

With proper treatment by your New York podiatrist, gout is one of the most controllable forms of arthritis.  So when pain occurs, don’t just deal with it, seek treatment immediately.