Is foot care a priority for you? Visiting your San Francisco, CA, foot doctors, Dr. Richard Rolfes and Dr. Jasper Lee of Stonestown Podiatry Group, is a simple way to keep your feet healthy and reduce your risk of foot and ankle conditions.

4 advantages of seeing a podiatrist

Your foot is one of the most amazing parts of your body. Feet not only support your weight and make it possible to walk, run and jump easily but also serve as natural shock absorbers. Unfortunately, they're susceptible to injury and infections that may cause pain or affect mobility. Whether you already have a problem or want to prevent a foot or ankle issue, your foot doctors at the San Francisco, CA, podiatry office can provide helpful treatments.

You'll enjoy these four benefits when you see a podiatrist:

• No More Pain: Have you been trying to ignore foot or ankle pain? Although injuries can often get better on their own, call your foot doctor if your pain is severe, lasts for more than a week if it's mild to moderate, or you can't put any weight on your foot. Common causes of pain include sprains, strains, fractures, arthritis, gout, plantar fasciitis, ingrown toenails, bunions, hammertoes, Achilles tendinitis and plantar warts. Depending on the cause of your pain, your podiatrist may recommend pain medication, braces, walking boots, crutches, physical therapy or other treatments.
• Better Control of Chronic Conditions: Your foot doctor can also help you control the symptoms and/or progression of chronic conditions, like bunions, hammertoes, arthritis, plantar fasciitis and bone spurs.
• Fewer Sports Injuries: If you spend too much time on the sidelines due to foot or ankle conditions, a foot imbalance or gait problem may be at least partly responsible for your problems. Your foot doctor will examine your feet, evaluate your gait and make footwear recommendations. He may also suggest orthotics, prescription shoe inserts that cushion and support your foot and keep it properly aligned.
• Prevention and Treatment of Diabetes-Related Complications: Seeing a foot doctor is particularly important if you have diabetes. High blood sugar levels can cause numbness in the feet and affect healing. Your podiatrist treats diabetic ulcers and other foot issues and offers treatments that can help you avoid serious health complications.

Protect your feet with a visit to your foot doctor in San Francisco, CA! Call Dr. Rolfes and Dr. Lee of Stonestown Podiatry Group at (415) 731-6700 to schedule your appointment.

Stonetown Podiatry Group, serving San Francisco, CA, and the nearby region, sees patients regularly who come in for bothersome heel pain. Fortunately, Dr. Richard Rolfes and Dr. Jasper Lee offer treatments that can target the root of the problem and help alleviate your pain. It's important, though, to understand the potential causes.

Plantar Fasciitis 

Plantar fasciitis affects the band of tissue that runs from your heel bone to your toes. With this particular condition, you notice pain in your heel, particularly, in the bottom of your heel. Often, with this issue, you experience a mild ache in the back of the affected leg or above the heel. However, more severe pain is possible. Tenderness and stiffness may arise, and these issues are usually worse in the morning. 

This issue may stem from increasing your running performance, either by intensity or duration. If you play certain sports, such as basketball or tennis, you're also at risk. Your chances of developing it are higher if you're middle-aged.

Achilles Tendinitis 

Achilles tendinitis affects the Achilles tendon -- a band of tissue that runs from your heel bone to your calf muscle. When you overuse this tendon, it becomes inflamed and causes you pain. 

Runners and individuals who only participate in sports like basketball and tennis on the weekends are more susceptible to this injury. The individuals most affected are those who are middle-aged. This is because, although this condition is from repeatedly working the tendon, age can weaken the tendon, making it more vulnerable to injury. Increasing the intensity of your physical activity abruptly and significantly increases your risk as well. 

Usually, Achilles tendinitis begins as a dull or mild ache that extends directly above your heel bone. In more serious cases, the pain can be severe. This is especially the case if you continue to train and ignore the initial pain. 

Bursitis 

You have a bursa between your Achilles tendon and the heel bone. When you overwork it, you could experience heel pain. The heel pain tends to worsen when you stand on your tiptoes. Serious cases can lead to you having difficulty moving your ankle or foot. Besides pain and movement issues, you may visibly have swelling. Tenderness and a change of skin color are also possible. 

Dancers and athletes are most at risk, which is why our doctor in San Francisco, CA, will want to know about your lifestyle. 

Don't let heel pain stop you from doing what you love or functioning in general. Dr. Rolfes or Dr. Lee of Stonetown Podiatry Group, serving San Francisco, CA, and the general vicinity, can help. You can reach us at (415) 731-6700.

Dealing with painful and achy hammertoes?

A hammertoe is a less talked about foot deformity compared to bunions, but they aren’t any less of an issue. A hammertoe causes one or more toes to bend downward, resembling a claw. Since hammertoes can cause pain and other issues, you may wish to speak with our San Francisco, CA, podiatrists Dr. Richard Rolfes and Dr. Jasper Lee about the best ways to manage your hammertoes.

The Cause of a Hammertoe

The most common reason a hammertoe forms is a muscle imbalance in the foot. Most people don’t notice this imbalance unless they visit our San Francisco, CA, podiatrists for a routine evaluation. Over time this imbalance causes the toe to bend downward and also leads to structural changes in the foot.

Once a hammertoe has formed, wearing tightly fitted shoes or shoes that force the toe into a cramped position can make this problem worse. Always opt for shoes that provide your foot with ample support and give your toes enough room to wiggle and move around.

The Symptoms of a Hammertoe

Here are some telltale signs that you may have a hammertoe,

• One or more toes bend downward at the middle joint (the toe may resemble a claw)
• Redness or inflammation of the affected toe
• Pain or discomfort in the toe when wearing shoes
• The presence of a corn or callus on the toe

Treating a Hammertoe

In most cases, people can manage their symptoms and prevent their hammertoe from progressing by using these simple nonsurgical methods,

• Wearing protective padding: Use non-medicated padding over the affected toe to prevent corns or calluses from forming on the hammertoe, or to protect a current corn or callus from rubbing against your shoes.
• Choose the right shoes: Wearing shoes that are too tight, that have high heels or pointed toes can make symptoms worse. Opt instead for comfortable shoes with ample space for your toes.
• Use custom orthotics: Sometimes wearing these shoe inserts can provide comfort and support and take pressure off certain areas of the foot. This can be a great option for those dealing with a structural or muscular imbalance in the foot.
• Take medication: Sometimes nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory medications like ibuprofen can temporarily reduce bouts of pain and swelling.

If the toe has become fixed in place and rigid, the only way to correct the severity of this condition is with surgery.

Dealing with foot pain due to hammertoes? If so, our San Francisco, CA, podiatrists at Stonestown Podiatry Group can help you find effective solutions for managing this common foot deformity. To schedule an evaluation, simply call us at (415) 731-6700.

You may have felt initial symptoms of a developing heel spur and thought the pain would subside eventually, however, you may be feeling the consequences of ignoring heel pain. Dr. Richard Rolfes and Dr. Jasper Lee with Stonestown Podiatry Group in San Francisco, CA, understand how heel spurs can keep you from engaging in your usual daily activities and are prepared to discuss the best-personalized plan to relieve your pain.

Causes Of Heel Spurs

Plenty of stress and strain are placed on our feet daily, and in the case of heel spurs, pain tends to be felt at the bottom of the heel bone. A calcium deposit (heel spur) usually begins to form slowly as a result of constant overuse of the feet, as well as any of the following:

• improper footwear
• arthritis
• previous injuries (e.g. heel bruising)
• irregular weight distribution on the feet
• other related conditions that wear down the muscles and ligaments

Symptoms And Treatments Of Heel Pain

Heel spurs are not visible to the naked eye, but by visiting with Dr. Rolfes and Dr. Lee in San Francisco, CA, you can expect that through an x-ray, they can best determine the cause of your heel pain. Symptoms of heel spurs often tend to look like:

• inflammation or swelling around the area of the spur
• increased sensitivity at the bottom of the heel
• your heel is hot to the touch
• intense pain in the heel upon standing
• persistent pain throughout the day

Sometimes people that have heel spurs don't experience any symptoms and may only learn of having one through an external cause. Even so, there are general guidelines to follow when you have heel spurs:

• offering as much rest as your can for your feet to relieve the daily pressure and strain
• reducing pain or inflammation by icing the heel
• wearing the proper footwear can make the world of difference—this may be shoe inserts (custom orthotics) or shoes with extra arch and heel support
• discussing if pain relief (or anti-inflammatory) medications are right for you with your primary care physician

Visit Us

At Stonestown Podiatry Group, Dr. Rolfes and Dr. Lee don't want to see their patients experiencing persistent pain. They encourage you to visit with them in San Francisco, CA, by calling our office today at (415) 731-6700!

Learn more about bunion surgery and when it might be time to consider it.

You’ve been told that you have a bunion. Now what? While most people with bunions can ease pain and discomfort through sporting the proper footwear and changing their lifestyles, sometimes these habits just aren’t enough. When bunions have become so enlarged and painful that they impact your daily life, our San Francisco, CA, podiatrist Dr. Richard Rolfes can provide surgical relief to correct this common foot deformity.

Do bunions get worse?

Bunions are considered progressive. While wearing the appropriate shoes and properly caring for your feet can certainly slow the progression of this deformity, it will continue to grow larger over time. How quickly a bunion progresses varies from person to person. Some bunions develop rapidly while others may be slow to develop.

Is it time to consider bunion surgery?

This is the number one question we hear from our patients. They often don’t know if their bunion symptoms warrant getting surgery. Here are some signs that it might be time to talk with our San Francisco, CA, podiatry team about bunion surgery:

• You are dealing with constant and severe foot pain
• Your bunion limits your activities
• You are experiencing severe and persistent swelling
• It’s painful to wear shoes or to walk
• The bunion is very large
• The big toe is crossing over the smaller toes
• Over-the-counter or prescription painkillers aren’t touching the pain
• Home care isn’t enough to manage your symptoms
• Your quality of life has diminished due to your bunion

How is bunion surgery performed?

There are several surgical techniques for correcting bunions, and this is something that our San Francisco, CA, foot doctor will discuss with you during your evaluation. While there are various techniques for correcting this deformity they all involve repositioning the deformed joint back into the proper alignment to alleviate pain and improve mobility and functionality of the foot.

This surgical procedure is performed under local anesthesia with IV sedation. The procedure can take as little as 45 minutes or up to three hours, depending on several factors including the severity of the deformity and the technique Dr. Rolfes and his team utilizes.

From customized bunion treatment plans to minimally invasive bunion surgery, our San Francisco, CA, podiatrist Dr. Rolfes and the team at Stonestown Podiatry Group are here to make sure that your feet get the care they need so you can continue to live the life you want. To find out if it’s time to consider bunion surgery, call us at (415) 731-6700 to schedule an evaluation with our team.