Knowing Ankle Arthritis and How To Treat It

Image via WikipediaArthritis is commonly seen among the elderly and can affect any joints in the body. The usual symptom of arthritis is joint pain. There are two types of pain associated with arthritis: acute and chronic pain. Acute pain is temporary. Chronic pain is persisting pain, it doesn't go away. The severity of pain may lessen but it's still there. Chronic pain is always associated is osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis.

Chronic pain is always occurs on weight bearing joints. Arthritis affecting the ankles is an excellent example. This involves joints between the shin bone and ankle bone or better known as tibiotalar joint and can cause severe heel pain.

Ankle arthritis almost always affects the elderly because of the natural degeneration of the joints. Every joint has a special tissue called cartilage bone. Every joint has this type of bone and it has a very smooth surface. As we get older, the smooth surface kind of roughens a bit and this is the cause of the arthritis pain. In worse cases, the cartilage can get totally worn out and the actual bones are rubbing against each other. Obviously this causes excruciating pain.

Ankle arthritis can also be found in the younger age group especially if the joint got injured. Cartilages can get damaged due to frequent sprains and causes a condition called osteochndritis dissicans. Being overweight can also put too much stress to the joints and the cartilages get to rub hard at each other because of the weight.

Foot Care as Part of Healthy Living

 Taking care of your body is one the primary aspects of healthy living. Eating a well balanced diet, having regular exercise, and taking daily supplements of vitamins and minerals will help the body in the process of growth and cell rejuvenation.

Stress management is also very important. Everyone reacts to stress differently. Given a certain situation, some individuals would suffer severe anxiety while others may find it manageable or sometimes not stressful at all. Stress affects a lot of metabolic reactions in our body.

Image via WikipediaAmazingly, our foot is the most ignored body part. According to the American Podiatric Medical Association, a survey showed that the foot has the lowest rank in the list of body parts and functions that most Americans consider important to their health.. In spite of the daily stresses on the feet, seldom do we provide care for this weight bearing body part. Sprains are usually dismissed and managed with pain relievers. We should be aware that the foot should be rested until the pain completely subsides. When a sprain is not treated, as unfortunately is all too often the case, repeated injuries may occur. A successive sprain may be more severe than the first, and cause an even more significant injury.


Nail fungus is also a potential problem. It is important to keep the feet clean and dry at all times. Fungal infection, once it occurs is very difficult to treat and is prone to recurrence. Tea tree oil, rich in components called terpenoids, have been found to have effective antiseptic and antifungal properties.

Foot care is an essential part of healthy living.

What Causes Pain at the Back of the Foot?

Image via WikipediaThe Achilles tendon is the largest and toughest tendon in the body. It is an important structure that help us balance. It is important in running and walking. This tendon can store energy when running, it works very much like a spring, and this springing action can increase running speeds without using much energy.

Tendons and ligaments are very similar in structure and function, the only difference is their attachment. Tendons attach muscle to bone and ligaments, ligaments attach bone to bone.

From above, the Achilles tendon attaches to the calf muscles: soleus and gastrocnemius muscles. And from below, the tendon attaches to the middle portion of the calcaneus, also called heel bone. Directly above the attachment on heel bone, there is a fluid-filled, pillow-like structure called the Retrocalcaneal Bursa. This serves a cushion between the Achilles tendon and heel bone, preventing these structures from being "rubbed together".

Heel pain is one of the most common foot complaints in adults of all ages. There are many causes of pain involving this area and pain affecting the posterior or back of the heel involves all structures discussed above. The following are the pathologic conditions involving each structure:

Retrocalcaneal bursitis is a swelling or inflammation of the retrocalcaneal bursa. Too much use of the ankle sometimes irritates this bursa and cause painful inflammation. This condition is often triggered by aggressive exercise or a sudden increase in activity without initial stretching and conditioning.

Calcaneal Spur. Normally, there is a bony prominence that is palpable at the heel bone. This is actually the insertion of the Achilles tendon to the calcaneal bone. Over time, this bony prominence can enlarge irritating the Achilles tendon. This bony growth is called Haglund's Deformity (pump bump).

Achilles tendinitis is an inflammation of the Achilles tendon. The cause can be due to the conditions above, tear during strenuous activities, or the natural "wear and tear" degeneration because of aging causing foot pain.

ESWT: The Safest Way To Treat Foot and Joint Pains

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Extracorporeal Shock Wave Therapy or ESWT is a new treatment modality used for heel pain or foot pain and different kinds of joint pains. This new medical device is approved in the US by the FDA for treating foot pain due to plantar fasciitis and tennis elbow. There are many more future approvals from the FDA with the use of ESWT for other health conditions like Achilles tendinitis, patella tendinitis and a lot more.

ESWT is a unique treatment because it stimulates the natural healing properties of the body and can cure chronic pain. There are two theories on how this device promotes tissue healing:

1. The shock waves produced by ESWT machine induce microscopic injuries to the affected area, creating new growth of vascularisation. Increased vascularisation means more blood flow to the injured muscle tissues, ligaments and tendons.
2. Since there are minute injuries due to the shock wave, the body naturally treats the newly induced injuries and at the same time heals old joint injuries that the body has been ignoring or desensitized to. This makes ESWT very ideal for treating chronic pain.

Extracorporeal is a medical term which means that a medical procedure is done outside the body. It is a low-risk and non-invasive procedure with minimal or no side effects.

The procedure is simple and is very similar to ultrasound. First, the damaged tissue is located around the painful area of the body. Once the targeted tissue is found, multiple shockwaves are introduced to create micro injuries which actually help to induce the natural healing process, creating new tissue growth and therefore repairing new or chronically damaged tendons.

This is all done in just 30 minutes and depending on the extent of damage, it may require successive sessions to treat the pain. For some patients, the pain relief is observed with a single treatment, for some pain relief is gradual. There are complaints of minimal pain after the procedure but this is rare.

Things You Should Know About Heel Pain

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Heel pain is one of the common foot problems in adults. It occurs mostly among active individuals, people who are overweight, those using improper footwear, females or simply reaching the age of 40 and above.

The feet have an important function in absorbing all the weight of the body while walking. At the same time, they help provide stability and balance. The heel bone is the largest of all the bones of the foot.

The heel is the part of the foot that first comes in contact with the ground while walking. Daily walking or other activities like running or jogging can put stress to the heel. Over time, this stress can result to injury to the heel leading to heel pain.

At first, heel pain is only minimal and tolerable, this is commonly ignored because the heel naturally heals itself and the pain usually disappears. But in some cases the healing process is overcome with the constant injury induced by daily activities. If this is not addressed properly and again ignored, this can lead to heel pain.

The occurrence of chronic heel pain happens when an acute pain is managed with pain medications. Pain relievers reduce or sometimes totally stop the pain. This is an improper way to treating foot pain because it can mask foot problems which can actually get more severe in the future. When the heel pain is gone we continue to use the injured foot instead of resting and giving it time to heal.

Generally, heel pain in general can be caused by several factors but commonly involves injury to the plantar fascia (plantar fasciitis) and the Achilles tendon (Achilles tendonitis). In some cases, due to muscle tension and strain, bone formation can occur due to the inflammatory response called periostitis. The bone always grows towards the pulling and can cause severe pain.

How is Uric Acid formed in the Body?

Image via WikipediaMost of us have heard of the term GOUT. But not many individuals are familiar with what Gout truly is, unless they've experienced gout's agonizing pain personally, or watched a loved-one temporarily suffer the symptoms.

Gout is a disorder of metabolism. It all starts with something called Purines. Purines are found in the foods that we eat. Purine-rich foods include such indulgences like alcohol, particularly beer, meats, seafood, and certain vegetables and legumes. These purines are naturally broken down via metabolism in the human body, into a product called Uric Acid. The Uric Acid is excreted through our kidneys. The breakdown of purines into uric acid is a natural process in human metabolism. But, when our body has difficulty excreting the uric acid, it is then when gout flare-ups begin. This excess of uric acid builds up into certain joints of the body, and in the foot, the most common location is in the big toe joint.

Why does the body have difficulty excreting the uric acid? Most frequently, after ingestion of these protein-rich foods, the body cannot keep up with excreting the extra uric acid, and these uric acid levels build up. Sometimes, there is a defect in one's metabolism where the individual is missing a certain enzyme that breaks the purines down into uric acid, resulting in excessive uric acid build-up with nowhere to go!

This abundance of uric acid likes to live in certain locations in the human skeleton, like knees, elbows, ears, and in the big toes! Once settled into their favorite location, the area becomes extremely red, swollen, and painful! It is so painful that a common description of pain is "so uncomfortable that a bed sheet touching my toe is excruciating!"

Again, the initial presentation of gout in the big toe presents as a red, hot, and swollen toe/joint that is significantly painful. X-rays are usually taken in the office, but it takes approximately 10 years for x-rays to show x-ray signs. So remember that x-ray's probably won't show anything at all, but soft tissue swelling.

Gout is a diagnosis based on your doctor's clinical suspicion. In other words, we suspect gout when the patient presents with the red, hot, swollen joint, has a history of gout, has eaten purine-rich foods recently, and sometimes when they've bumped or stubbed the toe. (That's right; sometimes trauma can precipitate a gout attack!).

What treatment should you expect if you present to your foot doctor with gout? X-rays are possibly a cortisone injection into the joint to break up inflammation and pain; an oral medication, specifically prescribed for acute gout, and labwork to review your uric acid levels. That's it! Usually, the symptoms are improved in a day or two, and resolved in 5-7 days. Sometimes patients are prescribed gout medications for daily intake for life to protect you from future gout flare-ups.

What can you do to protect yourself from another painful gout flare-up? First and foremost...diet control! Limit those purine-rich foods mentioned above! Gout is nicknamed "The Rich Man's Disease." Why?? Because those purine-rich foods like meat and seafood are expensive! Secondly, take your gout medication daily to prevent a new flare-up.

Although gout has a predilection for certain populations, it can affect anyone. Patients with symptomatic gout are now found surprisingly in young ages recently.

In addition to regular medications, gout supplements in easy pill form have helped relieve symptoms in countless gout sufferers.

Top Risk Factors for Developing Gout

Image by Vanessa Pike-Russell via FlickrGout is a painful form of arthritis that usually affects the big toe. Because of elevated uric acid levels in the blood, the joints become red, swollen, and stiff. The uric acid crystallizes and accumulates in the joints, usually at the joint at the base of the big toe. Under normal conditions, uric acid dissolves in the blood and passes out through the kidneys into the urine. However, there are cases where the body either produces too much uric acid or the kidneys excrete too little uric acid.

It may also affect the ankles, heels, instep, knees, wrists, fingers, and elbows. It is described as pain that occurs suddenly, often at night, and without warning. There are factors that increase the uric acid levels in the body such as excessive alcohol use. It has been found out that beer is the type of alcohol that is most strongly associated with gout. This is mostly noted in younger adults who often engage in binge drinking.

Individuals with a family history of gout are also at an increased risk of developing the disease. About one out of five people with gout has a family history of the condition.

Diet plays a major role in gout development. It is particularly related to excessive consumption of meat and seafood. It is best to stay away from foods that are high in protein and high in purines such as mussels, scallops, sardines, herring, hearts, kidneys, liver, and anchovies.

Men are at a greater risk for gout development and men commonly experience the initial gout attack between the ages of 30 and 50. In women, the risk increases after menopause. By the age of 60, the incidence is about the same in men and women.

There are also certain medications that can lead to increased uric acid levels because they impair the ability of the body to remove uric acid. Some drugs include diuretics, niacin or nicotinic acid, salicylates such as aspirin, cyclosporine, and levodopa.

The treatment for gout are lifestyle and diet changes, prescription medications, and gout supplements particularly those that contain wild cherry such as GouTrol.

Lack of Thiamine Can Cause Nerve and Heart Problems

Image by bradley j via Flickr When the body does not meet the minimum requirement for thiamine, this is called thiamine deficiency or beriberi. This occurs due to insufficient consumption of thiamine or due to lack of absorption of thiamine especially for patients who underwent gastrectomy.

Thiamine deficiency can be classified into two types. One affects the cardiovascular system and is termed wet beriberi. The second type affects the nervous system and is called dry beriberi.

In the United States, thiamine deficiency is uncommon since foods are now vitamin enriched. Only people who are heavy drinkers most often develop symptoms of beriberi. Excessive alcohol intake makes it difficult for the body to properly absorb thiamine. In worst cases, permanent brain damage can happen and this is called Wernicke-Korsakoff syndrome.

Patients who take diuretics or those who had undergone dialysis can develop beriberi. Infants with asymptomatic mothers who have beriberi can develop infantile beriberi since the milk produced by the mother does not contain or lacks thiamine.

Symptoms

Symptoms of dry beriberi are more on peripheral neurophaty: loss of sensation on feet and hands, paralysis of the lower leg, difficulty walking, confusion, back and forth eye movement (nystagmus), lack of concentration, difficulty talking, pain, vomiting, and tingling sensations.

Symptoms of dry beriberi affect mostly the heart. The symptoms include shortness of breath at night that causes the patient to awaken suddenly, shortness of breath after mild activity, palpitations, and edema of the lower extremities.

Treatment

Treating this type of deficiency is not really difficult. By simply correcting the levels of thiamine and maintaining it at sufficient levels will mitigate all symptoms. This is done by taking oral supplements or through injection of thiamine. To test how a patient responds to the medication, blood test is usually done after administration.

Prevention

Eating foods rich in thiamine such as oat meal, eggs, liver, potatoes, oranges, flax and sunflower seeds. Daily vitamin supplements are also an excellent source of thiamine. Refrain from drinking alcohol. Raw meat from fresh water fish and shellfish contain thiaminase. Thiaminase is a enzyme that breaks down thiamine. It is suggested to cook fish and shellfish thoroughly.

Corals Are Rich Sources Of Natural Calcium

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When it comes to calcium, we commonly think of healthy bones and teeth. The fact is, calcium is not only limited to our teeth and bones, it’s also needed for all types of important bodily functions.

It is true that almost all calcium is deposited into our bones and only a small portion of this mineral is found floating around our circulatory system. This small portion of calcium plays a vital role on different functions of the body like: muscle contractions, nerve signal conduction, moving nutrients within the cell and a lot more. Calcium is a vital mineral the body needs to function properly, without it the body will not be able to survive.

Though the bulk of calcium is found in bone, this mineral is repeatedly being released to the circulatory system and reabsorbed again into the bone. A typical American diet consist more on meat instead of vegetables. Meat and bread made of refined flour are more acidic when absorbed in the body, as compared to greens which is more alkaline. When the regulatory system of the body senses an acid build up, this triggers calcium stores from the bone to be released into the circulatory system to maintain the body's normal ph.

For this reason, taking dietary calcium supplements are needed to prevent or treat any bone weakening or commonly called osteoporosis.

A natural supplement that is rich in calcium comes from corals. Coral calcium is composed of calcium carbonate and is one of the easily absorbable forms of calcium. Also, coral calcium naturally contains trace amounts of magnesium, a mineral that also help in the alkalinity of the body.

Coral calcium obvious comes from fossilized corals which where once parts of the coral reef. Only dead corals are used since this can create a huge environmental impact to the seas natural eco system if live corals are taken.

Typically, coral calcium are harvested either from the bottom of the ocean, also called below sea coral calcium or from above sea. Above sea calcium corals are corals that lived for hundreds of years but have been covered up with layers of sand until mined. Below sea corals are already dead corals laying around at the bottom of the ocean floor that are collected by vacuuming.

Natural calcium derived from corals help increase bone density and is excellent for prevention and treating osteoporosis. Coral Calcium are typically sold in tablet from, vitamin D is added to help assist in calcium absorption.

Remember, it’s great to take daily vitamin supplements, but it would be best to take minerals supplements too.

Learn About the Importance of Calcium for Your Health

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Calcium is an essential mineral that the body needs for good health. It is often mistaken  that the main function of calcium is only to maintain strong bones and teeth.  The fact is, calcium plays an important role in a lot of bodily functions.

Calcium is needed to help carry substances between the cell wall, it helps transmit nerve signals from one neuron to another, it is needed in the contractions of all muscles, and calcium is also needed for balancing blood pH levels.

The body strictly regulates the levels of calcium to maintain the pH of the body which is about 7.35 to 7.45. Anything below 7.35 will trigger the release of calcium from bone. On the other hand, above 7.45 encourages calcium to be absorbed back to the bone. 

If there is less calcium intake from food, the body will be forced to use up all available calcium from the bones and this can lead to osteoporosis. For this reason, calcium supplements are very important to prevent and treat any calcium deficiency. A 20 year old adult typically needs about 1000 mg of calcium a day and a teenager who is at a growth spurt needs about 1200 mg a day. The advice of medical experts is that supplements are taken in with food and. It is also best to spread the dosage, taking half the dose in the morning and the other half in the evening for better calcium absorption.

Vitamin D is typically added to calcium supplements. Vitamin D is important since this vitamin is converted into a hormone that synthesizes the production of intestinal proteins. These intestinal proteins, on the other hand, help in the absorption of calcium in the gut.

There are a lot of foods rich is calcium. Milk is rich in this mineral and is easily absorbed. Unfortunately, a lot of people are lactose intolerant. Soya Milk is vegetable derived milk that is rich in protein. Calcium is added to meet the required calcium levels.

Coral calcium is another excellent source of calcium. This calcium supplement is usually in tablet or powder form and this product really comes from fossilized corals. Coral calcium is made of calcium carbonate and trace minerals.