PRP is called Platelet Rich Plasma.  This plasma is taken from your own blood just like when you get blood drawn for labs.  It is taken from your arm, and put into a special certrifuge.  Then special growth factors and immune fighting cells are removed and put into a syringe.  This can then be injected into a injured area or painful joint with the purpose of healing the injury.

PRP is especially effective at treatment Achilles Tendon injuries, both old and new.  Recent studies show that 93% of patients that have this treatment improved substancially within the first 2-6 months following injection.

PRP is also used to treat Plantar Fasciosis, which is the long term patient that has plnatar fasciitis.  Here, 70% of the patients treated have little to no pain and do not need surgery!

To me, preventing surgery is important and surgery should always be saved as the "last effort" to improve biomechanical pain or injuries.  We are always finding new ways to ge the body to heal itself.  I am happy to be able to offer this to patients.  All candidiates for this procedure must be seen for a consultation before this can be done.

OK, so I have a lot of patients come to my office just to ask if this is safe. Here is my answer!

The idea of barefoot running isn't really skin to ground contact. It is the use of a type of shoe called Minimalist.

One of the ideas of barefoot running is to develop the "intrinsic" muscles of the foot. They are the tiny little muscles in the foot that are similar to the hand. By strengthening them the idea is that the body will propulse with more stability, increase joint and bone mechanics, and prevent injury. By doing this it also increases the strength of the "extrinsic" or large muscles and tendons of the leg and foot. The overall result should make the body stronger.

So then, why isn't everyone doing this? Because after going around life in supportive shoe gear, the small muscles of the foot can get injured if they are pressed too hard. How many times have we gone to the gym to use the Peck Deck and to all of the sudden feel a kink in our neck. It is easy to hurt muscles we don't use when we try to train them or stress them the wrong way. For that reason, the die-hard runner may feel fine in them, while the "weekend warrior" will get injured.

Additionally, the one thing I want to stress is before you try any new type of shoe, look at your feet. If you have toes that curl, bumps of the sides or top of your foot, or calluses under the outside part of your foot, think twice about running barefoot. It is very VERY easy to hurt yourself if you already have a foot balance issue, or your bones are not strong enough. This type of running is NOT for weight loss, or for those just starting to exersise.

For those that want to do it and can do it.......go for it! But for all others....Get some Orthotics in your Cross Trainers until you’re ready!

Over 5 million people in the United States get woken up the morning of Black Friday with a red, hot, and swollen foot, ankle, or knee. This is because they suffer from a type of arthritis called Gout. Turkey has a high level of Purines in it, which the body breaks down into Uric Acid.
Gout is when there is a high level of Uric Acid in the body, and the body can't get rid of it. This leads to the uric acid banding together and forming crystals, which then then migrate to the coolest areas of the body, namely the feet.

While this may not seem like a "medical emergency", it hurts so bad you don't even want to put a shoe on, let alone walk around in a mall! To manage Gout flare ups, a type of steroid shot will help within a day, and pills will help resolve the issue in about a week. Frequent flare-ups will require specific blood tests, and may necessitate long term medication to control this type of arthritis.

More information can be seen at www.gout.com

Did you know that your toes and feet are the farthest body parts from your heart?  This means that its takes a lot longer for blood and nutrients to reach your feet and toes.  When you are healthy this is not a problem, but throw in some high cholesterol, high blood pressure, or Diabetes and things could change rather quickly.
High blood pressure used to be called the "silent killer" because many people didn't konw they had it.  Today this is detected easily at most doctors offices.  PVD, or Peripheral Vascular Disease is now the new "silent killer".  This is a disease of the leg circulation which can increase your risk of stroke or heart attack by three times!
Some people may not even know they have PVD, and some may have symptoms.  Leg cramps, spasms, heavy legs, cold feet or toes, shooting pains, or color changes are the most common symptoms.
We suggest that any patient that may show signs of symptoms for PVD to have this test done as this circulation test can save your life.  It is standard on every new patient exam if you either have diabetes or are over 65 years old.

For patients with generalized pain, numbness, or pins and needles of the foot it is often frustrating going to doctors to try to fix a problem that many don't understand.  Many patients with Diabetes, Cancer, HIV, Poor Circulation, Post -Traumatic Injuries,  and many types of Rheumatic Arthritis can develop "Neuropathy".  Neuropathy could be a debilitating disease of the skin (sensory) nerve system that could cause skin infections, wounds, and broken bones.  Today this can be treated with appropriate medicine.  The diagnosis of this problem is a simple sample of skin taken from the ankle.  The individual nerves are counted under a microscope which allows us to tell the patient exactly how good or "bad" their problem is, it also allows us to tell you how things are progressing during your treatment.

This "skin biopsy" is not painful at all, and hurts no more than a pin prick.  the results are far more beneficial as therapy is geared towards "regrowing" the skin nerves over a 6 month to 1 year time frame.