Who would have thought that fixing someone’s foot problem would also make a dog happy.
We recently saw a patient with pain under the ball of the left foot which was bad enough to make walking difficult and had stopped them from regularly walking their dog.
We examined their feet, observed their gait and assessed their footwear. They wore very good quality shoes at work but had a favourite pair of sneakers they wore in the garden and walking the dog – and those shoes were what helped us not only identify the cause of the problem, but also how to treat the problem.
You can see a photo of the patient’s sneakers below. The obvious problem is there is a BIG hole in the sole of the shoe so surely that’s the cause of the problem. And yes, you are partly right but the hole is a sign of a bigger issue. In this patient, the cause of the hole was due to a combination of a bone issue in their foot and they had one leg longer than the other.
So a combination of the bone problem, the way they were walking and the difference in the length of their legs was causing them to place too much pressure under the outside edge of the ball of the foot which in turn caused the pain.
What was the solution? New sneakers was the first step. Then we made an orthotic support to go in their shoes to take the pressure off the bone AND even up their legs. Lastly they did some exercises to help strengthen things.
Within days, the pain was completely gone and now we have a very happy patient and also a VERY happy dog.
Patients like this are what makes our job fun and rewarding. It can be a life giving thing (for the patient and Podiatrist) when you can help relieve pain and get someone back to activity and exercise and doing the things they love (walking the dog).
A HAPPY DOG IS A HAPPY LIFE 🙂
If you are having pain in not just your feet but also legs and it’s stopping you from moving, or exercising or doing the things you love, give us a call. The solution is often simple but can make life a whole lot better.
