All posts by : Synchro

Often falls happen to those with poor balance while they are mobile. At Frederick Foot & Ankle we asses all aspects of that can increase the risk of our patient’s falling. Some contributing factors to falls include; poor eyesight, medications, uneven terrain, decreased muscle strength, neuropathy, and other health issues.

The Center for Disease Control reports that one in five falls causes a serious injury such as a broken bone or head injury. For those that are looking to improve their balance and strength there are chair exercises above that should be completed daily. The exercises should be 3 sets for 12 repetitions. Always consult your doctor before starting an exercise routine.

Staying active is the best way to combat balance issues. Often a period of inactivity after an injury or surgery can be a reason to start with chair exercises. Once the chair exercises are mastered more difficult balance challenges can be added.

(#Fall #Balance #Strength #Workouts )

During this holiday season I feel nostalgic and like to reflect on my good fortunes. Too often I forget all the positives in my life and focus on the inconveniences. I heard from a friend years ago about the idea of gratitude journaling but never started one or really considered its benefits. Gratitude journaling is meant to bring more peace to your life and lower your stress by allowing you to express in writing all the good that has entered your day.

How to start such a positive periodical? Try using some of these prompts below for your writing. Don’t feel pressured to put something down every day, try once a week to sum up your last seven days. Remember this is supposed to add to your life not feel like chore, so make it fit for you.

• List three things that brought you joy today
• Write a favorite memory from your childhood that you are grateful for
• Mention a friend or family member that you are blessed to have in your life and why
• Name a goal that you have achieved recently
• Describe one of your talents
• A family tradition that you love to participate in

Don’t forget to re-read previous entries to be an up-lifting reminder on days that your feel less than blessed.

If you need more direction for you writing, try some of these journals …

• Printable Journal — https://www.simplemadepretty.com/free-printable-mini-gratitude-journal/
• Purchase a gratitude journal — http://www.ladonnamoderna.com/my-gratitude-journal/
• 52 gratitude prompts — https://bouncebackparenting.com/gratitude-journal-prompts-for-the-whole-year/

(#Podiatry #Stress #Gratitude #Journal #Dairy #Happy #Life #Improvements )

Being a part of Frederick Foot & Ankle has been a great experience witnessing all the philanthropy endeavors. For the holiday season, the office has elected to adopt a local family in need of some Christmas cheer. The Frederick Rescue Mission coordinates with individuals and businesses that wish to give back to the community. The volunteers are then assigned a family by concentrating their efforts on making one family holiday season a little less stressful by purchasing what they can on their wish list. This year Frederick Foot & Ankle adopted a family of 5! For the family, we are proud to say that we collected enough money to purchase a bike for each of the children along with clothes, games, and electronics.

Outside of the holiday season The Frederick Rescue Mission provides; food, clothing, back to school essentials, financial medical assistance and help for those struggling with substance abuse.

The Frederick Rescue Mission, 501-C nonprofit, concentrates their efforts for those in need that are living in Frederick County. If you wish to volunteer or are willing to donate visit www.therescuemission.org to learn more.

( #Frederick #Podiatry #Foot Specialist #Charity #Non-Profit #Donations )

Special Olympics was designated as a way for those with differing abilities to compete in a safe environment. Sports have been shown to increase health awareness, develop self-confidence, and provide social interaction. A lesser known aspect of the Special Olympics is the Healthy Athletes program where six different health disciplines screen the athletes not only to help them compete pain free but to live a healthier life. The Fit Feet portion of the Special Olympics is where lower extremity professionals and students get together to evaluate the athletes free of charge at the games. Fit Feet wants to bring awareness to the importance of foot care and provide advice on different issues that nag the participants or have been noticed by their coaches. At the event the podiatrist along with podiatry students and volunteers measure the athletes for an accurate shoe size, scan the pressure points during their normal stance, provide donated orthotics, write referrals, and relay patient specific lower extremity education.

The experience for the volunteers is uplifting to give back to the community through an organization that has such positive goal.

To get involved in the Special Olympics follow the link below

(#Foot Care #Volunteer #Special Olympics #Fit Feet #Special Needs )

85% of Americans are wearing the wrong size shoe according to the American College of Sports Medicine. Wearing the wrong size shoes could be the reason that you have pain at the end of the work day or even a work-out.

Some problems that shoes can cause include:

• Wrong foot posture
• Excessive rubbing
• Formation of open wounds
• Decreased performance
• Leg muscle fatigue
• Increased amount of Injuries
• Feet Swelling
• Faster progression of foot deformities
• Toe Nails are bruised, thickened, or fall off

Often these foot fails can be fixed with proper footwear that is the proper size.

A Brannock Device, pictured above, is used to accurately measure feet. All clinical staff at Frederick Foot & Ankle have been trained in a four-point measuring system to put you in the best shoe possible. The four points of measuring include (1) heel to toe (2) heel to arch (3) width (4) semi-circumference. When ordering shoes staff keeps in mind orthotic devices, braces, and foot deformities. Once shoes are delivered to the office minor adjustments can be made to shoes and assistive devices to give you a more comfortable fit.

We are happy to measure your feet and provide our expert shoe opinion even for individuals that are not currently patients of Frederick Foot & Ankle.

( #Frederick #FootPain #legpain #Blisters #footspecialist #ShoeFit #ShoeSize #ToenailBruising #Bruises #BrannockDevice )

In addition to Breast Cancer Awareness month, National Reading Group Month, Women’s Small Business Month, and Apple Month October is known as Adopt a Shelter Dog Month. Being a dog owner myself I wanted to share all the positives of adopting.
Why You Should Adopt a Dog

1. Save a life: Unfortunately, animal shelters across the United States become over populated with homeless pets leading to 2.7 million potentially adoptable dogs and cats being euthanized each year. You can decrease these number by adopting from a shelter and being a responsible pet owner. The empty spot you created in the dog shelter gives another dog from the streets a chance to be adopted.
2. Health Benefits: the companionship increases oxytocin decreasing anxiety and stress. Increased exercise with daily walks, fights off extra pounds and keeps your heart healthy. These added health benefits of owning a dog adds years to your life.
3. Social ability: Studies show that owning a dog keeps you more social than your dog-less counterparts, apparently dog walks don’t just supply exercise but include more social interactions.
4. Variability: Adopting from a shelter gives you more options of breed types and dog ages. In one visit to the humane society you can see all types of canines, even some with previous training. Most shelters even encourage you to interact with multiple dogs to test out the right feet.
5. Less Expense: the average cost of adopting a dog from your local shelter is around $100 and includes vaccinations and a check-up by a veterinarian. Adoption prices normally undercut expensive breeders by a few hundred dollars, leaving you with enough cash to spoil your new pooch.

Start off looking for your perfect match online by narrowing down your adoption locations by visiting the websites below

• Animal Control – https://www.frederickcountymd.gov/15/Animal-ControlFrederick
• County Humane Society – http://www.fchs.org/Lonely
• Hearts Animal Rescue – http://lonelyheartsanimalrescue.org/

Other websites that scan a larger area for a pet include

• Petfinder.com
• Adoptaped.com

Best of luck looking for your new four-legged companion!

Did you know that in addition to seeing patients with routine foot care needs, and even urgent podiatry concerns we have a surgical suite? The Ambulatory Surgical Center is located at our Frederick office on Thomas Johnson Drive. An Ambulatory Surgical Center is a facility where surgeries are performed that do not require the patient to be admitted to the hospital. The doctors of Frederick Foot & Ankle wanted to provide their patients with a smooth and private operating area to eliminate the extra stress that can accompany the hospital setting.

Our surgical suite is in use by all 6 of our trained podiatric surgeons, where they feel comfortable and familiar in our one of a kind operating setting. During a routine surgery one of our trained surgical assistants (Kim, Jenny, and Paul) help the podiatrists by being an extra set of hands and eyes during the surgery. For scheduling, verifications, and all things behind the scenes we have our surgical coordinator (Taryn, pictured above). With only two recovery bays and one operating room the surgery center staff’s attention is focused on a limited number of patients, giving each patient personalized attention to accommodate their needs. Other advantages of our private surgery suite include; shorter wait times, surgeons operating in a more controlled setting, an operating room dedicated to podiatric surgeries, and a more accessible location.

Having an Ambulatory Surgical Center does have a few limitations including; restrictions held by insurances, and specific surgeries that must be performed in a hospital setting.

If your feet and ankles are causing you pain or discomfort make an appointment at Frederick Foot & Ankle where we are equipped to take care of your health on many levels.

( #Frederick #Foot #Doctor #Foot #Ankle #Surgeon #FootSurgery #AmbulatorySurgicalCenter #SurgicalCoordinator #SurgicalAssistant )

With fall weather comes school, and with school comes homework. After being a student for many years myself I have looked into what habits are the most effective for retaining more information and developed a short list.

1. Sleep: All-nighters are proven to be ineffective. You need sleep to convert your newly absorbed information into longer term memory by way of REM sleep. You should study the most important information right before you go to bed, researchers have named this learning method as “sleep-learning.”
2. Food: Just like you fuel up before a work out you should feast properly to prepare for optimum brain power. Eating the well-known healthy foods is always a good idea your body to run ideally, like; vegetables, whole grains, fruits, and plenty of water. Some more specific memory enhancing foods include; oily fish, sage, berries, tomatoes, eggs, and dark chocolate.
3. Exercise: We all know all about the benefits for exercise on the body as reducing stress and releasing endorphins. But did you know that it is suggested to go for a run or lift weights before you sit down to study. Exercising beforehand is known to increases your alertness and mood.
4. Get Help: There are so many resources available to the current student that it is a shame how many students struggle in silence. Some useful websites are Quizlet for digital flash cards, Anatomy Guy for a virtual tour of a dissected cadaver, and Tyler DeWitt’s channel on youtube for chemistry.Study
5. Time: Research has come up with a 24-hour rule for studying, in which a topic learned in class should be reviewed and studied 24 hours after you learn it. With the 24-hour rule 80% of the initial material covered is retained.
6. Self-Test: Re-reading material might be a good way to introduce yourself to the topic at hand but can also lure you into a false sense that you know the material. When you re-read the text, you feel like you know the information because it all looks familiar. Although what you are not using is any recall. Performing self-tests, like flash cards or testing yourself with a partner, is good because it makes you use recall.

Hopefully with these 6 small study tips the new school year will be more educationally productive.
( #Exercise#School#September#Study#Grades#Food#Sleep#Test )

We send our love, prayers and support to those affected by Hurricane Harvey in Texas, Hurricane Irma in Florida (pictured above) and the Caribbean Islands. We feel for those that have been displaced from their homes and some who have been taken from their families too soon.

With all this water across the U.S. and in select islands we wanted to remind our friends the importance of keeping their feet dry. Skin is the first defense against outside microbes that surround us daily and live on our skin. When the skin becomes overly hydrated by excessive perspiration or feet remaining in wet shoes or socks the skin becomes delicate. At this point when the skin turns pale and becomes pruned it begins to peel away. This weakened and broken skin is often the point of entry for bacteria. If the infection is not taken care of there is always a chance that it will travel into the surrounding tissue, which may lead to serious consequences.

During the Vietnam War soldiers would stand for long periods of time in wet boots and socks out in the field. These unsanitary conditions in the trenches would lead to the soldier’s feet becoming numb, painful, itchy, blistered, and infected. If untreated trench foot would set in, today it is called immersion foot and it could lead to gangrene and amputations. Immersion foot is avoidable if proper care is taken by; cleaning feet daily, keeping them dry, changing foot ware regularly, and checking feet daily for any issues.

If you are in an area or in a line of work where your feet get wet for long periods of time please remember to take protective measure by wearing water proof boots are having the availability to change into dry shoe gear. If a professional’s opinion is needed please see one of our highly qualified podiatrists at Frederick Foot & Ankle because we love to keep our patients moving.

Working with a relative can have its challenges but we have found that adding real family to our Frederick Foot & Ankle family has worked out for all parties involved.

Robbie and Shannon are one of our Mother-Daughter working relationships. Shannon has been working with Frederick Foot & Ankle for 7 years in multiple positions. Shannon now holds the title of our Clinical Coordinator, a very fitting position for an employee that has 20 years of clinical experience. Shannon started bringing Robbie around the office on her school breaks when she was 15 years old and she completed odd jobs around the office. Now that Robbie has graduated from high school she has joined the work force full time we now have the pleasure of seeing Robbie’s smiling face at the front desk and check-out. In addition to working at the podiatry office during the day Robbie and Shannon are both dance instructors at a local studio. When asking Shannon about working with her daughter she wanted to make it clear that even though they drive together to work she does not make Robbie lunch.

Our second Mother-Daughter team is Shannon and her daughter Kayla. Shannon came to us with 10 years of Podiatry experience and started with Frederick Foot & Ankle 7 years ago as front desk but has since switched roles and has become a wonderful addition to our billing department. Shannon admitted that when Kayla first applied to Frederick Foot & Ankle she was hesitant about working with her daughter but finds that everything has worked out for the best. When asking Kayla her position with Frederick Foot & Ankle she said she wanted a change from working retail and finds that she is learning new skills that will carry over to future positions.

Danielle and Alexis may look like twins and are frequently mistaken as such, but are actually 5 years apart. Danielle, the oldest, landed a job first at the podiatry office as a scribe and later referred her younger sister for the intern position. Now that Alexis is more seasoned she has joined Frederick Foot & Ankle in a bigger role as full time medical assistant. The sister-sister team works side by side in two different roles one as the medical assistant and another as a scribe. Their bond goes outside the office with carpooling, living together, and sharing lunches. Both sisters are also attending Frederick Community College and working towards their nursing degree. We are lucky to have them both and know that they will both make excellent nurses in the future.

By Nikki Ho