Podiatric Glossary

Irritation and inflammation of the tendon that attaches to the back of the heel bone.

Artho means joint and itis means inflammation. There are approximately 38 causes of arthritis and most of these conditions affect the human foot. The most common of these conditions is osteoarthritis. This is the simple wearing and tearing away of the cartilage of the joints. Age, excessive weight, ill-fitting shoes and trauma (injury) are the basic causes of osteoarthritis. Fortunately, this condition is very treatable.

(foot bunions) Painful enlargements of the joint of either the little toe (tailor's bunion) or the big toe.

See Podiatry

Foot corns and calluses are the most common conditions on the skin of the foot. A corn which is a thickening of the outer layer of skin usually occurs on the tops of the toes. Calluses which are the same condition on the bottom of the feet are caused by sheering pressures. A severe form of callus is considered an IPK (Intractable Plantar Keratosis). These conditions are usually painful and can respond to conservative care.

Diabetes is probably the most damaging disease that a patient can encounter with regards to their feet. Diabetes comes in two basic types; type 1 and type 2. Type 1 is usually associated with juvenile diabetes and is usually a hereditary type of disease. Type 2, commonly referred to as adult onset diabetes, is usually characterized by elevated blood sugars by people who are overweight and have not attended to their diet as they should.

Endoscopic surgery -- endo: meaning the end of, and scopic: meaning to look at -- is an instrument that looks at the end of a closed space. When endoscopic surgery is used in conjunction with the foot, it is usually meant to be a procedure that deals with the plantar fascia -- plantar: meaning the bottom of, and fascia: the thick ligament that runs from the back of the heel to the front of the foot.

ESWT is an emerging new foot shock therapy for the treatment of chronic heel pain. Extracorporeal shockwave therapy utilizes high intensity ultrasound waves to break up the scar tissue in the heel region and plantar fascia attachment to the heel and increase circulation to the region. This increase in circulation leads to healing of the fascia and seems to relieve pain.

Foot ulcers are generally a breakdown of the skin on the plantar aspect (bottom) of the foot. They have many causes, but the most common are diabetes, and vascular insufficiency. Diabetes or vascular insufficiency should be taken very seriously as a good warning sign of impending loss of limb.

A deformity of the feet, caused by weakened muscles and ligaments of the arch.

A fracture is a break in a bone. Fractures are divided into Traumatic Fractures (those fractures that occur as a result of an injury) and Stress Fracture (those fractures that occur as a result of repeated micro-trauma). Fractures take several weeks to heal properly and in some cases, fractures can fail to heal (they develop a "non-union").

Fungus nails are thickened, deformed, and often painful toenails that are caused by an infection of fungus. The fungus infects the toenail, decays it, and causes the nail to become thick.

Gout (hyperuricemia or elevated uric acid) is generally thought to be a hereditary disease, but there are many causes: increased purine intake, sudden weight loss due to dieting, and/or diuretics can cause elevated uric acid and mimic the symptoms of gout. In rare cases, leukemia's and/or blood dyscrasias can cause elevated uric acid. Gout can be a serious disease and needs medical intervention, generally by an Internist.

Haglund's Deformity is a condition of foot heel pain and discomfort on the posterior (back) aspect of the heel at the area of the insertion of the Achilles tendon.

Hammertoes, exostosis (bone spurs) could also be grouped under arthritis. Hammertoes, bone spurs, and exostosis are all a result of an imbalance of the muscle structures of the toes, when the toes become crooked, bent, or buckle under causing joints to protrude. These are all descriptions of a biomechanical imbalance.

Heel spur / plantar fascitis affects men and women equally. It is a condition in which the bottom of the heel is extremely painful. A heel spur is a bony overgrowth on the bottom of your heel bone. The heel spur is usually a result of an inflamed ligament (plantar fascia) on the bottom of the foot that attaches to the heel bone. Constant abnormal pulling of this ligament irritates the heel bone and the body lays down a bone spur as a protective.

An ingrown toenail is a condition in which the nail is cutting into the flesh. This condition is usually very painful and is usually associated with infection of the toe. A nail is ingrown when one or both corners or sides of the nail grow into the skin of the toe. Irritation, redness, uncomfortable sensation of warmth, as well as swelling, foot pain and infection can result from an ingrown toenail.

The bones that form the front of the foot's instep. There are five parallel metatarsal bones in each foot, forming the ball of the foot. Together with the tarsals, they form the arch of the foot.

They are called nonsteroidal because they are not steroids, which treat inflammation by suppressing the immune system (inflammation is one of the body's healing responses to trauma). Instead, all NSAIDs treat inflammation in a way similar to the mechanism of aspirin, the most well known and oldest member of the class.

Enlarged benign growths of nerves. They are most common between the third and fourth toes. Caused by tissue rubbing against and irritating the nerves.

The medical specialty devoted to the diagnosis, treatment, rehabilitation and prevention of injuries of your musculoskeletal system.

An orthopaedic physician/surgeon with up to 14 years of formal education including four years in medical school, and five years in orthopaedic residency at a major medical center. See orthopaedics.

Orthotics are devices that are used to control abnormal foot function. When the foot is not functioning correctly, it will produce pain in the foot. The signs and symptoms of altered biomechanics of the foot are usually registered as pain. An orthotic can provide foot pain relief by supporting the ligaments and the osseous (bone) structures of the feet.

Osteomyelitis is an infection involving a bone. The condition is serious because treatment often requires several weeks of intra-venous treatment with potent antibiotics and often involves surgery on the affected bone.

The fourteen small bones that make up the toes. There are two phalanges in each large toe, and three in each smaller toe.

Condition on the sole (plantar or bottom surface) of the foot caused by a virus that may invade the foot through cuts and breaks in the skin. Walking barefoot on dirty pavements or littered ground can expose you to developing foot wards, a sometimes painful skin infection.

The health care field that specializes in conditions and function of the human foot. It includes examination, diagnosis and treatment by medical and surgical methods.

A podiatric physician, Doctor of Podiatric Medicine (DPM), specializing in treatment and conditions of the foot.

Reflex sympathetic dystrophy is a severe and debilitating condition that occurs when the nerves in the leg "go haywire." A small traumatic injury such as a slip and fall or any other type of foot, ankle, or leg surgery can ignite this complication. Early and aggressive treatment usually results in complete remission of the symptoms. However, if the diagnosis is not promptly made, or if it is not treated in a timely manner, then the reflex sympathetic dystrophy can become severe and debilitating to such a degree that stage III disease can evolve into permanent disability.

A shin splint is technically the tearing away of the anterior tibial muscle from the bone. Shin splints, or tenosynovitis of the anterior tibial muscle (the muscle that runs from the mid portion of the foot up the front of the leg, just below the knee, on the inside front of the calf) is usually caused by over-use. Beginning runners or other people who engage in sport activities who have not sufficiently allowed their muscle tone to build up over a proper conditioning program, or whose conditioning program is too rigorous in the beginning, develop shin splints. However, people with biomechanical, excessive pronation or supination of the foot also develop shin splints.

Stress fractures are usually the result of altered biomechanics, in that the structures of the foot are either mechanically not stable and/or the bones of the foot are subjected to repetitive micro trauma.

Sweaty feet (hyperhydrosis) and smelly feet (bromohydrosis) are two very common, annoying conditions of the feet. While some cases of excessive smelling or sweating of the feet are systemic (throughout the whole body) in nature, such as anemia (low blood count) or hyperthyroidism (overactive thyroid), these conditions are usually of a local cause.

Also known as clubfoot. This serious condition of the foot is caused by shortening of muscles and tendons and is usually a congenital deformity.

Tarsal tunnel syndrome -- tarsal: meaning the lower ankle area of the foot -- is a condition that usually affects the medial (inside) aspect of the ankle. There are many structures that run through this area, including tendons, veins, arteries and nerves. Tarsal Tunnel Syndrome occurs when the posterior tibial nerve, as it courses under the ligament at the ankle, becomes inflamed for a variety of reasons, namely: excessive pronation, arthritic problems such as rheumatoid arthritis, trauma, and even obesity.

Xiorosis (dry cracking heels) is a condition of thickening and fissuring (cracking of the bottom part of the heels). In most people this is a nuisance and a cosmetic problem. But when the problem persists, especially in diabetes or people with impaired vascular sufficiency, this can lead to a serious medical problem.