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The Ankle Sprain and Arthritis Connection

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If you’re like us, you enjoy being active. Especially when we were younger, running and participating in sports that tended to be rough on our feet and ankles were a common past-time. For some people, this translated into experiencing one or more sprains or fractures in their lifetimes! When you experience one or more sprain or fracture, you run the risk of weakening the areas of your feet and ankles affected by that injury. For example, repeated ankle sprains can, over time, make you more vulnerable to future sprains and even more so to fractures.

This can be avoided by seeking professional rehabilitation services to help you recover from these injuries.  People who experience one or more fractures in their feet and ankles have a higher risk of developing arthritis in the affected bone or joint. If you have a history of ankle sprains or fractures and have now developed arthritis in the affected foot, it’s helpful to know how to tell the difference between a sprain and a fracture if you’re injured again in the future. This can help you get the right kind of treatment you need to recover better!

What do I look out for when it comes to sprains?

  • Inflammation and aching pain
  • Muscle spasms
  • Reduced range of motion
  • Muscle cramping

What do I look out for when I suspect it’s a fracture?

  • Inflammation and swelling
  • A significant amount of pain
  • Excessive bruising
  • A complete inability to bear weight

And what symptoms overlap, making it difficult to tell the difference?

  • Foot or ankle stiffness
  • Painful inflammation or aching
  • Swelling of various degrees
  • Bruising all over the affected area

For people with a history of sprains and fractures who have now developed arthritis in the affected foot or ankle, don’t wait any longer – schedule an appointment to have Dr. Lilly Khavari at Carrollton Foot Center assess the situation! Your long-term care and comfort matters. Call us at (469) 998-3668 to get an appointment with us in Carrollton, Texas.  We proudly serve patients in Denton, Dallas and Collin Counties.

Kick Off Spring with Kickball

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Every year on April 17th, people around the world observe National Kickball Day. Kickball, depending on which part of the world you’re in, can either be the same as soccer (or football, in European countries) or it could be that game we all played in gym class during grade school. Ironically, the term ‘kickball’ is actually a shortened version of its original name, ‘kick baseball.’ As a sport, kickball originated in the early 1900s in Cincinnati, Ohio. Regardless of what kickball means to you or how you choose to play it, this fun activity is a very foot-heavy sport that relies on the endurance and resilience of our feet and ankles. Even when we’re all grown up and out of grade school, kickball can be a fun past time between a group of adults.

If you’re looking to start a kickball meet up, more power to you! It’s important, however, to keep your feet and ankles in mind when getting back into such an active pastime. What are some ways you can keep your feet and ankles in mind when looking to start playing kickball again?

Supportive shoes

Making sure that you have an appropriate pair of shoes for the standing and running around required for kickball is so important! Take some time to remember what issues you have had in the past, like heels that start to ache after standing for some time, or toes that cramp up. Be sure to consider these factors when choosing a pair of shoes for kickball!

Stretching it out

Before and after you plan to be active, be sure to get those stretches in. Dr. Lilly Khavari is a great resource for foot-friendly stretching exercises to make sure you’re warmed up and ready for the competition ahead. Take it a step farther by preparing ahead of time – if your first kickball visit is in one month, start doing exercises and training your feet and ankles to be ready for activity again today! Checking up – by far, one of the most beneficial things you can do to make sure you’re ready to get active on the field again is to check up on your foot and ankle health at Carrollton Foot Center in Carrollton, Texas. Take care of yourself by being proactive – call us today at (469) 998-3668 to schedule an appointment!

Shockwave Therapy: An Alternative to Surgery

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There’s some exciting news electrifying the world of podiatry today: a shocking alternative to invasive surgical procedures! Though it was invented in the mid-1960s, this innovative treatment method has become especially known in the last few decades thanks to advancements in podiatric medicine. While traditional surgical methods are appropriate in certain cases and often serve as viable options to treat various foot and ankle issues, podiatrists have worked hard to develop less invasive alternatives that produce similar or better results. One of these treatment methods, in particular, called Shockwave Therapy, is a treatment offered by Dr. Lily Khavari to address several types of foot and ankle pain. Though Shockwave Therapy is most commonly used to treat heel pain, that’s not all it can be used to address:

  • Stress fractures
  • Corns & Calluses
  • Neuromas

While the name of this treatment method might sound like it could be painful, Shockwave Therapy is well known for being relatively painless. Shockwave Therapy utilizes high-intensity soundwaves by directing them at target areas that are painful, inflamed, or uncomfortable. These soundwaves penetrate the tissues deep within our bodies. As a result, they stimulate the growth and development of healthy new tissues to replace damaged, inflamed tissues. Prior to Shockwave Therapy becoming widely used with leading podiatrists, foot issues like plantar fasciitis and chronic tendinitis were treated by surgical intervention. It can take a lot of time to prepare for surgery when you consider getting time off of work, having to go under anesthesia and the recovery time of the incision site. When comparing this to trying Shockwave Therapy first, you could:

  • Avoid long waits for a surgery date
  • Going under anesthesia
  • Taking up to a week or more off of work
  • Virtually eliminate a painful recovery that requires drugs
  • Enjoying the same success rate as invasive surgery

Our team at Carrollton Foot Center in Carrollton, Texas offers the best care in town. If Shockwave Therapy has piqued your interest, follow up today! Call us at (469) 998-3668 to schedule an appointment with Dr. Khavari.

How to Find the Right Podiatrist

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In the New Year, you’re bound to be busier than ever. Between all of your appointments, New Year’s resolutions to get to the gym, bouncing between meetings at work, your feet and ankles are going to be in for it! This is a great reason to get a head start on finding a podiatrist that’s right for you. Considering there are 26 bones in our feet, there’s a lot to take care of when it comes to the parts of our bodies that carry us around all day. Nearly 8 out of 10 people in the United States alone experience foot pain, yet only one-third of those people will see a podiatrist. At Carrollton Foot Center, PLLC, keeping your feet ahead of the statistics is easy.

How do you know if a podiatrist is the best option for you?

  • Step trackers – Did you get a step or fitness tracker this year? Have you been regularly using it? Studies show that those who actively try to get in more steps each day are more likely to benefit from seeing a podiatrist annually. Higher levels of activity can quickly lead to foot or ankle issues if problems go untreated for too long.
  • Self-care is unsuccessful – Like most people, you might opt for do-it-yourself strategies to remedy foot and ankle pain before seeking a foot doctor. When buying over-the-counter insoles doesn’t help your heel pain or nightly foot soaks won’t relieve a stubborn infected toenail, it’s time to see a podiatrist.
  • See into the future – Many people who have relatives that suffer from foot or ankle pain or discomfort, especially their mother or father, should be concerned about the hereditary nature of their foot and ankle issues. If your dad has bunions, and your aunt on your mother’s side has bunions as well, your chances of developing bunions are high! Prevention is key and possible only by seeing a podiatrist.

With advanced treatments available at Carrollton Foot Center, PLLC, like shockwave therapy and Keryflex technology, we’re bound to be the right fit for your feet. Call us today at (469) 998-3668 to schedule an appointment with Dr. Lilly Khavari in Carrollton, Texas.

Heel Pain Help for Active Feet

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At least one out of every three people you meet will experience some sort of foot or ankle related pain in their lifetime. Whether that foot or ankle pain is due to life changes, like becoming more active, or due to incidents such as tripping and falling, foot and ankle pain is a universal experience. It will certainly help you become more appreciative of the times your feet work fine with no pain at all! Unfortunately, for some, this time is few and far between. For those who experience foot and ankle pain on a regular basis, it can be easy to simply accept this as the new normal. Thanks to Carrollton Foot Center, this doesn’t have to be your experience!

When you find yourself experiencing pain in the heel region, especially the bottoms of your heels, it is most likely to be diagnosed as plantar fasciitis. Plantar fasciitis is a common condition affecting the large ligament that works to attach the base of our heel bone to the rest of our toes. This ligament can become damaged for several reasons; the most common reasons being overuse from physical activity (i.e., running), being severely overweight, wearing poorly supportive footwear, or developing a bone spur on the heel bone.

What are some things to look out for when you have heel pain?

  • Aching pain after standing for a long period of time.
  • Tenderness or sharp pains when stepping onto the heel.
  • Sharp pain along the arch of your foot.
  • Waking up to a sore, stiff heel that ‘loosens up’ over the day.
  • Having a relative with plantar fasciitis!

While there are many different ways to tackle the pain and discomfort of plantar fasciitis, many home remedies will not rid your feet of the irritation and inflammation that plantar fasciitis can cause. Rest, elevation, and icing your foot will help ease discomfort, but only for so long. When paired with other methods provided by a foot doctor like Dr. Lily Khavari, such as orthotics or shockwave therapy, your chances of recovering from plantar fasciitis greatly improves. Treatments like shockwave therapy are FDA cleared and proven to increase the rate of healing for conditions like plantar fasciitis, among others. Are you sick of the pain and discomfort of heel pain? Call us today at 469-998-3668 to schedule your consultation at our location in Carrollton, Texas.

Foot Safety This Fall

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Are you keeping your feet in mind this fall when it comes to foot safety? With the passing of the hot, humid season, it can be easy for us to linger on the comfort of incoming cooler, more comfortable weather. With that cooler, more comfortable weather comes gusts of wind that help trees relieve themselves of their leaves and rainfall that turns those leaves into a hazard. How?

After a few weeks of being left on the ground to pile up, their interactions with water and dirt trigger the process of decomposition. In summary, those leaves then start to break apart into a slimy, slippery substance meant to fertilize the land for seasons to come.

When they become slimy and slippery, this can pose a risk to anyone walking on them. The danger of wet leaves is even more important to note if you have any foot or ankle issues, like weakened ankles due to repeated sprains, or tender, painful conditions like plantar fasciitis and bunions.

Ways to avoid unnecessary injury and discomfort this fall season

Invest in GREAT shoes – there is a lot that goes into what makes shoes great rather than just good. Good shoes can be comfortable, but great shoes are comfortable, supportive, and offer textured soles to increase your grip in slippery climates.

Avoid trouble areas – when and where possible, try to avoid walking through pathways littered with wet leaves, mud, or puddles. If and when you have to walk through a risky area, grab something to help stabilize you.

Tools of the trade – be sure to utilize the best tool of them all when it comes to keeping your foot and ankle health a top priority: your podiatrist! Dr. Lilly Khavari offers several types of advanced treatment methods, like bone stimulation, shockwave therapy, and custom orthotics. These tools can treat a range of conditions, from osteoarthritis pain to plantar fasciitis and fallen arches.

Want to feel more prepared this fall? Give us a call today at (469) 998-3668 to schedule your next appointment with Dr. Khavari at Carrollton Foot Center in Carrollton, Texas.

When Ankle Pain Isn’t Ankle Pain

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When it comes to getting us around every day, our feet do a majority of the work. Between every individual part of our feet, our ankles are arguably one of the most hardworking features of the lower halves of our bodies. They connect the rest of our body to our feet and grant us the flexibility do things like rock climbing or stair climbing! Considering our feet do so much for us, it’s inevitable that we might get ankle pain along with aches sometimes.

Because everyone is different, everyone experiences discomfort and pain in different ways. This can sometimes make it hard to decipher what really hurts. Many of the symptoms of plantar fasciitis, Achilles tendonitis, flat feet, and fatigued ankles are similar.

Here are some questions to ask yourself to help you pinpoint where your pain is:

  • When you wake up in the morning, do the bottoms of your heels feel painful? Sometimes this pain can radiate into the back of our ankles. Take note of when and where it hurts.
  • If you’ve been walking around all day, are you experiencing significant discomfort or pain along the back of your heel to your ankle? Does the pain radiate up your ankle?
  • Have you noticed any swelling between the bony sides of your ankles after standing for a long, or even a short period of time? Does the swelling come on quickly, and is it accompanied by aching pain?

We hope that this list of questions to ask yourself might benefit you when it comes time to schedule an appointment with Dr. Lilly Khavari. Getting a quick and accurate diagnosis will only benefit you more in the long run! This will help you get to treatment more quickly – for example, if it truly is Achilles tendonitis, you definitely want to ask Dr. Khavari about shockwave therapy to speed up your healing process! Call us today at (469) 998-3668 to schedule an appointment at our location in Carrollton, Texas.

Orthotics – Big and Small

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There’s a myth among many patients in the podiatric world that specialized footwear like custom orthotics is exclusively for adults. This couldn’t be farther from the truth! In fact, starting your child off young in orthotics can help them out in the long run…pun intended. Think about it: when you hang around your kids today, aren’t you amazed (and maybe even a bit jealous) of the sheer amounts of energy they display on a daily basis? What is the majority of their energy spent doing? They are busy running, jumping, climbing, hopping, skipping, and exploring their environment.

Why Does My Child Need Orthotics?

Here in Texas, their exploration can be additionally draining on the feet when you consider the heat and the types of rough, rocky surfaces they might be on. Since our feet and ankles take the brunt of our weight during any physical activity, it makes sense to want to protect them as early on as possible from long-term damage. This can help prevent them from needing treatments like shockwave therapy or bunion surgery later on in life. While we don’t expect you to put your toddler into a pair of orthotics, pre-teenaged children and young adults can greatly benefit from wearing custom orthotics. When you or your child wears a pair of custom orthotics, your feet will be manipulated into their proper positioning. Be it soft or firm, the biomechanics of orthotics are formed to the unique and individual shape of your feet, cradling them in the form they benefit from the most. Because orthotics is considered a biomechanical medical tool, you can only get a pair of real orthotics through a podiatrist that has prescribed them to you or your child.

Use this as your opportunity to get your child started on a healthy relationship with their podiatrist, especially if your child is particularly active and athletic. Dr. Lilly Khavari has all the answers! Call our office today at (469) 998-3668 to schedule your child’s first, or next appointment at our great location in Carrollton, Texas.

Before You Decide On Surgery, Read This!

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If you’re like many of the patients that come into Carrollton Foot Center for skilled help in resolving their foot and ankle related ailments, it has probably crossed your mind that surgery might be suggested for you. Sometimes, surgery really is the best option for some people! Dr. Lilly Khavari strongly believes, however, that everyone deserves to know all of their options before opting for surgical intervention. Have you recently been diagnosed with a foot or ankle condition like plantar fasciitis, neuromas, Achilles tendinitis, or diabetic wounds that are struggling to heal? For these conditions, as well as others, relief can be found in an innovative treatment called Radial Shockwave Therapy, or RSWT.

Similar to the machinery of an ultrasound machine, the RSWT machine is small and easy to use. Its applicator is placed on the area(s) of concern and the shockwave treatment is administered in about five minutes, just once per week! Shockwave therapy works by using “ballistic sound waves” which “penetrate deep through your soft tissue,” and ultimately triggers the natural healing response of the body to that specific area which builds new microscopic blood vessels and promotes circulatory health.

Shockwave therapy is an attractive alternative to surgery for many reasons. One of the most appealing reasons, however, is how minimally invasive shockwave therapy truly is when compared to surgical intervention. There is always a time and place for surgery, but imagine getting the same or even better results without any of the downtime or a long and drawn out healing process! With a success rate of 80% in the majority of patients who experience shockwave therapy for themselves, it’s easy to see why you would want to talk to Dr. Khavari and team to see if shockwave therapy is right for you before deciding on surgical intervention. Know your options! Call us today at 469-998-3668 to schedule a consultation.

The Podiatry Scene for Teens

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As a teenager, we’re sure you remember hearing a lot of adults joke about how they wish they could be as energetic and physically resilient as they once were. What a lot of people don’t realize is that not all of our bones, joints, and tendons in our feet and ankles are fully formed in our early years! From around 12 to 15 years of age, for example, the growth plate of our heel bone is still finishing up its development. As you can imagine, children and teenagers age 12 to 15 are especially susceptible during this age period to developing inflammation, irritation, generalized pain, and sustaining injuries to the feet or ankles. Early acknowledgement can help avoid surgical intervention in the future! Even minor issues like corns, calluses, or ingrown toenails are important to look out for!

In most cases, this is due to how active and energetic children and teenagers are during these years. While we would never want to discourage physical activity and joining in on the fun, it’s important to keep the vulnerability of their feet and ankles in mind during these years. The repetitive stress of sports, skateboarding, track and field, as well as many other outdoor activities are likely culprits for early trauma and injuries for children and teens. It’s never too early to establish a relationship with a podiatrist, like Dr. Lilly Khavari, for your active child or teenager.

Recognizing and acknowledging symptoms of pain and discomfort in your child or teenagers feet and ankles is important. Start by asking your child or teenager how their typical activities are going, be it the soccer team or cheerleading. If your child or teenager spends two or more days per week at practice, ask them how they feel their sports shoes are feeling lately. This simple gesture can give you huge insight into any current or developing problems your child or teenager may be facing regarding foot and ankle pain. In the event that something comes up or you notice physical changes in your child or teenager, like a slight limp or a change in the way they walk, schedule an appointment with Dr. Khavari at our convenient location in Carrollton, Texas by calling 469-998-3668 today!

 

 

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4221 Medical Parkway
STE 450
Carrollton, TX

(469) 998-3668

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