As the school session is coming to a close and summer is calling your name, watch out for a warty summer! All your kids can think of is summer fun with friends; sport camps and splashing around at the pool, but as parents, you must be very wary of those relentless plantar warts!

Plantar warts are caused by a virus, specifically a strain of HPV. They can be picked up from sharing showers, walking barefoot at the pool or in the locker rooms. They can even be spread within the family in the bath tub, scary huh! Since warts are caused by a virus they thrive on surfaces. Don’t only take precautions at public places, but also socks, shoes and sport equipment too!

They appear as little yellow- brown lesions on the bottom of your feet. Your podiatrist will be able to analyze and determine if it is a wart. Sometimes they can cause sharp shooting pain, depending on the location of the lesion. If you suspect that you have a wart, be careful because you can self contaminate, which may cause more warts to pop up on your opposite foot or even your hands!

There are many ways to medically treat plantar warts, but once you have them; warts are especially difficult to treat, because they reside below the skin. So instead of waiting, why not try to prevent plantar warts! You can try cleaning out your shoes with Mycomist, and even start wearing special socks that reduce the viral growth activity!  

If you or someone you has kids and are planning on splashing around the pool or attending day camps, don’t hesitate to come on into our office Frederick Foot & Ankle Specialistsfor a foot evaluation. We would be more than happy to schedule an appointment to prevent these pesky warts, at either of our locations in Frederick, MDand Urbana, MD.

By: Coralia Terol, DPM, AACFAS

Congratulations to all who participated in the Frederick Running Festival! It was a great meeting everyone at the expo! I hope you all were able to check out and try out the CEP compression socks, really great for races of these distances!

How is everyone feeling after that the races this past weekend? Whether you did the Twilight 5k Run or the Half Marathon (or the Nut Job!) we all deserved a little break! As podiatrists we wondering how are you choosing to recover, stretching, thera-band exercises, possibly some lite work outs?

If you said yes to all of the above then you are on the road to recovery, the right way! It is always a task to build up you endurance and strength for your competitions, but many forget that having a stretching routine will make you into an advanced athlete!

Post races you should do a variety of stretching exercises to loosen up your key muscles and to release the lactic acid build up.  You can stretch your calf by standing facing the wall, placing your toes against a wall and pressing forward. You can stretch you hamstrings by sitting on the floor, with your legs forming a “V” shape and one at a time reaching your finger tips to your toes. You can stretch your quadriceps by standing up straight and grabbing our right ankle with your left hand, be sure not to pull your leg out to the side, as you will add stress to your knee. Also a good post race exercise are thera-band exercise and also yoga!

If you or someone you know is suffering from post race aches and injury, don’t hesitate to come on into our office Frederick Foot & Ankle Specialists.  We would be more than happy to schedule an appointment for your foot evaluation so you can be back on your feet, at either of our locations in Frederick, MDand Urbana, MD. It was great seeing you out there at the Frederick Running Festival.

By: Dr. Nikki Ho, AACFAS

Get ready for the Frederick Running Festival May 4^th and May 5^th this year they are working to make this the biggest and best festival in their history. They are offering a variety of events this year, such as the Nut Job and the Maryland Double. The Nut Job is where a participant running the Twilight 5K Saturday night and a ½ Marathon Sunday morning. And the Maryland Double is composed of a runner running the Frederick ½ Marathon and Baltimore ½ Marathon, which is in October.

With recent events at the Boston Marathon we as runners and podiatrists need to unite and “Run for Boston”! We should continue training and preparing for the big festival next Saturday and Sunday! 

We are proud to announce that we have a rather large team from FFA participating in the 5k and the ½ marathon, and a few Nut Jobs too! This race we’ve have been training and plan on running in my CEP compression socks from our office! They are made special, for running sports. Structurally they have an Achilles tendon protector, seamless air channels and anatomic foot padding for perfect fit for each stride!

CEP compression socks help before, during and after your race! Functionally, they can prolong your stamina, improve your blood circulation, joint stabilization and improve overall coordination. We highly recommend CEP for your training and racing experiences, if you need a pair CEP compressions prior to the race stop in our office to pick up a pair or two!

If you or someone you know have any foot or ankle pain caused by training for an endurance event, don’t hesitate to stopby our office Frederick Foot & Ankle Specialists.  We would be more than happy to schedule an appointment for your foot evaluation, and give you the A ok to start your training regiment, at either of our locations in Frederick, MDand Urbana, MD. Our thoughts and prays are with those who were touched by this tragic event and hope to see you out there at the Frederick Running Festival. 

By: Brenna Steinberg, DPM, FACFAS

Do you ever have pain in your big toe? Have you ever experienced pain when pushing off the ground, when walking? If so, you might be experiencing bunion pains. Bunions are one of the most common foot problems. Bunions can come in two types, structural and biomechanical. Structural bunion can form due to the increase in the angle between your 1^st and 2^nd toes naturally as you age. Biomechanical bunion can be formed based on your gait and they way you walk over time these might develop. Structural and Biomechanical bunions both can affect the joint causing premature arthritis. As podiatrists and parents, we all know that it’s better to catch a problem early in its stages before it becomes worst.

Bunion symptoms can range from a foot deformity, noticing a bump on the inside of your first toe to painful shooting pain that radiates through your foot. You might notice that you need to buy wider shoes, than previously purchased. You might experience some soreness or calluses developing on the side of your first toe. Also you might notice more shoe wear on the sides of your shoes.

But have no fear there are many treatment options for bunions. There is a multitude of conservative treatments to consider such as topical creams to relieve the pain, pads to cushion the painful areas, and also bunion splits etc.

If you or someone you know is experiencing bunion pain, we welcome you to visitour office Frederick Foot & Ankle Specialists.We would be more than happy to schedule an appointment for your foot evaluation, at either of our locations in Frederick, MDand Urbana, MD.

By: Yenisey Yanes, DPM, AACFAS, ABPM

Usually Marathon Monday is a celebrated holiday in Boston, however yesterdays shocking events made news headlines in a different way. If you didn’t hear about it there were 2 explosions that happened during the race right near the finish line and it is reported to have had more explosions disarmed along the race course. Today, there was a tragedy seen at the 117th Boston Marathon, hundreds of innocent runners and by standards were injured.

In light of this tragedy, we just want to thank those brave enough to run towards the confusion and the smoke to help those injured and in need. One of the treating teams there was Temple University School of Podiatric Medicine, which one of our doctors attended, Dr. Ho. They were in a medical tent a little more than a block away from the finish line. What once started out as a blister and ankle sprain control soon turned into a first respond triage tent. We are proud to say that podiatrist were some of the first to respond!

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The runners of the Boston Marathon would have wanted for you to keep up with your passion and keep running. They would want you to keep training!

If you or someone you know is seeking to start or continue training for a Marathon, our friendly staff would love to accommodate to your needs here at Frederick Foot & Ankle Specialists.  We would be more than happy to schedule an appointment for your foot evaluation, and give you the A ok to start your training regiment, at either of our locations in Frederick, MDand Urbana, MD. Our thoughts and prayers are with those who were touched by this tragic event.

By: Dr. Coralia Terol, AACFAS