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You can be a lay expert on your feet and ankles! Here are some facts to get you started.

Your board-certified podiatrist is an expert in caring for the feet, ankles, and lower legs of older men and women.

The risk of illness and injury increases when you’re wearing sandals, but those risks can be mitigated with careful choices.

Symptoms of capsulitis include a feeling like there is a stone in your shoe, located most often in the ball of the foot. Pain and discomfort are typical, especially near the big toe or the second toe.

Although the bodies of men and women are primarily the same, biological and environmental differences lead to different health issues, even in the feet and ankles.

Statistics show that men are more likely than women to live with discomfort or to experience complications of an illness that could have been caught and treated early.

Crutches are a stabilizing tool that help you move around when you are not able to bear your body weight on your foot, ankle, or lower leg.

How much do you know about the anatomy of your feet? Here are some interesting facts for you!

Illness or injury to your feet or ankles can ruin your good time. It’s important to take steps to prevent foot health.  Here are some tips to reduce your risk of a negative incident.

Arthritis is a chronic condition that cannot be cured. However, its symptoms can be managed.

People who sit at work all day and relax on the couch all evening are at higher risk of cardiovascular disease and other life-threatening illnesses, much like people who smoke or are obese.

A sprained ankle occurs when the ligaments that support the joint are stretched or torn. This typically occurs on the outside of the ankle joint.

April is Foot Health Awareness Month, test your knowledge about foot health by answering the following statements.

Excess weight and obesity can trigger gout attacks. Be sure to eat a healthy diet, rich in colorful fruits and vegetables, whole grains, and lean proteins from poultry and fish.

Diabetes is a full-body illness with myriad complications, two of which pose particular risks to the feet: neuropathy and diminished circulation.

Have you ever heard of a “love fracture?” It sounds like what happens to a high schooler’s heart after a first breakup goes south but, in fact, it’s the common name for a fracture of the calcaneus, your heel bone.

Swollen feet are a common reason for patients to visit their foot doctor’s office. When one or both feet are swollen, standing and walking can become uncomfortable, and moving becomes challenging, leading to limited activity and diminished overall health.

A sprained ankle is a painful injury that can keep you off your feet for weeks. Weak ankles are more likely to twist when you step awkwardly and can result in a foot fracture.

People with diabetes are particularly vulnerable to two foot conditions: neuropathy and foot ulcers.

The decision to call your podiatrist begins with knowing just what a podiatrist does. Your podiatrist is a medical specialist with years of advanced training in diagnosing and treating all illnesses and injuries of the feet, ankles, and lower legs.

Charcot foot is a disease that attacks the bones, joints, and soft tissue in the feet. It progresses slowly. Unchecked, it can cause painful sores or even change the shape of your foot.

Freiberg’s disease is most common in adolescents in their late teens and early twenties. Females are more at risk than males and, of note, people whose second toe is longer than their first are more frequently affected.

Just like the length of your feet is quantified with a numbered shoe size, the width is sized as well.

We’ve all heard about the struggles of joint pain, probably from your older relatives and friends. Unfortunately, it is likely a condition that many of us will experience as we age.

Neuromas have a way of being different from your average foot complication.

Ulcers have the potential to become very dangerous for your foot and ankle health for many reasons.

Flat Feet have a way of complicating normal routines by affecting the way the foot hits the ground.

Corns are hardened areas of skin that can form on the foot and cause problems if not handled correctly.

Heel spurs develop when calcium deposits at the bottom of the heel in an accelerated manner.

Foot and Ankle Arthritis can be a complicated and long-running situation for many individuals. 

Bunions can be annoying or not a problem at all. If your bunion does not develop into a large enough mass to cause shoe issues or other complications, there may not be much you have to do.

Ingrown toenails can become a real pain for your feet as the side of the nails can dig into the surrounding skin. This, as you can imagine, not only causes pain but also makes it difficult to participate in routine activities.

Heel spurs are not something you want on your feet for a variety of reasons.

Heel pain can be caused for a variety of reasons, such as foot complications or long periods of stress placed on the feet.

Flat feet have a way of causing little drama at the beginning, only to become problematic later on with lack of treatment.

Water recreation is a big part of staying cool in the summer months, but beware of foot conditions that can result from poor protection and hygiene! One condition that is seen in many patients during the summer is athlete’s foot.

Orthotics are intended to dismiss discomfort, stop defects, allow greater movement and provide strength. Sound good, don’t they?

Hammertoes can happen for a number of reasons; yet, the cause is usually traced to your shoes.

Wonder what running, dancing, and wearing high heels share in common? They can all cause pain in the ball of the foot, which is referred to as metatarsalgia.

deceptive! Thin and smooth layers of the skin eventually turn into a painful, hard or soft area that typically forms on your toes.

Chances are, you know someone who is suffering from arthritis. Whether it’s your parents, grandparents, or an older friend, it can be a painful condition, especially when it attacks the feet and ankles.

A ganglion cyst is a fluid-filled growth that can form anywhere on the body. Typically, they grow under the skin or on joints, bones, and ligaments. On the feet, they develop as benign soft-tissue growths, often on the tops of your feet. They can grow into

Plantar fasciitis is a painful condition that affects the comfort of your heels as it directly involves the plantar fascia that connects your heel bone to your toes. This ligament provides assistance to your foot’s arch.

Neuromas, a condition that involves an inflamed nerve on the bottom of your feet, can result in varying levels of discomfort and pain.

Plantar Fasciitis can be a painful condition that affects many day to day activities. This condition affects the plantar fascia, which protects the arch of the foot and allows us to walk, jump, run, and move.

Proper footwear are powerful words in the world of foot health. In particular, devices such as orthotics can help to treat arthritis by adjusting muscle stimulation to lessen the joint burden.

Achilles tendonitis can be a major problem for many types of people. The Achilles tendon joins the calf muscles to the heel bone.

Let’s face it, plantar warts are frankly unsightly and not something you want hanging around. To add to their charm, they can also be painful when left to their own devices.

Skin Cancer can appear anywhere on the body, including the extremities.

We all know blisters. They’re small but painful, and can really put a damper on your day when one appears on your foot. They can get infected and cause significant discomfort that gets in the way of walking and other tasks.

Calluses may seem harmless and unassuming but can become problematic if ignored. Calluses are hardened areas of the skin that typically form as the skin of your foot rubs against the inside of your shoe.

Problems with your toes can seem minor, but there are some you want to avoid at all costs. Ingrown toenails are a condition that can cause severe pain, discomfort, and lead to infections as the nail grows further into the skin that surrounds the toenail.

Heel spurs are not a walk in the park. They are bony extensions of the heel bone that form as a result of repetitive irritation of the heel bone.

Warts, in general, are not perceived very kindly. Plantar warts, the ones that develop on the soles of your feet, are no exception. However, they are extremely common and our podiatrist, Dr. Stavros Alexopoulos, treats patients with plantar warts frequentl

Have you ever wondered what those shoe inserts you see at pharmacies do for you? They can provide support for your feet in areas that need it the most!

We’ve all had the experience of injuring the ankle, whether it’s from running, dancing, walking in heels or stepping off of a curb.

Bunions are one of the most common foot deformities we see at our podiatry practice at Stavros O. Alexopoulos, DPM in Chicago.

Flat feet is a common condition that we see in many of our patients at our podiatry office. One way to find out if you have flat feet is to wet your feet and stand on a flat surface. If the arch of your footprint shows, meaning it is touching the ground, y

Ankle fractures are significant traumatic experiences for your feet and ankles. They involve a crack or complete break in your ankle bone and require prompt and ongoing medical treatment to ensure that your ankle movement returns to normal.

Bursitis is most commonly associated with the shoulder, elbow, hip and knee. But bursitis can also occur in the foot and near the Achilles tendon.

“Summertime, and the living is easy …” – unless you suffer from feet that have unusually unpleasant odors. In other words, they smell!

Every day at our practice we see patients of all ages with a variety of foot problems. And every day we prescribe custom-made orthotic devices to address our patients’ unique needs.

Let’s face it – we all take our feet for granted. We squeeze them into shoes, stress them out during workouts and generally neglect them. Yet they still perform for us, bearing our bodies’ weight for miles and miles and years and years.

Diabetes is on the rise – 28 million Americans have the disease, and half will develop neuropathy.

Now that summer has unofficially started with Memorial Day past, we all look forward to wearing light clothes and sandals.

Do you have pain in the ball of your foot? Does it feel as if your sock is bunched up or you’re stepping on a marble? Is it difficult to wear shoes because of the pain and swelling?

Has your child complained of heel pain or has difficulty walking? Sometimes a growth spurt causes the heel bone to grow more quickly than nearby muscles and tendons, causing them to stretch too much.

Having an ingrown toenail is no fun. It’s unsightly and also can be very painful. Can this condition be prevented?

Ouch! Your foot underneath your heel hurts when you first get up in the morning. Or you have pain and swelling at the back of the heel.

You probably know what a cyst is – it’s a common occurrence where a small sac fills with fluid inside the body.

Running is so beneficial for your health and well-being! It can improve your overall health, lower cholesterol levels and improve lung function

Any joint in the body can develop degenerative arthritis because of wear and tear due to aging. When arthritis settles in the big toe joint, it makes the toe hard to bend and painful.

Tendons are thick cords that attach bone to muscle. When the tendons become inflamed or irritated from repetitive actions and overuse, or from minor or serious injury, the result is tendonitis.

Have you rushed to the emergency room after receiving the dreaded phone call that your child has been injured while playing sports?

Being injured in a fall is a very real possibility for our senior citizens.

At the first hint of warmer spring weather, most of us rummage through our closets looking for our favorite pair of sandals.

Most people have normal arches – some have flat feet where the arches have collapsed – and a very few have high arches.

Do you have rough, cracked skin on the bottom of your heels? You may be self-conscious of these unpleasant skin areas, but the worst part is that they can be very painful.

Parents often bring their children to our office to ask about the appearance of their feet and legs. Sometimes the child’s feet point in towards each other when walking.

A heel spur is a small, bony protrusion that sticks out from the bottom of the heel bone and is often associated with plantar fasciitis, or inflammation of the plantar fascia.

If you have a flare-up of gout in your big toe you will know it – and it’s unlikely that you’ll forget it.

What do your feet and your heart have in common?

Have you turned over a new leaf for 2016 and resolved to eat better? That’s a goal that all of should work toward to look and feel better.

Are you a winter adventurer? Do activities like cross country and downhill skiing, sledding and ice skating lure you out of doors in the cold weather?

Have you seen a small, grainy growth on the bottom of your foot or the foot of your child? This spot can be painful when standing on it.

Did you make a New Year’s resolution – or 2 or 3? Most of us do. In fact, the most popular New Year’s resolutions are losing weight, getting organized and spending less/saving more.

The foot contains two very small bones, pea-size, under the foot near the big toe. They are unusual in that they are not connected to other bones. Instead they are connected to tendons.

Are you embarrassed because of the appearance of your toenails? Do they look ragged or thickened, discolored or dull? If so you may have toenail fungus.

Because neuropathy causes pain and numbness in the feet, it’s important to choose footwear wisely if you suffer from this condition.

If the holiday season has you aching for foot pain relief, you may be suffering from metatarsalgia. It’s a long word but easy to understand when you break it down: the 5 metatarsal bones run down the foot from the toes to the ankle.

Growing pains? Are these real or myth? If your child has heel pain and difficulty walking, he or she may be experiencing a heel bone that grows too fast during a growth spurt.

We’ve all stubbed our toes at one time or another and it hurts! Toes have lots of nerve endings to send sensory information quickly to the central nervous system and they don’t have much fatty tissue to absorb an impact.

Nerve damage in the feet can be very painful and often is accompanied by other symptoms like weakness, swelling and numbness. If left untreated, the condition may worsen and even cause permanent damage.

If you or a family member is expecting a new arrival shortly – congratulations! You are probably taking good care of yourself by eating balanced meals, drinking plenty of water and taking your vitamins.

One out of three American women has experienced the irritation of a bunion.

Did you know that your feet can show clues that give hints about your overall health?

You may notice a bump on your heel or on a family member’s heel. Haglund’s deformity is a bony enlargement that can form at the back of the heel bone where the Achilles tendon is located.

Do you have pain in your heels that makes it difficult to walk? Is the pain worst when you first get out of bed in the morning?

Turf toe is an appropriate name for an injury that often occurs on artificial turf in football stadiums

Have you or a family member fallen recently? Millions of senior citizens fall each year – and one out of every five falls results in a serious injury.