Conditions

Signs and symptoms of plantar plate injury. Straits Podiatry Singapore

Plantar Plate Injury

A plantar plate injury or plantar plate tear is a condition that causes foot pain around the ball of the foot, most commonly around the second or third toe. A plantar plate is a piece of fibrocartilage that holds our toe joint (metatarsophalangeal joint) together and provides structural stability. It originates at the head of the metatarsal bone and attaches to the base of the proximal phalanx bone.

Plantar plate injury is commonly called “floating toe syndrome” as it causes the affected toe to retract off the ground when standing. Patients with this condition will normally report pain and a “stepping on a pebble” sensation, especially when walking barefoot.

Metatarsalgia Signs and Symptoms. Straits Podiatry Singapore

Metatarsalgia

Metatarsalgia is an umbrella term for conditions that cause pain over the forefoot or around the ball of the foot. It should be regarded as a description of pain than a diagnosis. Patients with metatarsalgia should be further assessed to determine the underlying diagnosis of the pain.

What is foot drop? Signs and symptoms of foot drop. Straits Podiatry Singapore

Foot Drop

Foot drop is a condition where the muscles in the front of the leg weaken, causing difficulty in lifting the foot and toes. It can happen due to nerve damage, injury, or underlying medical conditions. The condition can affect people of all ages and cause difficulties in walking and performing daily activities.

Lifting the foot up, an action known as ankle dorsiflexion is important for normal gait functions. Ankle dorsiflexion helps to clear the foot off the ground as our leg swings forward when we walk or run. Foot drop can cause tripping and falling, and can severely impact a person’s ability to carry out daily activities.

Signs and symptoms of Tarsal Tunnel Syndrome. Straits Podiatry Singapore

Tarsal Tunnel Syndrome

Tarsal tunnel syndrome is a condition that causes ankle pain along with neurological symptoms such as burning, numbness and tingling sensation. It occurs when the tibia nerve is compressed at the inside (medial) of the ankle, at an area referred to as the “tarsal tunnel“. This condition is very similar to carpal tunnel syndrome, which occurs at the wrist.

 

Baxter's Nerve Entrapment Signs and Symptoms. Straits Podiatry Singapore.

Baxter’s Nerve Entrapment

Baxter’s nerve entrapment is a condition that causes heel pain in up to 20%1 of the population suffering from heel pain. It occurs when the inferior calcaneal nerve is entrapped between the heel bone and the surrounding muscles of the foot. This condition is often overlooked and many patients have been misdiagnosed with plantar fasciitis. Pain caused by Baxter’s nerve entrapment usually presents with other neurological symptoms such as burning, numbness and tingling sensation.

Signs and symptoms of Clawed Toes. Straits Podiatry Singapore

Clawed and Hammer Toes

Clawed toes and hammer toes are toe deformities that can cause foot pain or other foot conditions. They often occur when there is a muscular imbalance in the foot, causing the toe to remain in a bent position. Clawed and hammer toes can be flexible (able to straighten) or fixed deformity (unable to straighten).

Clawed toes appear as toes that curl downwards like a “claw”, characterized by hyperextension of the metatarsophalangeal joint (MTPJ) and flexion of the proximal interphalangeal joint (PIPJ) and distal interphalangeal joint (DIPJ).

Hammer toes differ from clawed toes slightly where only the middle part of the toe is curled, and are characterized by hyperextension of the MTPJ, flexion of the PIPJ and extension of the DIPJ. There is a third type of toe deformity known as mallet toe, where only the tip of the toe is curled downwards.

 

Signs and symptoms of heel spur. Straits Podiatry

Heel Spur

Heel spur or calcaneal spur is a condition associated with heel pain caused by an outgrowth of bone that extends from the heel bone (calcaneus). However, it is important to know that heel spurs usually do not cause heel pain. The heel pain from patients with heel spurs is typically due to the presence of underlying plantar fasciitis or Achilles tendinitis.

There are 2 areas of the heel bone where spurs are commonly found – plantar (bottom of the heel) and posterior (back of the heel).

 

What is High Arch Feet? What is Pes Cavus? Straits Podiatry

High Arch Feet (Pes Cavus)

High arch feet or pes cavus is a type of foot posture characterized by abnormally high arch height along the inner side of the foot. This foot type is also described as “supinated” feet or walking with excessive supination.  A person with high arch feet will notice that their footprints have greater curvature and less surface area touching the ground.

High arch feet are mostly congenital (inborn) but can also be due to underlying neuromuscular conditions such as Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease, muscular dystrophy, cerebral palsy, and post-poliomyelitis syndrome.

Flat feet in children. Signs and symptoms of children flat feet. Straits Podiatry

Paediatric Flat Feet

Paediatric flat feet or pes planus is a condition whereby the child has a lowered or complete loss of arch along the inside of the foot, causing the feet and ankle to roll in towards to centre of the body. It is also widely known as “pronated feet” or someone with a “pronated gait”. Most parents with children suffering from flat feet would refer to their child’s gait as “walking with toes pointing out”, “walking like a duck”, or “foot slapping the ground”.

It is estimated that 2 to 3 in 10 children have flat feet, and this number is higher in Asian countries because joint hypermobility is more prevalent among Asians.

What is In-Toe Walking? What is Pigeon toed walking? Straits Podiatry

In-toe Walking

In-toe walking, also known as “Pigeon toes”, is a condition whereby a child is walking with their toes pointing inwards and facing each other. This condition is considered a form of gait abnormality and is one of the common causes of frequent tripping and falling in young children. It is also one of the most common paediatric conditions that parents often neglect even after noticing the problem.

Knock Knees Child

Knock Knees (Genu Valgum)

Knock knees, medically termed genu valgum, is a congenital structural abnormality that affects the angle of the knees. Parents often refer to knock knees as “X-shaped” legs, where the knees are touching one another whilst the feet are wide apart when standing.

Knock knees are determined by either the angular difference between the thigh bone (femur) and the leg bone (tibia) through an x-ray or by measuring the gap between the ankles when someone is standing with their knees together.

If within the normal reference range and age, knock knees are part of the normal development of a child. Children are expected to have mild knock knees after the age of 2 years, and peak at the age of 4 years.

Paediatric Heel Pain

Paediatric Heel Pain (Sever’s Disease)

Sever’s disease or calcaneal apophysitis is a type of osteochondrosis that causes heel pain in children between the age of 8 to 14 years. This condition occurs when the Achilles tendon (the tendon that attaches to the back of the heel) pulls on the growth plate of the heel bone (calcaneal apophysis), resulting in swelling and inflammation of the growth plate.

Sever’s disease often occurs in active children and is more common in boys than girls. Children affected by Sever’s disease commonly complain of pain under the heel or at the back of the heel. In the early stages, the pain would normally occur only after high-impact activities or sports, but as the condition gets worse, the pain would eventually cause the child to limp even without activity.