Newsletter – podiatry info for patients and medical professionals

Chicago Podiatric Surgeons Newsletter is published quarterly. It contains lots of easy to read foot health articles in a nicely designed format. You can download previous issues by going here. As we are preparing our upcoming issue, you can sign up for your copy by filling out this form. We are happy to announce that the latest issue will be 100% paper free. Chicago Podiatric Surgeons is going GREEN!

A few tips about your child’s feet

Starting to Walk

It is unwise to force a child to walk. When physically and emotionally ready, the child will walk. Comparisons with other children are misleading, since the age for independent walking ranges from 10 to 18 months.

When the child first begins to walk, shoes are not necessary indoors. Allowing the youngster to go barefoot or to wear just socks helps the foot to grow normally and to develop its musculature and strength, as well as the grasping action of toes. Of course, when walking outside or on rough surfaces, babies’ feet should be protected in lightweight, flexible footwear made of natural materials.

 

Growing Up

As a child’s feet continue to develop, it may be necessary to change shoe and sock size every few months to allow room for the feet to grow. Although foot problems result mainly from injury, deformity, illness, or hereditary factors, improper footwear can aggravate preexisting conditions. Shoes or other footwear should never be handed down.

The feet of young children are often unstable because of muscle problems which make walking difficult or uncomfortable. A thorough examination by a podiatrist may detect an underlying defect or condition which may require immediate treatment or consultation with another specialist.

And remember if you have any concerns at all about the health of your child’s feet, please consult your local podiatrist for early diagnosis and treatment.

Carbon Footprint – can a podiatris treat it?

Even though the name may suggest otherwise, it’s one of those “foot” problems that no podiatrist can cure.

What is a carbon footprint? According to Wikipedia a carbon footprint is a “measure of the impact human activities have on the environment in terms of the amount of greenhouse gases produced, measured in units of carbon dioxide”. It is meant to be useful for individuals and organizations to conceptualize their personal (or organizational) impact in contributing to global warming.

We all have to deal with it ourselves and keep in mind that the smaller the footprint, the more we leave for our children and future generaions to enjoy.