Florida Orthopedic Taking Care of Your Feet

At Sea Spine Orthopedic Institute we are constantly educating our patients on the importance of taking care of their bodies. Some of the most common problems we encounter are joint and back complications. These problems can derive from many situations but the most common are due to unhealthy walking and running habits and not taking care of their feet.  People generally pay little attention to their feet since they are literally the furthest things from sight, however one must remember they are the foundation of our bodies.

Taking care of your feet isn’t just about looking good. When your feet don't get the attention they deserve, chronic problems can develop, not just on your feet, your back and joints may start bothering you and escalate to greater problems.

How do your feet affect your body? Think of a ball bouncing on a firm floor, the energy applied when it hits the ground makes it rebound. Same thing when we walk or run, the force applied through the body rebounds on the joints, bouncing back up through the legs, knees, hips and spine. The rebounding  effect lies in the arches of the feet, which support your spine.

Our feet determine the position of our knees, lower back, hip and shoulders. So, when our feet are tight and clenched, our whole body imitates this tension. If your feet are tired your body is tired. If your feet are out of alignment your whole body will be too. Our feet are the first indicator to reveal our general state of health with diseases such as diabetes, arthritis, neurological problems and circulatory problems.

One of the best ways to avoid trouble with your feet is to practice preventive care. Here at Sea Spine Orthopedic Institute we have a few suggestions that can improve your feet’s condition and help you avoid future complications: 

• Massage your feet, especially stretching and opening the toes, moving your feet in circles, bending the toes forward and backwards. 
• Keep your weight down by eating healthier, the less pressure on your feet the better.
• Exercise as much as you can, helps strengthen muscles and keep a healthy circulatory flow of blood to the feet.
• Wear soft, comfortable and supportive shoes that move with every step and provide good arch support.

If you or anyone you know is experiencing problems deriving from walking & running or pain caused from poor posture, please contact one of our many offices to set up an appointment.  Our highly qualified staff of nurses and surgeons would be more than happy to help you get back on your feet and back to a healthy active work lifestyle.

If you're looking for professional and experienced high-rated Florida orthopedic surgeons, contact SeaSpine Orthopedic Institute today at (http://www.seaspineortho.com/) or call  866-816-ORTHO.

Preventing Carpal Tunnel Syndrome

Carpal Tunnel Syndrome is something that has become more and more frequent in the age of technology and is the leading cause in the U.S. for lost workdays.  Carpal Tunnel Syndrome or CTS is caused by pressure on the median nerve that is located in your wrist.  Anyone who works with a computer on a daily basis has heard of this and maybe has experienced a form of this in some way or another.  The symptoms include any pain, tingling, or numbness found from the fingertips to the forearm.  

Women are also more likely to suffer from CTS and that it may be as high as 70% of cases.  The percentages of occurrences go up even higher when a woman is pregnant or going through menopause.  People that suffer from CTS spend an average of 30 days off work.  The reason for this is that most people that have some form of CTS always opt for surgery to help correct the issue.

The first and foremost way to prevent CTS is to live an active lifestyle.  Being overweight can place a higher strain on all your joints and muscles and in turn lead to a greater risk of developing CTS.  Exercising regularly and maintaining a healthy diet can help with the prevention of CTS.  Smoking can also increase the risk of CTS so here is just another reason not to smoke.

Another way to decrease the risk of getting CTS is through regular breaks if you have a routine of repetitiveness.  For example, if you are working at a computer for more than an hour at a time it would be recommended that you take a five minute break every hour or so.   Try stretching before and after your break and especially before and after you begin work.   You will find that it will help improve the longevity of any activity you preform that can lead to CTS.

The most important prevention tip in general for any office related aliment is proper office ergonomics.  This can help prevent a wide ray of work related injuries including CTS.    If you have an office job, are you comfortable sitting at your desk for long periods of time?  Are your wrists and forearms properly supported when you use a computer?  These are important things to take into consideration when trying to prevent CTS.  Try adjusting your chair height or the way you sit and you will immediately feel the difference.  Most office chairs have a few ways to adjust the overall posture.

Hopefully, with these simple tips you can help to prevent Carpal Tunnel Syndrome and continue to be productive in your career for many years to come.  If you or anyone you know is experiencing any CTS symptoms please contact one of our many offices to set up an appointment.  Our highly qualified staff of nurses and surgeons would be more than happy to help you get back to the active work lifestyle you once experienced.

If you're looking for professional and experienced high-rated orthopedic surgeon in Florida, contact Sea Spine Orthopedic Institute today at 866-816-ORTHO.


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Pain Killer Addiction

Unless you are Bruce Willis’ character from Unbreakable it’s impossible to go through life without getting injured, hurt, or eventually one day needing an orthopedic surgeon.  Whether it is from playing sports, working out, or falling out of your chair, many people have to deal with recurring pain.  How we deal with that pain is up to the individual and the advice you get from a specialist.  Depending on where you are hurt there are a lot of alternatives to deal with pain like surgery or physical therapy, but the majority of us rely on pain killers.  The problem with that is that they are highly addictive, and once on them it can be very hard for some people to stop taking them. 

      

The first recorded use of a pain killer was over six thousand years ago in ancient Sumeria.  However, over the last fifty years modern medicine has introduced a wide spectrum of drugs that are mass produced for people around the world. The CDC reported that in 2010 one in twenty people in the United States, ages 12 and older, used prescription painkillers non-medically (without a prescription or just for the "high" they cause). This huge use in pain killers has attributed to a huge increase in accidental overdoses every year.  Most of these addictions come from past use that continues well after the reason the took the meds in the first place is gone.  This has become an epidemic, and people that have these addictions aren't as easy to spot as other drug addictions.

First of all, you can buy these drugs anywhere as long as you have a prescription.  There are many cases of people that go to numerous doctors at the same time to obtain a bunch of prescriptions.  Then they have the so-called pill mills that just sell pills to anyone off the street complaining of pain.  Luckily, law enforcement has been cracking down on these places in recent years, but the problem still persists.  An addiction is an addiction and where there is a need people can find a supply.

    

Secondly, there is no odor or paraphernalia negatively associated with taking prescription pills. They come in an orange prescription bottle so someone is less likely to be alarmed if they see you taking one in public.  Behaviorally speaking you could tell someone is on them all the time if you personally know the person for a long time and know their personality.  However, approaching someone that you suspect is addicted to them is a difficult task.  Denial, denial, denial is all that you will get.  Just like any other addiction the self-awareness of its destructive nature is not always so apparent.       

As I have stated in previous blogs, I myself have dealt with a serious injury and I was prescribed painkillers to help cope with the constant pain.  For me it was an uncomfortable feeling to lapse into a dull haze, but I can see how that can become addictive for someone.  The biggest problem I experienced was when I tried to stop taking them.  Luckily, I was told by a good friend of mine that you just cannot stop taking them cold turkey once you start feeling better.  Little did I know the amount of withdrawals you would have if you did so.  Even when I began to reduce the amount I would take over time I would still experience hot flashes and nausea.   And this was only after taking them for a few months.  I can’t imagine the amount of withdrawals someone would go through if they were taking them for years.

Then you have the weird side effects that come along with pain killers.  Not having the ability to go to the bathroom was a surprise.  For those of you who read this and have never taken them before, even when you have the urge to go to the bathroom this kind of medication prevents you from going.  It's a scary feeling when you haven't gone to the bathroom in a few days.  For me it ended up being a few weeks and I was scared for my life.  Soon enough I started to go once I slowed down the rate of how much I took, but I will never forget those two weeks and the fright I had of not being able to do something newborn babies could do. 

In conclusion, if you suspect a friend, family member, or co-worker is abusing pain killers the best thing to do is to contact other people in their lives who they trust and would be open to listening too.  A one man front so to speak is difficult, but a united front brought before the person in question is a much better approach and will have more positive results.

 

If you're looking for professional and experienced high-rated orthopedic surgeon in Florida, contact Sea Spine Orthopedic Institute today at 866-816-ORTHO.


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Getting a Second Opinion

Going to see a doctor can be a very traumatic experience for many people, especially if it is followed by a negative diagnosis that requires some kind of surgery or treatment.  If you are anything like me you have always trusted your doctors and their opinions.  However, as I have learned not every doctor has all the answers and even though it does not always happen doctors can give the wrong diagnosis.  After all they are only human, just like the rest of us they can make mistakes.  In 1999 the Institute of Medicine conducted a survey that came up with results that between 44,000 and 98,000 Americans die each year in hospitals from errors that could have been prevented.  The scary part is that does not include medical errors that kill patients once they leave the hospital. 

Not all diagnosis, however, require a second opinion.  Some diagnoses are conclusive. For example, a fasting plasma glucose (FPG) test measures blood glucose in a person who has not eaten anything for at least 8 hours. This is the test they use detect diabetes and pre-diabetes in a person and does not require a second opinion because those tests are always conclusive. 

Where these conclusive diagnoses are few and far between what you really have to be mindful of are conclusions that are followed by an invasive surgery or some kind of aggressive treatment like chemotherapy.  Not only could these surgeries and treatments be dangerous themselves but they can cause complications on their own if not done properly.  

I find that peace of mind is reason enough for some people to get second opinions.  The surety of what you are diagnosed can always be in question, but sometimes getting that second opinion may help you accept your condition and move forward. 

The flip side of this debate is the fact that second opinions can be very costly.  Especially to those who do not have health insurance.  “The Commonwealth Fund Health Insurance Tracking Survey of U.S. Adults finds that one-quarter of adults ages 19 to 64 experienced a gap in their health insurance in 2011, with a majority remaining uninsured for one year or more.”  That is a lot of people without health insurance, and unfortunately a lot of people that do not have the luxury of getting second opinions.

Another reason not to get a second opinion might be that your doctor or specialist might be the best in their field, or what they tell you might make a lot of sense to you.  If you assumed you had specific allergies and you doctor confirms that, more than likely you would not seek a second opinion.  Maybe the treatment itself is minor and does not require a surgery.  If there would not be any side effects to the treatment would you consider the treatment more? Of course you would, but if it came down to cancer I bet you would most assuredly want a second opinion before you proceeded forward with any surgeries or chemo.

It is important to understand when you are in need of a second opinion.  Whether it be a minor or major diagnosis a second opinion could save your life, or be a total waste of time and money.  A second opinion will always be a personal preference.  As we get older and are faced with the eventual decline of health it is detrimental to understand these differences when making the choice of getting a second opinion.  After all when it comes to your own health what could be more important.


For more information on Sea Spine Orthopedics Institute please click on the link to visit our website.


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