Blog
balance
Exercise bands are beneficial for those recovering from foot and ankle injuries. They provide a gentle yet effective way to strengthen muscles tailored to each person’s stage of recovery. These bands are not only easy to use but also affordable.
Bone fractures of the foot and ankle are serious but treatable conditions that thousands of people experience every day. While all types of bone fractures are painful, the degree and intensity of the related pain and other difficulties differ from one type of fracture to another.
Sometimes mistaken for a sprain or muscular pain, a stress fracture is a type of fracture that commonly occurs in the ankles, feet, and other areas in the legs. While often less painful than compound or other fractures of the foot, stress fractures still require medical treatment to heal correctly and safely.
Having worked at the 2010 Olympics and served on the board at SportsMedBC, Dr. Stern takes pride in treating athletes at all levels.
In our practice, we always take time to listen to your questions and concerns, examine your feet carefully, determine the diagnosis and provide effective treatment recommendations tailored to your specific needs.
When a patient comes to see Dr. Joseph Stern with heel pain, the most common cause is plantar fasciitis. One in ten people will get plantar fasciitis during their lifetime, and the condition usually strikes in middle age. The pain that plantar fasciitis causes typically is noticed with the first step out of bed which interferes with the enjoyment of daily activities, and reduces the quality of life.
Dr. Stern has diagnosed, treated, and educated patients about plantar fasciitis in Vancouver for over 30 years. The following is a brief overview of plantar fasciitis, its symptoms, prevention, and common ways this condition is treated.
A hammertoe gets its name from the hammer-like look caused by a joint stuck in an upward position. Hammertoes often cause great discomfort, particularly when walking or putting pressure on the foot.
The good news is that hammertoes are a relatively common condition, and Dr. Joseph Stern has been helping patients in Vancouver overcome this issue for more than 30 years.
As one of the world’s most prevalent health problems, arthritis affects over 350 million people globally and can cause disability. Arthritis is one of the most common afflictions people experience in their feet and ankles.
Dr. Joseph Stern routinely diagnoses and treats patients with arthritis of the foot or ankle. He specializes in podiatry and has more than three decades of medical experience. Below is a brief overview of foot arthritis and how it can affect a person’s everyday life.
Dr. Stern has diagnosed, treated, and educated patients about flatfoot in Vancouver for over 30 years. The following is a brief overview of flatfoot, its symptoms, prevention, and common ways this condition is treated.
Dr. Joseph Stern is a foot and ankle specialist with over 30 years of experience and offers a broad range of advanced orthopedic and non-surgical treatment options.
A bunion is a painful bony bump that forms on the outside of the big toe. This foot deformity occurs from years of pressure on the big toe joint. Eventually, the toe joint gets out of alignment, the soft tissues become inflamed, and a bony bump forms. The medical term for bunions is hallux valgus.
If you’ve experienced pain on the ball of your foot, just behind the toes, you’ll understand how dramatically it can affect your lifestyle. In good news, ball of foot pain is a relatively common condition, and Dr. Joseph Stern has been helping patients in Vancouver overcome this problem for more than 30 years.
People who are active or play sports may develop problems with their Achilles tendons. When patients experience pain in the back of their heel or lower leg, they usually seek medical advice to deal with pain and swelling.
This is the 34th year of the Shoe Update. As always it represents our effort to look at footwear through a more pathological and problem-solving lens. It strives to be much more than a simple review of what's new on the market this season.
If one has low back pain (“LBP”), they should be examined by their general practitioner, back specialist, physiotherapist or chiropractor.
The rocker running shoes rocker sole feature acts like a rocking chair. Some models have no flex of the sole at the ball of the foot (stiff sole) and some do. With the stiff sole rocker there is less engagement of the muscles of the foot and leg.
Shin splints is pain in the front or inside of the tibia or shin bone. It commonly occurs due to overuse or injury of the lower leg. When shin splints occur, there is micro-tearing of the muscle and connective tissue off of the tibia. Inflammation may also occur. Shin splints are also known as “Medial Tibial Stress Syndrome”.
Stress fractures are incomplete fractures of a bone in the foot. They occur most commonly of the metatarsal bone-neck area of the bone. Stress fractures can also occur in the navicular, calcaneus and talus bones, to name a few.
Limited motion of the great toe joint. Hallux is the great toe. The joint is at the base of the great toe. Degenerative joint disease/arthritis of the great toe joint. Thickening enlargement of the bones of the joint and narrowing of the great toe joint, erosion of the cartilage.
Video consults are available for anyone! Video and Telephone Visits
We are now offering telehealth video visits with Dr. Stern or Dr. Quintoro for both new and current patients.
Flattening of the arch, rolling in of the foot and ankle, swelling of the inner foot and ankle and the foot is painful. PTTD is progressive in nature and needs to be treated.
Tenderness of the back aspect of the Calcaneus (heel bone) in children age 8-14 years old. The area that is painful is the growth plate of the heel which results in pain and inflammation of the growth plate.
Ankle sprain is an injury to the ligament or ligaments of the ankle. It is common at any age. Ankle sprains vary from mild to severe depending on which ligament or ligaments are involved and injured. Depends if the ligament is fully or partially torn or stretched. The ligaments role is for stability of the ankle and limit inversion and eversion (role in or role out of the ankle). Ankle ligament injury is classified as grade 1 mild, grade 2 moderate, grade 3 severe.
Achilles tendonitis is of short duration, degeneration of the Achilles tendon. Tendinosis is more long term, where small tears are formed due to repetitive trauma from activity. The Achilles tendon helps with heel raise in walking and running. This condition is common in runners who have a quick increase of running, the weekend warrior, common from tennis, worn out heel of the shoes.
ailor’s bunion is the shifting of the 5th metatarsal outward and the 5th toe inward. Tailor’s bunion is the enlargement of bone on the outside of the foot- 5thmetatarsal head. Tailor’s bunion is not as common as the bunion on the inside of the foot. The enlargement over the side of the bone may also have overlying soft tissue swelling called a bursa. If Tailor’s bunions are not treated they may probably increase over time.
Morton’s Neuorma is thickening of the nerve that occurs between the metatarsal heads at the ball of the foot. The nerve develops an onion bulb swelling before it splits to inner side of two adjacent toes. The nerve gets compressed and causes the neuroma symptoms. The neuroma affects the ball of the foot and radiates into the toes. The most common interspace for the neuroma to occur is the 3rd followed by the 2nd interspace radiating into their associated toes. The swelling can cause a clicking sensation called Mulder’s sign.
Hallux abducto valgus occurs when the big toe angles towards the second toe while the first metatarsal angles the other way. This results in a bump on the side of the joint and angulation of the toe. The enlargement over the side of the joint area may also have overlying soft tissue swelling called a bursa. If bunions are left untreated they will probably increase over time.
There are many shoe features that Podiatrists recommend to their patients. The following are some of the most important. These features apply from kids to seniors.
Metatarsalgia is ball of the foot pain. Metatarsalgia is a catch all term for ball of foot pain. There are different types of ball of the foot pains. In this article I will address general ball of foot pain. The patient will have pain of the bones and or joints of the ball of the foot. I will review general metatarsalgia and future articles I will address more specific ball of foot pain for example; Morton’s neuroma, plantar plate injury, metatarsal fracture, hammertoes.
The patient presents to the office and the Podiatrist discusses the chief complaint. Following that a history of the issue and physical exam. The physical exam includes- dermatologic, vascular, neurologic, and biomechanical examination.
The latest version of our popular shoe guide represents our effort to look at footwear through a more pathological and problem-solving lens. It strives to be much more than a simple review of what's new on the market this season.