Footnotes / Blog

The geriatric population (65 years old and above) is growing in size significantly with the aging baby boomers. As the patients continue to get older, their feet tend to become more painful in numerous ways. Luckily, many of these problems are easily treated in our office.

Nails

The toenails tend to become thickened, hardened and difficult to cut as patient’s age. Podiatrists commonly treat these issues in the office. Mechanical and manual debridement of nails can prevent pain and infections in the feet of our elderly population.

Arthritis

Older patients commonly develop arthritis in many small bones in their feet due to the wear and tear of years of walking. Conservative treatments include supportive inserts, cortisone injections, and proper shoes.

Corns and Calluses

• Corns occur on the tops and sides of the toes. It is a small patch of thickened, dead skin with a small plug of skin in the middle. A soft corn has a much thinner surface, appears whitish and rubbery, and usually occurs between the toes.

• Calluses are hard and rough-feeling areas of skin that can develop anywhere there is repeated friction. The common callus usually occurs when there has been a lot of rubbing against the hands or feet. A plantar callus is found on the bottom of the foot.

“Metatarsalgia”

The ball of the foot has a fat pad that protects the bones from the shock of the foot hitting the ground. As we age, the fat pad can shift toward the toes, and no longer protects the ball of the foot. This can lead to pain while walking.

These are just some of the easily treatable and common foot problems that appear in the elderly population. The licensed podiatrists at Innovative Foot and Ankle are all well trained in geriatric foot care and enjoy taking care of our aging population. We have locations in the northern New Jersey towns of Kenilworth, Little Ferry, Bayonne and Montclair.