Hendersonville Podiatry

Welcome Dr. Stover!

pamela — Fri, 02 Jul 2010 20:21:31 +0000

Hendersonville Podiatry is pleased to announce that Dr. Pamela Barone Stover is now seeing patients at our office.

Dr. Stover, a native of Western North Carolina, has returned to her roots to join her father in practice. She is joined by her husband and daughter.

Dr. Stover is accepting new patients. You may call for an appointment at 828-697-1343.

My skeleton is 25% foot bones?!

pamela — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 00:29:01 +0000

Yes, it is! Each foot has 26 bones and there are 206 bones in the adult human body. Your foot is divided into forefoot, midfoot and rearfoot based on the location of the bones and joints. The “forefoot” has the most bones, mostly accounted for because each toe has 3 bones, except the big toe which has 2. Kind of backwards, right? This also explains that you big toe has 1 joint or “knuckle” and each of your other toes have 2 joints or 2 “knuckles.” The rearfoot has the least amount of bones and joints and the middle is just that- in the middle. Click here to read more about foot anatomy and see a few diagrams of all the bones in your feet!

So this weekend when you are trick-or-treating and bump into a skeleton or two, take note of just how many bones are making up your amazing feet!

I’m diabetic. Will I end up with an amputation?

pamela — Sat, 24 Oct 2009 02:09:27 +0000

In short, probably not. However, it is up to you to prevent this. Each and every diabetic needs to take hold of their limb salvage destiny and make the decision today to make sure they don’t lose their feet or legs.

Let’s start first with explaining why so many diabetics end up with amputations. There are two primary contribution factors: blood flow and sensation. Diabetics run into a problem when they have a decrease in or absence of either of these factors. Blood flow loss is may be referred to as Peripherial Artery Disease (PAD) and loss of feeling (or sensation) is referred to as neuropathy.

These two factors together or individually can lead to major problems with diabetics: foot infections, non-healing ulcerations and possible amputation.

So what can you do to prevent amputation??

1. Develop a relationship with a podiatrist. The podiatrist will monitor the blood flow to your lower extremities and the feeling (sensation) that you have in your feet. They will provide you with useful information regarding diabetes, ulceration and limb salvage. Additionally, you may qualify for Diabetic Shoes which will assist in the prevention of amputation. Your podiatrist will be able to fit you for these shoes.

2. Put your shoes on! I know this sounds so simple and elemenatary, but you would be shocked at how many people are walking around bare-footed with no feeling in their feet. The same old story is “My wife yelled at me for getting blood on her white carpet.” You see, the diabetic did not realize they had stepped on something and developed an open wound…. So put your shoes on!!

3. Control your sugar levels! Yes, the broken records begins again. You are hearing this from everyone… so once again- control your sugars!

4. Inspect your feet daily. A quick look could save your limbs. No excuses here folks- the best choice is to have someone do this for you daily. However, if you live alone then you should do this. If your mid-section girth won’t allow for this, then put a mirror on the floor and as you roll in and out of bed give a glance to see if you’ve stepped on a nail and didn’t realize it.

5. Put the cigarettes down. Same old story… the nicotine is destorying your blood vessels which will make for difficult wound healing should you encounter an ulcer. So please, for the sake of keeping your legs- just throw them away.