Smoking is an addiction. But it’s much more than, say, being addicted to the news after Election Day 2020. You might not have been able to rip yourself away from the TV earlier this month, but there was probably nothing directly physiological going on. In contrast, breathing in nicotine and other chemicals affects the brain. Smoking…

November 14 is a day we reserve to consider a disease that affects hundreds of millions of people worldwide. No, it’s not COVID-19, but rather diabetes – also a worldwide epidemic. World Diabetes Day is the perfect time for Fairfax County’s Clifton Foot & Ankle Center to talk about what diabetes is, why it’s important for our patients to…

Two stories are in the news this month: Diabetes. November is Diabetes Awareness Month when the American Diabetes Association encourages everyone to learn more about the disease. COVID-19. Yes, it’s still very much in the news, especially in Fairfax County, where the infection rate is rising faster than in any other county in Virginia. There’s a troubling…

Word is getting around about a new, highly effective way to get rid of plantar warts. Clifton Foot & Ankle Center is excited to announce we’re now treating warts with Swift. Swift uses microwave technology that hones in on the root problem area below the skin, zapping out warts quickly, safely, and effectively. What makes Swift technology so…

If your feet suffer from corns and blisters or if they’re sore and tired at the end of every day, take a look at your shoes. The shoes you wear play an enormous role in keeping your feet happy, healthy, and functional. Stylish shoes are fun, but they shouldn’t make your feet hurt. Shoes should be…

If you want to see a serious ankle sprain in progress, search the internet for “Michael Thomas ankle injury.” Thomas is a star wide receiver for the New Orleans Saints. Recently, another player landed forcefully onto a moving Thomas’s left ankle. When you see a photo of that moment, it’s hard to see Thomas’s foot because it’s…

“Shin splints” is a term podiatrists use to refer to pain anywhere between your knee and ankle. Deep within that area – the shin – is your tibia, better known as your shin bone. Numerous muscles, tendons, and other soft tissues surround the tibia. When those tissues become irritated or inflamed, you get pain, tenderness,…

Peripheral Arterial Disease, or PAD, is narrowing of the blood vessels that lead to the outermost parts of the body, such as the lower legs. Blame it on atherosclerosis – the buildup of excess cholesterol in the peripheral arteries. That buildup of cholesterol, or plaque, makes it hard for blood to flow freely to the…

Take a look at your calendar. Have you penciled in “Fungal Disease Awareness Week” (September 21-25), or has your online calendar already noted it for you? Well, it may not be the trendiest observance, but it’s something we mark in pen every year on the Clifton Foot & Ankle Center calendar. We want our patients to…

We’ve all read about exceptional senior citizens – the “Iron Nun” who competes in triathlons well into her 80s, for example. Maybe your grandfather was feisty and active until his final days. But they are indeed the exception! The unfortunate truth is many older Americans are at a considerable risk of falling. An older adult is…