Every year, the American Heart Association names February “National Heart Month.” It’s important to us at Clifton Foot & Ankle Center that our patients’ hearts are healthy. That’s because a patient with a healthy heart is much more likely to lead an active lifestyle that will also contribute to good foot health. In contrast, an unhealthy heart…

Plantar fasciitis, or heel pain, is one of the most common foot problems we treat here at Clifton Foot & Ankle Center in Centreville, Virginia. It’s usually caused by the same thing: inflammation of the plantar fascia. The plantar fascia is a thick ligament on the bottom of your foot. It can become irritated and inflamed from excessive…

Ingrown toenails are a painful problem for a lot of our patients here at Clifton Foot & Ankle Center. With this common condition, the edge of a toenail begins to grow downward, cutting into the soft skin of the toe itself. The toe becomes swollen, red, inflamed, and quite painful. If not treated, the area can become…

Do your kids tell you everything? Probably not, and that goes triple for how they’re feeling. How was school? – Fine. How’d your math exam go? -Good. Unless you dig a little, ask some pointed questions, you wouldn’t know that something happened and it’s not all fine and good. It can be the same with…

One of the things we believe here at Clifton Foot & Ankle Center is that a well-informed patient is in the best position to make decisions about their own health care. When you have the facts, it’s easier to know what to do. If you’re diabetic, there’s a lot of information that you need to digest. You need to know how…

As the New Year begins, all of us at Clifton Foot & Ankle Center have “resolutions” on our minds. So many people resolve each year to lose weight and get in better shape – and that’s a fantastic goal to have. Even if you’re only slightly overweight, your feet can suffer greatly with heel pain stress fractures tendinitis swelling…

After a few days of cloudy, drab, wintry weather, isn’t it uplifting to look up and see the sun shining yellow-orange in the sky? The mere sight of bright colors anywhere can really put a sparkle in your day. Podiatrist Kenneth R. Wilhelm, DPM has a suggestion: start the New Year right by intentionally adding color where…

Is gout a disease of the big toe? Yes – but not always. Gout is a painful form of arthritis. When it first appears, it’s very often in the big toe joint. But gout can also affect other joints such as those in your fingers, knees, and hips. Who gets gout and why? You’re more likely to…

When you’ve got foot or ankle pain, one of the first things you might be tempted to do is treat it on your own with shoe inserts. We’re talking about the kind that you can pick up at pharmacies and big-box stores. Their packaging will tell you what they promise to fix: “heel pain;” “heavy-duty…

Have you got a well-deserved winter getaway coming up? Are you boarding a plane to visit faraway family for the holidays? Well, the last thing you want to worry about when you’re flying is dealing with swollen, aching feet. And yet, feet do have a tendency to swell on airplanes. So, as you head out…