Zimmermann Podiatry: What's that pain in the ball of your foot? Ask Z...

Zimmermann Podiatry: What's that pain in the ball of your foot? Ask Z...: Ouch! The ball of your foot feels like a knife is sticking through it every time you stand up...so what's the deal? Pain to the ball...

What's that pain in the ball of your foot? Ask Zimmermann Podiatry!

Ouch!

The ball of your foot feels like a knife is sticking through it every time you stand up...so what's the deal?

Pain to the ball of the foot is very common but can come from several different reasons. Most often it is a neuroma, a swollen and pinched nerve. The neuroma can also be seen along with joint swelling and arthritis, which can cause similar symptoms
and exacerbate the neuroma. Sometimes people have decreased fat padding to the ball of their foot and may also have metatarsals (foot bones) that angle down to the ground at a more pronounced angle than usual, causing pain.

No matter what issue is going on, a visit to the podiatrist is in order. Xrays and an examination of your foot, how your foot looks while walking, and your shoes is all that is needed. The treatment for any of these culprits is similar, almost always involving wearing the proper type of shoes and inserts. Sorry, ladies who love high heels, but there is no getting around the fact that if the ball of your feet hurt while wearing your heels that your heels have a lot to do with the problem. Cortisone injections (don't hurt nearly as bad as you think they will), inserts, padding, topical medications, physical therapy, proper shoes, and not going barefoot are all good treatment plans. Avoiding aggravating circumstances are key to avoid further problems down the road.

So, if the ball of your foot is killing you, give Zimmermann Podiatry a call!

Zimmermann Podiatry
923 W. Dixie Avenue, Suite B
Leesburg, FL 34748
Phone: 352 435 7849
www.drzpodiatry.com

Is that a wart on my foot?

Patients frequently come to see Zimmermann Podiatry complaining of a wart or multiple warts on their foot. Often times they have treated the wart at home with over the counter acid preparations or even the over the counter freeing spray. As guessed, if they are still coming to see me, their at home treatments did not work out so well. Sometimes the blame can fall on the medication, sometimes it can fall on the patient (for not using the medication properly), and sometimes the problem is that the skin issue is actually not a wart.

A plantar wart is a skin virus. The plantar wart is the variety of wart that shows up on the bottom of the foot. Sometimes they can be a solitary lesion no more than the size of a pinhead and sometimes that can take over the entire bottom of the foot! Treatment of these warts are usually done best by a podiatrist or dermatologist, and the treatments can vary from application of strong acids, debridement (trimming away at the thick skin), prescription topical medications, injections, surgical excision and treatment with specialized lasers. Warts are very stubborn and frequently take several weeks before they clear up.

However, more often than not, it is quite obvious that the skin lesion is not a wart and is instead a very painful callus that has gone quite mad and formed itself into a piece of skin that is as hard as rock and as sharp as a piece of broken glass! Human skin and nails are comprised of with a protein called keratin, the same stuff that makes up a rhinoceros's horn, so it can get very hard. The skin on the bottom of the foot is very thick and has the capability of getting thicker very rapidly. Sometimes these painful calluses can grow into the foot at a depth of more than 3/4 of an inch. Getting them removed is usually painless and gives an immediate relief from pain when getting back on the foot.

Sometimes the skin lesion on the bottom of the foot can be something other than a wart or painful callus. Skin cancers can show up on the feet, just like anywhere else. In times of doubt as to what is growing on your foot, the best option is to biopsy. The biopsy does require a shot which can be painful, but it is a better to be safe than sorry!

If you have any painful, weird, or otherwise wacky things going on with your feet, come on down to Zimmermann Podiatry and let us check it out, or visit our website at www.drzpodiatry.com to see what we might be able to offer you to help you get back on your feet again.

Making your feet feel better so you feel better,

Zimmermann Podiatry
923 W. Dixie Ave Suite B
Leesburg, FL 34748
352 435 7849
www.drzpodiatry.com

News from The Villages Health

Today I wanted to let you know what's happening if you do not change to a Medicare Advantage Plan at the Villages. 

Living in the Villages has great advantages. You have doctors near you that can provide services very close to home. But you have to change your insurance options to be able to see these doctors. As health care keeps getting more and more like a business, we are losing the freedom to choose which doctors we would like to see. 

• Health Maintenance Organization (HMO) plans—In most HMOs, you can only go to doctors, other health care providers, or hospitals in the plan’s network, except in an urgent or emergency situation. You may also need to get a referral from your primary care doctor for tests or to see other doctors or specialists that are part of that plan. 

So if you want to keep the freedom of choosing any doctors without a referral and keep your Medicare plan with a secondary and you need a podiatrist, call our office at 352-435-7849. For more information you can visit us at drzpodiatry.com

 

Villages Health kicking out patients who don’t sign up for their insurance

BY MARV BALOUSEK JULY 16, 2016176 COMMENTS

The Villages Health will no longer accept new or existing patients who have Original Medicare with supplemental insurance starting Jan. 1.

That means patients with Medicare supplemental plans, also known as Medigap policies, will have to find new doctors or switch to The Villages Medicare Advantage plans through United Healthcare.

“Because our superior care best aligns with Medicare Advantage, we have decided to no longer accept Original Medicare with a traditional Medicare Supplemental policy for all new and existing patients,” stated a July 12 letter to patients from the health system’s chief executive officer Tom Menichino and chief medical officer Dr. Jeffrey Lowenkron. “If you decide this is not the right choice for you, we will provide your care through Dec. 31, 2016, while you search for a new physician.”

The health system apparently will continue to accept commercial insurance plans and Tricare for Life, which covers many retired military veterans.

Patients can change their coverage during the annual fall enrollment period, Oct. 15 to Dec. 7.

Patients with Medicare supplemental policies pay monthly premiums, but their care is at low or no cost. They also are not required to stay within a provider network. Medicare pays 80 percent of approved rates and supplemental polices cover the rest.

United Healthcare offers two Medicare Advantage plans for The Villages Health. Medicare Advantage patients receive care from a network of providers and pay no or low monthly premiums.

To the health system, however, treating patients with The Villages United Healthcare Medicare Advantage plans generates more revenue than treating those with Original Medicare and supplemental policies. That’s because the health system is paid by the number of Medicare Advantage patients they serve whether they see a doctor or not. Original Medicare pays the health system on a fee-for-service basis, often below the cost of providing those services.

For its primary care, The Villages Health is ranked in the top 1 percent of health systems nationally and the top physician group in north central Florida based on HEDIS, a quality rating system. Doctors have smaller caseloads than those at other clinics and spend more time with patients.

“We are committed more than ever to keep our innovative model and maintain the level of excellence we’ve established,” the letter stated.

But The Villages Health apparently has a limited number of specialists and specialty hospitals and clinics in the network, which has caused complaints of delays.

The health system also has been losing money and the Developer reportedly has kicked in a substantial amount to help balance the books.

It's summertime.... Don't let cracked heels crack you up, let Zimmermann Podiatry fix you up!

It's summertime and for many people that means it's flip-flop season.

I'm not here to tell you not to wear flip-flops. Most people move to Florida so they can finally wear flip-flops and not get frostibite. It just so happens that when flip-flop weather comes around, so does the increase in my patients that complain of cracked heels. And yes, the flip-flops are most usually to blame. Some people can wear flip-flops and never get cracked skin and some people have cracked skin no matter what they do.

The main thing to help reduce the cracking is to increase the hydration. A cracked riverbed is only cracked when it is dry, right? Throw a little water on it and it goes back to normal. When a person wears flip-flops the skin around the heel dries out and gets thick and cracks. Hydrating the skin around the heel is best done with a heavy duty cream. Lotions will simply not do much for a severe case of dry, cracked heels. Some people even use lard, also known as cooking fat, which does seem to help quite a bit because it is so thick. Some over the counter products such as Eucerin cream seem to be good as well.

Here at Zimmermann Podiatry we carry a specialized cream that actually eats away at the thick dry skin with special enzymes. The product is called Kera-42 and has proven for us to be the most reliable form of topical medication available. We also have special instruments that are used to painlessly remove some of those extra-thick pieces of skin.

Stay hydrated, try to spend more time in shoes and socks, use some great creams, and come in to see the friendly staff at Zimmermann Podiatry in our Leesburg office to see if we can fix up your feet!

Have a great day,

Zimmermann Podiatry
923 W. Dixie Ave, Suite B
Leesburg, FL 34748
Phone: 352 435 7849
www.drzpodiatry.com

Foot pain and insoles

Many times I see a patient here at Zimmermann Podiatry that coes in complaining of foot pain, even after they went and got some insoles from the pharmacy or online. Most of the insoles are around the $45.00 mark or less, but some patients come in with plastic insoles that came straight out of a box and were over $400.00!
Most of the times these over-the-counter insoles seem to do little to improve the foot problems that the patients are experiencing. One reason is that the off the shelf insoles are not made specific to any one person's foot or problem. In a way, they are like reading glasses: they are not specific. The other main issue I see is that the patient is wearing a shoe that is not only not helping them, but is often the culprit and cause of their foot pain. Sometimes the shoe will be falling apart with holes in the sole of the shoe.
To put new insoles in such a bad shoe would be the same as putting new seat in a car that was running on it's rims and expecting the ride to improve.

So, long story short, go get your shoes checked out first before you spend money on any insoles. Most likely your shoes are either worn out or are not right for your feet.

Feel free to come on by if your feet are bothering you!

Zimmermann Podiatry
923 W Dixie Ave, Suite B
Leesburg, Fl 34748
(352)435-7849
www.drzpodiatry.com

Don't let cracked heels crack you up! Zimmermann Podiatry Blog

Cracked heels bringing you down?

Don't worry, there are things you can do!

First of all, lets talk about why people get cracked heels. Some people simply have drier skin than others, and dry skin, especially on the heels-likes to get thick and then crack open. More often than not, people that like to live the flip-flop lifestyle or go barefoot (probably half the population of Florida) are the ones most afflicted with cracked heel syndrome. And for the people that like to go barefoot or stay in flip-flops, the chance of improvement is greatly limited unless they modify their activity and finally begin to wear shoes and socks. Without shoes and socks, the skin around the heels gets extremely dry and turns so hard that it may even seem rock-like.
As far as treatment (besides wearing shoes and socks and limiting time barefoot or in flip-flops), hydration and removal of the thick skin is the primary course of action. Forget lotions, by the way. Dried up heel skin laughs at over the counter lotions. For dried up heel skin, you usually need prescription level medication for hydration and treatment to help remove some of the thick skin. In our office, we stock Kera-42, a highly concentrated and thick cream that actually works to help soften and remove the thick skin. A podiatrist will also use instruments to painlessly cut off the thick skin. Usually patients have to come back for a few visits until the thick skin is greatly reduced in size and thickness. After that, as long a patients continue to use the proper creams and can use a pumice stone, the heel problems are a thing of the past! But for those who refuse to give up going barefoot and slumming it in flip-flops, the cracked heel problems will linger no matter what is done.
Rarely, an underlying fungal skin infection can make the problem worse, and for that we usually prescribe some topical antifungal medication that is used for about two weeks.

So, don't let cracked skin crack you up!
Go see a podiatrist instead-

Zimmermann Podiatry
923 W. Dixie Ave, Suite B
Leesburg, FL 34748
(352)435-7849
www.drzpodiatry.com