You may want to think twice about wearing those high heels everyday. Even though heels maybe considered "fashionable" and can make your legs look longer and your ankles thinner, you could be causing more damage to your feet than you know.

Some of the long term side effects you can suffer from wearing high heels include inflamed nerves and ligaments, shortened Achilles tendon and calf muscles, hammertoes, bunions, corns, ingrown toenails, as well as having bad posture. Many of these problems are caused by the increased pressure high heels put on the ball of the foot. One thing to remember is the higher the heel, the greater the pressure you are placing on that area.

When you wear heels higher than an inch and a half, you lift the heel up to an unnatural height which throws your balance off and could lead to falls. This will make your body compensate by adjusting the back, hips, and shoulders. This compensation causes bad posture and can lead to lower back pain, leg pains and headaches. The change in the position of your spine can also cause sciatica, a painful condition where nerves become trapped, triggering pain and numbness as far down as the feet.

Wearing high heels may also be linked to knee osteoarthritis. This is a painful degenerative joint disease characterized by the breakdown of the cartilage surrounding the knee. Wearing high heels puts repetitive pressure and stress on the knee joint. You may not notice this at first, but by the time you do feel the effects of knee osteoarthritis, it's too late to undo the damage you have already done.

You can also permanently damage your Achilles tendon. This is the tendon that runs along the back of your leg from your heel. The tendon is designed to be flexible so your foot can lie flat, but with continued high heel wear the tendon becomes shortened. This happens because your heel points upwards and tightens up. Stretching it again is very painful. You will also experience pain if you try wearing flat shoes because of this reason. This problem can be avoided by wearing heels that are 1.5 inches in height or lower. Once you reach the heel height of 3 inches or higher, that is when you start to shorten the Achilles tendon. You don't need to wear these higher heels everyday to have this type of damage. Just wearing them 2-3 times a week is all it takes.

Some other complaints you might have if you are wearing tight, ill-fitting shoes includes bunions or hammertoes. Bunions are bony growths at the base of the big toe. The big toe will angle inwards towards the other toes and the bump can become swollen, inflamed, painful and unsightly. Hammertoes will develop because the shoes will force the toes to crumple up. This shortens the muscles inside and leaving them permanently bent. You may also experience the "pump bump". This is where the straps and the rigid backs of pump style shoes cause a bony enlargement on the heel.

If after reading all of this and you still can't give up your high heels, you may want to try a couple of these suggestions. Try wearing a heel with a slightly thicker heel. This will help to distribute the weight more evenly. Also wear soft insoles to reduce the impact on your knees. You also want to make sure your shoe fits snug and your foot doesn't slide forward. This causes more pressure on your toes. If you plan on a night of dancing in your high heels, put them on for a couple of hours before you go out. This way, your feet get a chance to get used to them.

If you are experiencing any of these problems from wearing high heels, please contact Dr. Vail at 419-423-1888 or visit our website at www.vailfoot.com to schedule your appointment today.

Heel pain is a common complaint we hear a lot about. There are several causes of heel pain and unless you have an accurate diagnosis, you may not be able to treat your symptoms properly. To have a proper diagnosis, you must see your doctor so that the appropriate treatment can be directed at the cause.

Some of the most common causes of heel pain are: plantar fasciitis, heel spurs, tarsal tunnel syndrome, stress fractures, and posterior heel pain. If you are unsure of the cause of your pain, you should seek medical attention. When you have any of the following symptoms, you should see a doctor.

• Inability to walk comfortably o the affected side
• Heel pain that occurs while resting or at night
• Heel pain that goes beyond a few days
• Discoloration or swelling of the back of the foot
• Signs of infection that include fever, redness or warmth
• Any other unusual symptoms

Once you have your diagnosis, you can start to treat your symptoms. Here are some of the most common treatments for heel pain. Remember, not all of these treatments are appropriate for every condition but they may be helpful in your situation.

Give your feet rest. Avoid any activity that is causing your pain. If you walk or run, take a couple days off. Usually resting will help eliminate the most severe pain and allow the inflammation to cool down.

Apply Ice. Icing will help to reduce some of the symptoms and help control the heel pain. Icing is especially helpful after they symptoms intensify greatly.

Preform exercises and stretches. There are specially designed exercises and stretches to relax the tissues that surround the heel bone. If you do these simple exercises in the morning and evening, they can help alleviate the pain and you'll feel better quickly.

Take anti-inflammatory medications. Taking anti-inflammatory medications will help control not only the heel pain, but also decrease the inflammation. Most of the time over-the-counter medications will work. In the case they are ineffective, prescription options are available.

Try shoe inserts. Shoe inserts like heel cushions or orthotics are often the key to successful treatment of heel pain. These type of shoe inserts often allow you to continue your activities without having heel pain.

If you are experiencing heel pain, you should schedule your appointment with Dr. Vail by calling 419-423-1888. You can also get more information on heel pain by visiting our website at www.vailfoot.com.

27 Standouts Named To 2010-12 USA Mens Basketball Team

- 11 Olympians Among The 27 Players Selected For The USA National Team -

Featuring nine members of the gold medalist 2008 U.S Olympic Team and a total of 11 Olympians who have captured a combined 15 Olympic medals (9 gold and 6 bronze). The selections of these 27 athletes were announced by USA Basketball Chairman Jerry Colangelo.

The US National Team will be competing in the FIBA World Championship in 2010, and if they qualify will be competing in the Olympics in London in 2012. There will be 9 returning gold medalists from the 2006-08 sqaud. These returning players are: Carmelo Anthony (Denver Nuggets), Carlos Boozer (Chicago Bulls), Chris Bosh (Miami Heat), Kobe Bryant ( LA Lakers), Dwight Howards (Orlando Magic), Lebron James (Miami Heat), Chris Paul (New Orleans Hornets), Dwayne Wade (Miami Heat), and Deron Williams (Utah Jazz). Rounding out the Olympian list is 2004 bronze medalists Lamar Odom (LA Lakers), and Amar'e Stoudemire (Phoenix Suns).

Completing the list of National Team players are:

Lamarcus Aldridge (Portland), Chauncey Billups (Denver), Kevin Durant (Oklahoma City), Rudy Gay (Memphis), Eric Gordon (LA Clippers), Danny Granger (Indiana Pacers), Andre Iguodala (Philadelphia), Al Jefferson (Minnesota), David Lee (New York), Brooke Lopez (New Jersey), Kevin Love (Minnesota), O.J Mayo (Memphis), Kendrick Perkins (Boston), Derrick Rose (Chicago), Gerald Wallace (Charlotte), and Russell Westbrook (Oklahoma City). With this USA Basketball team 24 of the 27 players have prior USA Basketball experience.

2010 FIBA World Championship

The 2010 FIBA World Championship for Men will be held Aug. 28th - Sept. 12th in Turkey. Twenty-four teams qualified to compete in the FIBA Championships and those teams were divided into four preliminary round groups consisting of six teams each. The U.S. was drawn on Dec. 15th into preliminary round Group B, and is joined by Brazil, Croatia, Iran, Slovenia, and Tunisa.

The U.S. will open the Worlds on Aug. 28th against Croatia, a team it has never faced in World Championship play, but a squad the USA is 3-0 against in Olympic action. The Americans will then meet Slovenia on the 29th, a team it defeated 114-95 in the 2006 World Championship. The remaining schedule for the U.S. looks like this:

August 28th: USA vs Croatia 7 p.m. @ Istanbul

August 29th: USA vs Slovenia 4:30 p.m. @ Istanbul

August 30th: USA vs Brazil 9:30 p.m. @ Istanbul

September 1st: USA vs Iran 7:00 p.m. @ Istanbul

September 2nd: USA vs Tunisia 4:30 p.m. @ Istanbul

Eight Finals- Will be played Sept. 4th - Sept. 7th

Quarterfinals- Sept 8th

Dr. Vail's office would just like to remind our fellow athletes out there, while off-season training is going on for you basketball players we highly recommend you come in for a pre-season checkup and you may call us to set up that appointment (419) 423-1888. Whether your son or daughter may need orthotics for his/or her shoes, we have a wide variety of products on our online store.

Maybe you have Athletes Foot? Wouldn't you like a product that kills up to 99.9% of the bacteria in your shoe GURANTEED!!

The product I have posted here is the SteriShoe Ultraviolet Shoe Sanitizer --This product is doctor tested and highly recommended. Please view all our products at our online store, as there are very many cures to an athletes foot.