We recently had a patient come in who was experiencing her very first ingrown toenail – and initially, the cause of it was a bit of a mystery. She had relatively flat nails (compared to the typical excessively curved nails we often see with ingrown toenails), her shoes were roomy and spacious at the toe […]
If you have ever seen a child on a Jolly Jumper (also known as baby bouncers or jumperoos), you might know the look of delight on their face whilst they bounce away. In recent years, however, Jolly Jumpers have come under scrutiny as to whether they may do more harm than good when it comes […]
Noticing some slight redness, irritation or swelling on the side of your toenail, especially if it’s still mild and in its early stages, may seem like no big deal. Some people presume that when the nail grows in by itself, it can grow right out. Unfortunately, ingrown toenails rarely get better on their own – […]
We were recently having a conversation with a patient who was advised that soaking her foot in Epsom salts would fix her ingrown toenail. While it helped her get some temporary relief from the pain, the pain kept returning every time – until three months had passed and her ingrown nail pain was worse than […]
As parents, it’s only natural to be concerned about our children, want them to grow healthy and strong, and want to promptly address any health issues so they can go about their days without being held back by pain or discomfort. When it comes to the feet and legs, however, it can be difficult to […]
There’s a lot of information out there about ingrown toenails, and unfortunately, some of it is not accurate. Which, when you’re struggling with an ingrown nail and the methods you’re reading online aren’t working, can be very frustrating, disheartening, and painful. So today, we’ve debunked some of the top ingrown nail myths that we hear […]
Noticing bluish veins growing darker and more prominent in your legs is a cause of concern for many. But what do they mean, why is this happening now, and what can you do to treat or prevent them? Today, our podiatrists are sharing what you need to know about spider veins and varicose veins on […]
If you’re an avid skier, snowboarder, soccer player, or have a tendency to stub your toe, you won’t be a stranger to the dark brown bleeding beneath the surface of your nail that we medically refer to as a subungual haematoma. But with New Zealand having one of the highest rates of melanoma in the […]
Whether it’s a planned holiday or an unexpected period of sickness for yourself or someone in your household, getting back to exercise or rejoining your friends at the gym is something that many people look forward to greatly, giving a good physical and mental boost. There’s just one problem we see – many people take […]
When it comes to ingrown toenails, there are a lot of questions that we get asked every day. From the common questions like why on earth they’ve affected you and how you can prevent the pain from ever coming back, to whether epsom salts can fix ingrown toenails, we’ve taken a handful of your FAQs […]
When you hear about your friend’s orthotics from the pharmacy helping cushion their feet, your colleague’s new pair of shoes coming with in-built orthotics for support, or your young niece’s orthotics that stopped her from in-toeing, understanding how orthotics could help you recover from or prevent injuries when you’re playing sports can get really confusing. […]
If you’ve had an ingrown toenail arise out of seemingly nowhere, and other members of your family have had ingrown toenails in the past, you may be wondering if ingrown toenails are genetic and if you’re going to keep getting them for years to come. Here’s a look into how and why ingrown toenails can […]
When it comes to children’s feet, it can be hard to know if what we’re seeing is normal, or if there’s cause for concern. As podiatrists that work extensively with children’s feet, we often have parents bringing their kids in for assessment and starting the conversation by saying “…so I noticed this happening more lately, […]
Will antibiotics fix an ingrown toenail? If I’ve had an ingrown nail removed, should I have antibiotics? These are all good questions, and ones we get asked often by our patients with painful – and often recurring – ingrown toenails. Today our podiatrists share what you should know about ingrown toenails and antibiotics. Will Antibiotics […]
So you’ve got a splinter stuck in your foot and despite trying with tweezers or other home first aid tactics, you can’t get it out. So, what can you do? Here’s the lowdown on splinters and when to seek help from our podiatrists. Do Splinters Need To Be Removed? Splinters can be caused by a […]
When you’re busy at work with a seemingly never-ending task list, foot pain slowing you down and holding you back is the last thing you need. Foot pain can have a wide range of causes that require very different care at home, and treatment to get fixed, which is why it’s important to know the […]
Is your ingrown toenail not healing? Maybe you’ve been soaking it in Epsom salts, removed the nail yourself, had antibiotics to help treat it or have left it to get better on its own? No matter what you have tried, if you’ve had an ingrown toenail for over a week and the pain is still […]
So you’ve got toe pain starting but you’re not sure if it’s an ingrown toenail. What are the signs you should be looking for if it’s an ingrown toenail and what else could be the cause of your toe pain? Our ingrown nail specialists share what we look for in an early ingrown toenail. What […]
Looking forward to a retirement filled with… anything you like? Whether you’re retired or nearing it, it’s an exciting time that many spend decades looking forward to, knowing you can plan your days on your own terms, and finally enjoy all the things you haven’t had time for previously. There’s just one thing that many […]
Every so often, we have a patient come to our clinic with a severe ingrown toenail that had started weeks ago – or sometimes even months ago. The reason for waiting so long in pain? They were waiting for it to grow out. Truthfully, the idea that an ingrown toenail will just ‘grow out’ if […]
As parents, we’re often concerned about many aspects of our children’s wellbeing and development – and their feet are no exception. When kids have flat feet, especially when arches haven’t formed by the time a child starts school, we see many parents concerned about: If flat feet are normal at school age? Will they develop […]
Recently over our lockdown period, as we were unable to see patients under our higher alert levels, the questions around ingrown toenails came rolling in. A lot of the queries came after people had tried fixing their ingrown toenail at home. Some felt their pain had become worse, for some it stayed the same – […]
There’s no feeling quite like the sudden, painful and involuntary tightening in your feet and legs that we know as a cramp. During a foot or leg cramp, the affected muscle forcefully contracts, and you may notice your toes curling, your foot pointing down, or your muscle bulging in response. Cramps can last from a […]
We often have parents of 8 to 16-year-olds bring their kids in for the second time for the same problem: an ingrown toenail on their big toe that’s causing them (both mum and child), much pain and frustration. And they usually have the same questions: Why has the ingrown nail come back? How can we […]
We all know the feeling: we get excited about a new activity or sport, we head into it feeling confident and strong – and then we feel incredibly disappointed when an old pain, ache or injury flares back up – and sometimes feels worse than ever before. This is where prehab comes in – the […]
Does your baby have a red, swollen toe by the side of their toenail? Could it be an ingrown toenail – and do babies even get ingrown toenails? Yes, they do – and yes, swelling redness and tenderness by the side of the toenail may be an indicator of ingrown toenails in babies. Here’s an […]
The heels and our back seem miles apart, so could there be a relationship between the two? According to studies, there is, with up to 75% of people with ongoing heel pain being shown to have unmanaged low back pain or low back dysfunction. As podiatrists, this tells us that if our heel pain isn’t […]
We had a patient come in to see us recently with the tip of her second toe being red, feeling tender and looking a little swollen. She had experienced ingrown toenails previously, and said it felt a little bit like that. Except this time, she had cut her toenails short a week or so prior […]
With a great deal of uncertainty about where we can and can’t travel this winter, there’s one place that many families are excited about heading to – their snow trip! While there’s a lot of information out there on how to best prepare your body for the ski season to help minimise your risk of […]
Excruciating pain in one of your toes? Wondering whether you’ve broken it – and if you have – whether you should go to the hospital or a doctor or a podiatrist and what they’ll do? Broken toes are more common than many people realise – and unfortunately, so is suspecting a broken toe, not doing […]
A number of our patients with ingrown toenails find that their toenails have been thickening with age. For some, this thickness means that the nail is pressing against the top of their shoe, which is pushing the nail into the skin. For others, it’s very uncomfortable and they find their nails difficult to trim – […]
If you’ve been waking up with sore feet, heels or arches in the morning, this is for you. There’s a very specific kind of heel pain with the following three symptoms that you may relate to: Pain at the bottom of the heel that radiates into the arch Pain when standing up first thing in […]
Looking for a unique Mother’s Day gift in Auckland that your mum will truly appreciate? Our medical pedicures take care of mums feet – from her toenails to her corns and calluses, while giving her the assurance that her feet are being cared for by registered health professionals, safely and under strict hygiene and sterilisation […]
So you currently have – or have recently had – an ingrown toenail. And now you’ve developed some foot or leg pain. What’s going on and could they be linked? How Ingrown Toenails Affect Your Feet First thing’s first: ingrown toenails typically do not cause foot pain. Their pain is usually limited to the toe […]
While the most common descriptors of ingrown toenails from our patients include painful, frustrating, uncomfortable, annoying, excruciating, can’t-wear-shoes-anymore and can’t-sleep-at-night, we recently had a patient call in to book an appointment because he’d had an ingrown toenail for a couple of weeks now, and alongside some pain and discomfort, it was feeling quite numb. Meeting […]
We ask a lot of our bodies when we run. The force through our joints and our legs easily exceeds three times our body weight – so it’s not all too surprising that a large portion of our patients are either regular runners, or developed their symptoms when wanting to get into running. Today, we’re […]
A few times every year, we see patients who were under the impression that they could fix their ingrown toenail by doing regular Epsom salt baths. They will have usually tried 3-4 baths over a couple of weeks before they book in to see us because their ingrown toenail hasn’t gone away. This comes as […]
So you’ve developed a hammertoe – or maybe you’ve noticed that your child’s toes are starting to curl. So what can you do about it? Should you do anything about it? What if there’s no pain – is it fine to leave them? Today, Auckland’s premier podiatry team, Perform Podiatry, talks about the causes and […]
Ingrown toenails are our speciality. From one-off treatments to nail surgeries – and even removing the toenail entirely. We love helping patients finally get long-term relief from this painful and frustrating problem. But – are ingrown toenails all we do? It’s a great question, so today we thought we’d fill you in on all the […]
A one-off pain at the back of your heel at your Achilles tendon that starts but then shortly subsides for good is one thing. Ongoing Achilles pains and problems that keep reappearing – or even worse, never truly go away – takes the problem to a whole new level of discomfort, frustration and pain. Ongoing […]
Partial nail avulsions are our most popular and effective solution to ingrown toenails – permanently. If you’re thinking about having this procedure and have heard that it involves removing a small part of the problematic edge of your toenail, you may wonder what your nail may end up looking like after it has healed. The […]
Growing pains are one of the most common pains that we see and treat in kids. While some mistake growing pains for when active kids overuse the muscles of the feet and legs to a point where they are very tired, achy and sore, this isn’t the case. Others have been told that growing pains […]
An ingrown toenail develops when a small piece of the nail, or nail spicule, pierces the surrounding skin and begins to grow into the skin, instead of growing out independently alongside the skin. It doesn’t take a big piece of nail to cause you tremendous pain and irritation – think of it like a sharp […]
Recently, we shared all about the big range of problems that our podiatry team here at Perform Podiatry can help you with. From in-toeing to foot drop, to managing falls risk and instability on your feet, we’re trained to help you with it all – you can read all about it here. Today, we thought […]
The beauty of summer is that it allows us to get some relief from our ingrown toenails by wearing open-toed sandals and walk around with bare feet, which can also delay the onset of painful symptoms in the first place. In winter and the chilly NZ spring-time? Not so much. Our ingrown toenails can become […]
Having your nails and the skin on your feet taken care of feels great. What feels even better is walking away feeling confident that your foot care has performed safely, under strict hygiene and sterilisation protocols, and by registered podiatrists that have dedicated their careers to learning everything there is to know about your feet […]
When you have diabetes, your risk of foot problems increases significantly. This is because the effects of diabetes on your nerves and blood vessels damages two critical processes when it comes to the feet and legs: Your sensation – the ability to feel what’s happening to and around your feet Your circulation – the blood […]
Having a fall, whether it’s in our own home or when we’re out and about, can change our lives entirely. The injury we sustain from a fall can affect our ability to not only walk and move but stay independent – it might mean we have to stop living independently within our home and instead […]
So you – or your family member – has an ingrown toenail. And you’ve read conflicting information online that’s left you wondering whether you should be soaking your foot in salty water or having the whole nail removed completed. We get it – it can be confusing. So today, we thought we’d give you the […]
Foot drop is the term given when weakness in one or both feet makes you unable to point your toes up towards the sky, otherwise known as dorsiflexing the foot. When this happens, your foot remains in a dropped position when you walk, with your foot pointing downwards. This makes it difficult for your foot […]
We have the privilege of treating foot and leg injuries day in and day out. It’s very easy to pick up on patterns – like the shoes you wear into the clinic giving us the first hint of what your pain or injury may be, or your walking style giving away some biomechanical problems that […]
Partial Nail Avulsion A partial nail avulsion (PNA) provides a professional, safe and effective solution to the problem of frustrating and painful ingrown toenails. This is one of the most common procedures carried out in our clinic. The procedure removes the small part of the toenail edge that is growing downwards/inwards, piercing the skin and […]
Total Nail Avulsion A total nail avulsion (TNA) procedure involves the safe removal of the entire toenail. This procedure is indicated in a variety of circumstances, such as cases of ingrown toenails where both sides recurrently ingrow and there is a large curvature at the sides of the nail. Here, instead of removing two larger sides of the painful […]
Ever wish you knew someone that has gone through the same procedure as you so you knew what to expect? We absolutely get it – and while ingrown toenail surgeries are common enough these days that you’ll likely know someone that has had it done – it’s also not the type of thing that many […]
Here at Perform Podiatry, we treat a lot of foot and leg pain. It’s our speciality! And while orthotics are a very important component of the treatment plan, there are other components too – namely stretching and strengthening, as well as having the right footwear during your recovery. Because we’ve recently seen a few patients […]
The position of your children’s feet will determine will either keep them free to run and play, or can have them tripping, falling and in pain. A common foot position in children that can stop them from reaching their full potential is in-toeing. So why does in-toeing develop and what can you do about it? […]
Osteoarthritis (OA) is painful, frustrating and limiting for many New Zealanders. OA affects almost 50% of those aged over 60 years, and almost all over 80 years old. This makes it very important to both manage the symptoms effectively when they arise – as well as reduce the rate that it develops too! While the […]
For those that haven’t had orthotics before or vaguely remember them from earlier years, a lot of questions or misconceptions may exist. Orthotics are far from the big, bulky devices that they may have once been. In fact, they become unnoticeable for regular wearers and more than that – a true lifesaver providing much-needed relief […]
Do we trim toenails? Do we correct your foot posture using orthotics? Do we remove your corns? Do we help correct bunions? The answer is a big yes to all of the above – and a whole world more. Every once in a while, we’re reminded that for those that have never been to a […]
If you’ve recently had an ingrown toenail surgery and are wondering how to optimise your recovery, here are some quick tips that we let our patients know about after their procedures. Immediately after your procedure Take the rest of your day off from work, school and any physical activity commitments. You want to kickstart the […]