Podiatry Arena - Stress Syndrome Podiatry is a branch of medicine covering the diagnosis, study and treatment of the foot, ankle and lower leg. The term podiatry originated in the US where it now refers to a Doctor of Podiatric medicine who is qualified to diagnose and treat conditions affecting the feet. There are specialist branches of podiatry such as surgery, biomechanics, geriatrics, sports medicine etc. In many countries podiatry is still known as chiropody, and the practitioners as chiropodists and though there are some variations the two are generally the same. Plantar fasciitis is a painful condition affecting the thick fibrous tissues that begin at the heel bone and continue along the sole of the foot towards the toes known as the plantar fascia. This condition which is usually caused by long hours of standing related to occupation is said to affect nearly two million Americans. It is thought to affect over two million Americans. The condition which starts with a pain in the heel is usually more intense when taking the first steps in the morning. Another symptom of plantar fasciitis is that the sufferer has difficulty bending the foot so that the toes are bent upwards towards the shin which restricts movement in the ankle. The condition also increases the likelihood of pains in the knees mainly amongst runners but not just runners. The podiatrist will often study the way a person stands and walks before making his prognosis and treatment will generally involve stretching, special shoes, rest and may require the use of corticosteroid drugs in more painful cases. Medial tibial stress syndrome is the formal term for shin splints which is a painful condition in the shins. It can be caused by running, sprinting and jumping. Athletes who tend to use one set of muscles when specializing in an activity are likely to suffer shin splints and if such a condition remains untreated it is possible that a stress fracture may occur. This can lead to stress fractures if the condition is not treated. It is usually diagnosed as increasing pain that worsens rather than eases during exercise when warmed up. Anti-inflammatory drugs, rest, and the use of cold compresses are the usual treatment for this. Barefoot running is little practised today though there are some famous athletes, like Zola Budd, who were renowned for it. The advances made in shoe design have tended to indicate that running with shoes is a better alternative to running without. When running barefoot the pressure is centered around the balls of the feet but in wearing shoes it is changed and the stress is on the heels and the area around the back of the heels which it is thought could lead to repetitive stress problems. It has been argued that wearing running shoes with the stress on the heels may cause repetitive stress problems but barefoot running is thought to be healthier because the weight distribution is more evenly spread. Barefoot running tends to spread the weight on the foot more equally. Sports authorities tend to favor running shoes but there is no hard evidence to suggest which is really better.