Pump Bump. Also called a Haglund Deformity, a pump bump is a bony enlargement on the back of the heel bone. Soft tissue near the Achilles tendon can get “sandwiched” between your shoe and the bony enlargement causing heel pain. Repetitive friction can lead blistering, sores, and painful bursitis, which is inflammation of a fluid filled sac between the Achilles tendon and bone. The name pump bump comes from the rigid backs of high heel shoes (pumps) that were traditionally though to be the cause of Haglund deformities. We now know it’s not quite that simple. In fact, any shoes with a rigid bac ..read more

Ganglion cysts are common masses that are frequently found in the foot and ankle. They are not cancerous and, in most cases, are harmless. A ganglion is actually an offshoot from a joint, like a balloon on a stalk. It grows out of the tissues surrounding a joint, such as ligaments, tendon sheaths, and joint linings. Inside the “balloon” is synovial fluid; a thick, slippery fluid, similar to the fluid that lubricates our joints. These fluid-filled cysts often appear suddenly and seemingly out of nowhere, and they can just as quickly disappear or change size. Many ganglion cysts do not require t ..read more

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Great news for all of our runners: The 2021 NYC Marathon is happening this year! After this past year of COVID-19 and the cancellation of the 2020 Marathon, this feels really emotionally significant after everything we endured as a city. Since the initial lockdown associated with COVID-19 and the “Work from home” and “Stay at home” directives that followed, many New Yorkers have become far more sedentary than their usual selves. In our practice, we’re seeing lots of new injuries associated with immobility and a general lack of activity. Of late, as the city has been opening back up, we’re seei ..read more

It’s really hard to believe that it was 14 years ago today, October 4, 2004, when I saw my first patient at Chelsea Foot and Ankle. At the time, I decided that I wanted to work for myself and within my own community. Chelsea was still the epicenter of New York’s LGBTQ community and it was important for me, as an out gay physician, to be able to offer my community a visible, out podiatrist who treated everything foot and ankle related. In the nearly decade and a half since starting this adventure, so much has changed. Chelsea is no longer the center of the city’s LGBTQ community. Many internet ..read more

A few weeks ago, I was in the Hamptons for a friend’s wedding. Wanting to take advantage of some downtime and the sunny weather, a couple of friends and I decided to go for a run on the beach. It was picture perfect: the breeze, the sound of the gulls, the cool water as we ran along the shoreline and then BAM! A jolt of electricity ran through my foot. This was something that I’d never felt before. Where did that come from? I was so caught off guard I had to stop to ensure I had not step on something. Despite the advice I tell all of my patient in these situations, I decided to press on and ig ..read more

Summer is here! You've busted out the sandals, brought out the boat shoes, and you're flaunting those flats but don’t forget the burden these beauties are carrying: your feet.  More specifically, your heels. The flimsy, flexible footwear coupled with increased activity (among other factors which we will discuss), have many patients rushing in to have their heel pain evaluated. So, let’s tackle the most common cause of heel pain: plantar fasciitis – a condition coined as “heel spur syndrome” many years ago. As you might imagine, there are many other reasons for heel pain. Tendinitis, a str ..read more