Discover expert podiatry care at Balance Foot & Ankle Specialist in Michigan—treating foot and ankle conditions with personalized, advanced solutions.
Keratin granulations are caused by nail polish adhesives lifting superficial nail cells — not a fungal infection. Antifungal treatment makes them worse. Michigan podiatrist explains the two-week protocol that restores normal nail surface appearance without medication.
Most dress shoes destroy foot health within hours, but 4 specific features separate the ones that do from the ones that don’t. A podiatrist who operates on dress-shoe damage daily names the brands that consistently pass the test.
Reviewed by Dr. Tom Biernacki, DPM, FACFAS Board-certified foot & ankle surgeon · 3,000+ surgeries · @MichiganFootDoctors (950K+ subscribers) Last reviewed May 11, 2026 · (810) 206-1402 If your toenail is curving inward like a claw — pinching the skin a little more each week — you are days away from a true ingrown nail … Read more
The right plantar fasciitis tool kit is usually 3-4 specific items costing under $50 total — frozen water bottle, lacrosse ball, night splint, and a stretching strap. Most expensive devices add nothing. You’ve come to the right podiatry team. Dr. Tom Biernacki, DPM, FACFAS — board-certified foot & ankle surgeon with 3,000+ surgeries — explains … Read more
Big Toe Knuckle Pain: 7 Causes at the 1st MTP Joint With Different Treatments The 1st metatarsophalangeal (MTP) joint — the “big toe knuckle” — is one of the most frequently injured and inflamed joints in the body. It bears 40-60% of body weight during the push-off phase of walking and up to 300% of … Read more
A bump on the side of the foot has 4 possible causes — tailor’s bunion, os vesalianum, Jones fracture callus, or peroneal tendon sheath ganglion — and each requires different treatment. Michigan podiatrist explains the location and firmness test that identifies which structure is enlarged.
Peroneus brevis tendonitis causes pain along the outer ankle that mimics a lateral ankle sprain — but the mechanism is different and the treatment that works for sprains makes peroneal tendinitis worse. Michigan podiatrist explains the peroneal stretch test and the specific fibular groove taping that offloads the tendon.
Tingling on top of the foot is almost always caused by the extensor retinaculum compressing the deep peroneal nerve — the same nerve that skechers-style rocker sole shoes decompress. Michigan podiatrist explains the Tinel’s test location and the three-step lacing modification that resolves the paresthesia.
Ball of foot pain shoes need to reduce metatarsal head pressure, not just cushion it — and most marketed “metatarsalgia shoes” achieve neither. Michigan podiatrist explains the rocker sole geometry and metatarsal bar position that actually offloads the metatarsal heads and the specific models that get it right.
Birkenstocks help one type of flat foot and overload the other — but the two types are nearly impossible to distinguish by appearance alone. A podiatrist’s 60-second flexibility test correctly identifies which category you fall into.