In this article, we’ll cover:

• The different kinds of arthritis
• Arthritis causes and common risk factors
• Symptoms of arthritis
• How to prevent arthritis in feet
• Treatment options if you already have foot arthritis

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According to the CDC, arthritis affects over 52 million Americans and affects the “joints, tissues around the joint, and other connective tissues.” All arthritis is not the same, however, and there are over 100 different kinds. For the purposes of this article, we’ll be sharing preventative measures that are generally effective for arthritis, especially when it affects the feet. But first, let’s discuss some of the more common forms of arthritis.

Understanding the Different Types of Arthritis

As we mentioned, arthritis comes in various forms. Understanding the specific kinds of arthritis that affect feet is essential to managing and preventing the degeneration it can cause.

Osteoarthritis (OA): This kind of arthritis is generally referred to as “wear and tear” arthritis. This description is especially applicable to the feet because they are under constant pressure when walking and standing. Osteoarthritis occurs when the protective cartilage between joints breaks down, causing friction when bones in the foot rub against each other.

Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA): Unlike osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis is an autoimmune disorder that causes your immune system to attack the synovium. Synovium is a tissue that lines your joints and helps your bones smoothly glide past each other. When you have rheumatoid arthritis in your feet, it can lead to severe inflammation and joint deformity over time.

Gout: Caused by a buildup of uric acid crystals in the joints, gout often affects a person’s big toe and can lead to sudden, intense pain, redness, and swelling in the foot.

What Causes Arthritis in Feet?

Before we discuss how to prevent arthritis in feet, we need to understand what can cause arthritis in feet, and anywhere else in the body, for that matter. There are many reasons why a person might develop arthritis in their feet. For some, it’s a draw of genetics. If arthritis runs in your family, you are more likely to develop it later in life. As mentioned above, RA is an autoimmune disease that can be passed down from parents to children. 

Two other causes of arthritis are injury and obesity. Arthritis caused by injury is referred to as post-traumatic arthritis, meaning it can develop in response to injuries like dislocations, fractures, and sprains. Additionally, when you’re overweight or obese, this strains and puts added pressure on your feet, which can accelerate the breakdown of cartilage.

Lastly, for some, arthritis is just a part of growing old. As we age, our bodies break down, and arthritis can be a symptom of that. Our joints naturally experience wear and tear that can increase the likelihood of arthritis.

What Are the Symptoms of Arthritis in Feet?

Arthritis is usually a gradual process that slowly worsens over time. In some cases, people experience the ailment overnight, but that is less common. It starts with mild discomfort and, without treatment, can escalate to debilitating pain. Symptoms include:

• Pain and stiffness in the foot joint, especially after long periods of standing or walking.
• Swelling: Inflamed joints are a telltale sign of arthritis.
• Difficulty walking: As arthritis progresses, it can become difficult to walk or stand for a long time.
• Reduced range of motion: Stiffness in your joints can make it hard to wriggle your toes or rotate your ankles.

How to Prevent Arthritis in Feet

You can’t always prevent arthritis; however, there are some measures you can take to minimize your risk of developing it and delay its rapid progression.

Stretch Regularly

Keep your foot muscles and tendons limber by regularly stretching. This can help reduce stiffness and improve your overall joint health. Try incorporating gentle foot stretches such as rotating your ankles or stretching your toes into your daily routine. Make it part of your morning or night routine so you don’t forget!

Wear Supportive Shoes

One of the best things you can do for your feet is wear shoes that provide enough support and cushioning! Don’t wear high heels too much. You should also avoid tight shoes and any footwear that doesn’t properly align your feet and ankles. An experienced orthopedist, like those at RMC, can help ensure your footwear is helping, not hindering, your health.

Maintain a Healthy Weight

When your feet don’t have to carry excess weight, it significantly reduces the amount of stress and pressure on them. Losing even just a few pounds can make a big difference in preventing arthritis. 

Eat Right and Exercise

Certain foods can actually trigger inflammation. Maintaining an anti-inflammatory diet that’s rich in fruits, vegetables, lean proteins, and whole grains can help prevent foot arthritis. This means limiting how much processed food, sugary snacks, and red meat you consume.

Diet and exercise go together, making low-impact exercises like swimming, cycling, and walking ideal for maintaining your joint health. These exercises help you get your heart rate up without putting undue pressure on your feet. Regular exercise helps keep your joints flexible and also strengthens the muscles that support them.

Can You Treat Foot Arthritis?

If you think you’re already experiencing symptoms of arthritis in your feet, don’t lose hope! The expert orthopedists at RMC can help manage any pain you may be feeling and assist with maintaining mobility with these treatment options:

Physical Therapy: Physical therapy can be a game-changer for those experiencing mild, moderate, or severe arthritis in their feet. With muscle-strengthening exercises that focus on improving joint flexibility, patients can get back to doing everyday movements with ease.

Assistive Footwear Devices: Custom-made shoe inserts or braces have a dual purpose of providing support and reducing pressure on arthritic joints. This can drastically improve comfort and mobility if you’re suffering from pain while standing and walking.

Foot and Ankle Reconstruction Surgery: In some severe cases, surgery may be required to repair or replace damaged joints. This is usually a last resort when other treatments haven’t provided the relief a patient needs. 

Find Foot Arthritis Relief at RMC

Foot arthritis can be debilitatingly painful. However, with the right preventative measures and treatments, you can manage its effects and potentially avoid it altogether! Taking steps to incorporate strategies like stretching, wearing supportive shoes, maintaining a healthy weight, and staying active can go a long way in preserving your foot health.

If you’re experiencing symptoms of arthritis in your feet, don’t wait for the pain to get worse! Schedule an appointment with one of the outstanding orthopedic surgeons at RMC’s Orthopedic and Joint Center for a thorough evaluation, diagnosis, and personalized treatment plan to help you stay on your feet and moving forward.

Gold Plus Accreditation for Coronary Care: In July, we were honored to receive a Gold
Plus accreditation from the American Heart Association as a Get with the Guidelines –
Coronary Artery Disease STEMI Receiving Center. This prestigious recognition underscores
our unwavering commitment to providing top-notch cardiac care to our community.
Gold Plus Accreditation for Stroke Care: We also received Gold Plus accreditation from
the American Heart Association for our work in stroke care.

Welcoming New Talent: We are thrilled to welcome Dr. Sravani Bantu, an endocrinologist,
to our team at the Oxford Mediplex. Additionally, Dr. Corey Campbell, a highly skilled
general surgeon and bariatrics expert, has also joined us and recently moved, along with Dr.
Peter Jernigan, to Suite 307 in the POB located on the campus of RMC.

Celebrating Our Outstanding Nurses: Congratulations to Kristen Allen (Stringfellow), Mary
Haynes (Labor and Delivery) and Beth Stovall (Oncology) for receiving prestigious Daisy
Awards. Your dedication and compassion inspire us all, and we are so proud to have you as
part of our RMC family.

Celebrating Our Incredible Patient Support Staff: Congratulations to Jennifer McComb
(Rehabilitation Services), Cathie Lee (Behavioral Health), and Derryl Groce (8 West) for
receiving BEE Awards. You keep us going and always make us better. We are so proud to
have you as part of our RMC family.

ER Improvements to Celebrate: As stated last week, we continue to see outstanding
results in our ER. It now takes less time for a patient to see a physician while the total
number of patients being treated in our ED has risen more than 30%. Improvement of this
kind is a total team effort involving our physician and staff, both within the ER and
throughout the hospital. The change is being acknowledged in our patient satisfaction data
and we look forward to continuing to raise the level of service provided to all that seek care
at RMC. You are making a difference!

Gwen Hail

RMC welcomes Gwen Hail to our team! As our new patient experience manager, Gwen takes pride in ensuring every patient that walks through our doors is met with care and compassion. Learn more about Gwen and her role at RMC:

Why is patient experience important to you?
Wow!  That’s a big question.  I guess the biggest reason is that I love the patients.  I have never done anything except work in healthcare.  I went to work at a Nursing Home straight out of High School at 17 and fell in love with the Healthcare field.  One of my favorite places is at the bedside of a person who has a perspective like at no other time in their life.  When you are on the “wrong side of the bed” something peculiar happens.  The IMPORTANT things come into FOCUS.  You slow down, you re-evaluate what your new situation is, and you start to put together what your next steps are to get back to the things that you love.  I consider it such a privilege to be invited into this very personal and private space in each patient’s life.  My hope is that as they share this part of their journey with RMC, that we can make them feel like they aren’t alone, that they have a team of healthcare professionals that are right beside them and that we were able to impact their health in a positive way while they were here.  It is a ministry to me.  RMC’s mission is far reaching and much bigger than just what we can see on the surface and I realize that.  What we do matters. 

What are you most excited about for the upcoming months in regard to patient experience?
I am excited about our initial roll out right in the middle of the end of the year Holiday Season!!  We are about to educate our staff on HCAHPS 101 (HCAHPS is the survey that the patients get after discharge) and The Happy Patient Project (a project that we are going to roll out to “get back to the basics” in the way we interact with our patients).  After this initial education, we are hoping to really enjoy the rest of the Holiday season with our employees and patients with some festive activities.  We are hoping if someone has to spend their holidays with us, we can make it special this year. 

What is first on your priority list for this new role?
Understanding where we are.  I have spent a great deal of time reading the comments of the patient surveys and talking to the staff about what they think about patient perception.  It is important to me to uncover and know what our most pressing opportunities are. 

Alabama or Auburn football?
I guess I would have to say “Roll Tide” because my husband is an Alabama fan…however…I like Auburn’s colors better 😊 haha

What’s one thing you’d like your coworkers to know about you?
I bleed RMC Blue.  I love this Hospital and what it means to our community.  I am so excited about ramping up the Patient Experience efforts here.   

If you’d like to reach out to Gwen, feel free to send her an email at GHail@RMCCares.org.

Jennifer Crosby

Meet our new patient advocate Jennifer Crosby! This week, we sat down with Jennifer to learn more about her and the dedication to patient advocacy she brings to RMC.

Why is patient advocacy important to you?

There is a saying- “They just need someone to talk to.” I want to be that “someone.” When you are in the hospital, you need someone to be on your side- I want to be that “someone.”  When you are confused and need someone to help explain things to you- I want to be that “someone.” Healthcare can be very confusing for those who are not familiar with it. I want to make sure all of our patients know they have “someone” to listen, to care, to give them explanations, and to stand by their side. I do not want anyone to feel alone.

What are you most excited about for the coming months in regard to patient advocacy?

I am most excited about our new patient experience program. Our goal is for everyone to ALWAYS have the best care possible at RMC. Our staff is dedicated to meeting all the needs of the patients and their families. This new program will highlight the care we give.

What is first on your priority list for this new role?

My first priority has been for all patients to have my phone number. There is a flyer with the patient advocate line in all of the rooms and around the hospital. It can also be found on the website.  I want them to know someone is available to speak to them if needed. No one is alone at RMC.

Alabama or Auburn football?

I am a graduate of Auburn University. War Eagle!

What’s one thing you’d like your coworkers to know about you?

As the patient advocate, I am not only here for the patients, but for the staff as well. If you have a patient who needs my help, please call me. I am available anytime you need me.

If you’d like to reach out to Jennifer, feel free to send her an email at JCrosby@RMCCares.org or call our patient advocate line at 256-231-8762.

It’s no secret that as we age, our bodies begin to experience more health problems, and the wear and tear of life takes its toll. Your joints are usually the first parts of your body to indicate signs of old age, with pain and stiffness becoming more frequent and the development of arthritis, especially in the knees and hips. As a remedy, surgeons have been performing knee replacement surgeries for decades now and have gotten pretty good at it. In fact, a National Library of Medicine review found that most total knee replacement surgery studies report 80–100% of post-op patients being satisfied.

During knee replacement surgery, the surgeon removes bone and cartilage damaged by arthritis and replaces them with metal and plastic parts that make up an artificial joint and work just like the patient’s natural knee. As technology has advanced, robotics has been introduced to surgery to increase its success rate. However, no technology is without its flaws. In this blog, we’ll explore both the advantages and disadvantages of robotic knee replacement.

What Is Robotic Knee Replacement?

The difference between knee replacement and robotic knee replacement is that a robot assists the operating surgeon by increasing accuracy and precision. The robot can feed the surgeon information and reports on the patient based on previous scans, like X-rays and MRIs, and real-time photos from a camera.

The robot assists the surgeon with making surgical bone cuts and positioning the new joint. They’re especially helpful if the surgery requires working around screws or hardware from previous surgeries. With robotic knee replacement, the surgeon can usually leave the old hardware in place, and the robot helps the surgeon safely install the new hardware, helping reduce the amount of time the patient is in surgery.

When there’s no robot assisting the surgeon during knee replacement, they use their skill and years of training to determine where to cut and how much bone and cartilage to remove.

Advantages and Disadvantages of Robotic Knee Replacement

Like we said, no technology is perfect. So, what are the advantages and disadvantages of robotic knee replacement? Let’s start with the positives!

Advantages

• Robotic assistance enhances the surgeon’s precision and accuracy when cutting, removing bone and cartilage, and placing the implant.
• Some robotic systems enable the surgeon to tailor the replacement for the patient’s specific anatomy, resulting in a better, more natural-feeling fit.
• Some patients experience shorter recovery times due to less tissue damage, with some experiencing a 50% reduction in the time it takes them to get back to normal activities.
• Reduced surgery time lowers the risk of complications, infections, and post-surgery pain.
• Faster healing means patients spend less time in the hospital, which lowers their hospital bill.

Disadvantages

• Robotic knee replacement is more expensive, sometimes by thousands of dollars, than traditional knee replacement. 
• Not every hospital and medical center has access to robotic knee replacement.
• Not every surgeon is trained and experienced with robotic knee replacement.
• It also has the same risks as traditional knee replacement, including ongoing knee pain, stiffness, infection, and the implant not working correctly.

Have Your Robotic Knee Replacement Questions Answered at RMC

Whether you’re experiencing knee pain due to injury, overuse, or arthritis, our experienced orthopaedic surgeons can help find the right treatment plan for you! If you’ve tried more conservative treatment methods that didn’t work out, robotic joint replacement could help restore your quality of life.

Here at RMC, our surgeons have access to the state-of-the-art Mako Robotic-Arm Assisted Technology to provide you with a personalized surgical plan based on your unique anatomy. Get in touch today for the guidance and support you need to determine if robotic joint replacement is the right choice for you!

Funding will allow local high-quality care to continue and address long-term debt

Anniston, AL (October 4, 2024) – The Health Care Authority of the City of Anniston (RMC) is
pleased to announce the approval of a new loan issued by Greystone Funding Company, LLC
and fully insured by the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) under a special
hospital financing program. This loan will enable RMC to address existing long-term debt.
“This is a significant milestone for RMC and our entire community,” said RMC Board Chairman
Hinton “Bud” Owsley. “We are confident that with this support, we will be able to keep highquality care local and ultimately better serve the healthcare needs of our region now and in the
future.”

The loan approval is the result of a rigorous process that included leadership meetings in
Washington, DC, and Anniston, as well as extensive evaluations by HUD. The decision
underscores the importance of healthcare in Northeast Alabama and demonstrates the bright
future ahead for the region.

“We are proud to be one of only a few hospitals in the nation selected for this unique
opportunity,” said Louis Bass, CEO of RMC. “It’s a testament to the strength and resilience of
our community – and the collaboration of all involved. We are deeply grateful for the support of
the Community Foundation of Northeast Alabama, the City of Anniston, our dedicated Board,
and our partners at Greystone and HUD. It would not have been possible without them.”
RMC intends to apply for a second loan through the HUD program that will address capital
equipment needs. RMC is excited about the progress to date and confident about the next steps
in the process.

“This achievement marks the beginning of a new chapter for RMC,” Bass added. “We are proud
of what we’ve accomplished together and even more excited for what lies ahead. Our team, our
community, and our partners are what make us who we are.”

About The Health Care Authority of the City of Anniston
The Health Care Authority of the City of Anniston (RMC) is the premier regional healthcare
provider for a five-county service area in northeast Alabama. With a total of 463 inpatient beds
located at its Northeast Alabama Regional Medical Center and Stringfellow Campus, and
numerous outpatient facilities, urgent care and specialty clinics, RMC is the region’s leading
provider of choice. More than 1,900 employees, 300 volunteers and over 200 physicians, who
represent a full range of medical specialties – including cardiac, women’s, orthopedics,
oncology and emergency services – provide state-of-the-art healthcare to patients with integrity,
skill and compassion. Learn more at www.rmccares.org.

As a first-time parent, you’re no stranger to feeling overwhelmed by all the information you think you should know when caring for your baby. From their diet to vaccines to skin care products used and whether or not they should play with plastic toys, there are so many decisions to make regarding how you will raise your little one, and some you probably haven’t even thought of. One of those unknowns you may not have considered until now is what kind of water to use in your baby’s formula.

With various options available, you might wonder, “Can infants drink distilled water? Is it the best water for formula feeding?” Keep reading to have these questions and more answered.

What Is Distilled Water and How Is It Made?

Distilled water is created through the distillation process, whereby water is boiled to produce steam. This steam is then condensed back into liquid form, leaving it free of impurities and minerals. The result is pure H2O that doesn’t contain bacteria, viruses, or anything harmful to your baby.

Distilled Water vs. Other Types of Water

But distilled water isn’t the only kind of clean water out there. So, how does it compare to other types of water? Understanding the differences can help you make informed decisions for your baby.

• Purified Water: Like distilled water, purified water undergoes filtration to remove impurities. However, it may still contain trace minerals.
• Tap Water: Tap water is readily available and often treated for safety; however, it usually contains fluoride and other minerals. Be aware that too much fluoride, even in formula, can lead to fluorosis, a condition where soft white lines or streaks appear on your baby’s teeth. Tap water safety can vary significantly based on your location.
• Spring Water: Spring water retains the natural minerals of the springs it comes from. This can be beneficial, but it may still include contaminants depending on the source. 

When Can Babies Drink Water?

Babies generally don’t need additional water added to their diet before they’re six months old, the same age they’re ready to start consuming solid foods. Until then, breast milk or formula provides adequate hydration for your little one. In fact, introducing water too early can fill their tiny stomachs and leave less room for the essential nutrients they get from milk or formula. 

Additionally, since infant kidneys are not fully developed, consuming too much water can lead to water intoxication. This dangerous condition dilutes the sodium in their bloodstream and can result in serious health consequences like seizures, brain damage, or even death.

Is Distilled Water the Best for Formula Feeding?

Many pediatricians recommend using distilled water for mixing formula because it’s free from impurities and contaminants. Its lack of minerals ensures your baby receives the right balance of nutrients from the formula without interference. If you’re still unsure, talk to your baby’s pediatrician before changing their diet.

Can Infants Drink Distilled Water? RMC Answers

Navigating the best water options for your infant can be challenging. Choosing pure, safe distilled water can offer peace of mind and ensure your baby receives the proper nutrition without the risk of contaminants or fluorosis.

At RMC, we prioritize your child’s health and well-being. Our pediatric services and Women’s and Children’s Pavilion provide comprehensive care for your little one. Schedule an appointment with one of our friendly pediatricians to discuss the best nutrition options for your baby!