Hello friends!

Can you believe August is almost over already? Around the Fort Mill area, the back-to-school energy is in full swing! Schedules are filling up with school supply lists, sports physicals, and shifting family routines as summer winds down.

This month marks one of the most exciting updates in my professional career. You may have noticed a change in our newsletter’s title, and there’s a good reason for that.

I’m thrilled to officially announce the opening of our brand-new physical location, share a peek behind the scenes at a new podcast we're launching, and highlight how our kids spent their late summer giving back to our community.

For the past couple of years, SmartStep has operated as a dedicated hybrid podiatry practice, bringing top-tier care directly to your homes and workplaces across Charlotte and right to your screens via telehealth across North and South Carolina.

This physical location represents our 100% committed focus to growing SmartStep as your comprehensive podiatric care home. This new clinic gives us a permanent, state-of-the-art facility for advanced treatments, diagnostic imaging, and localized care for Fort Mill, Tega Cay, Rock Hill, Lake Wylie, and South Charlotte.

We’ll have many more details about our grand opening soon, and our website is also getting a new look and features, including the ability to book appointments online! Stay tuned!

While getting the new office space ready, we've also been in front of the microphone! If you’ve followed SmartStep Foot and Ankle on social media or YouTube, you’ve likely seen our Instagram Live segments that we like to call “10 Toes Down.”

Starting in September 2026, we’ve decided to go all in and turn 10 Toes Down into an official podcast!

Our goal is to break down complex foot and ankle health into practical conversation with a little bit of flavor thrown in.

Expect discussions about footwear, culture, community, and more! We can’t wait to share the first episodes with you soon on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube Music, iHeartRadio, and all major platforms.

As our own four kids prepare to head back to class and jump into their fall sports and activities, Toni and I wanted to make sure they kept their focus on serving others.

Recently, the kids volunteered at our church to help assemble and pack backpacks filled with essential school supplies for local students in need. Watching them work together to ensure every child starts the school year equipped for success was easily one of the highlights of our summer!

With fall sports practices kicking off and kids transitioning from summer sandals back into rigid school shoes and sports cleats, August always brings a wave of juvenile foot pain to our clinic.

Growth spurts combined with sudden increases in athletic activity can create painful friction on growing bones and tendons. Aside from pain, these changes can also lead to conditions like Sever’s Disease (heel pain in growing kids) and painful ingrown toenails from outgrown footwear.

👉 [Read the Full Blog: Back-to-School Foot Health & Youth Sports Safety]

Whether you need pre-season sports guidance or care for a nagging issue before the busy fall routine takes over.

Wishing you and your family a smooth, happy, and healthy transition into the new school year,

Dr. Thurmond Lanier, DPM, MPH, FACFAS
SmartStep Foot and Ankle
Charlotte, NC