From broken toes and stress fractures to heel pain, a number of common afflictions impact the foot and ankle regions. If you’re faced with such an issue, it’s important to find the right professional to address it.

Dr. Faizan Bader, Podiatrist at Riverside Healthcare, provides helpful information about different foot and ankle issues and the best way to approach them.

Stress Fracture

One issue Dr. Bader routinely sees among his patient base is stress fracture. People who are runners or who participate in high-impact sports with lateral movements (e.g. basketball, volleyball) are at high risk for developing this injury. Stress fractures can range from acute, to subacute, to chronic.

The first plan of action is to offload the area of the stress fracture to prevent it from getting worse. Alongside that, Dr. Bader may advise physical therapy, foot and ankle conditioning, and the use of orthotics. The earlier the intervention, the better.

“If we can have patients come into clinic and it’s early in the game, we can get them offloaded. We can get them to really be non-weight bearing for a certain amount of time, get our imaging, and do everything we can to make sure it heals,” he states.

Achilles Injuries

An Achilles rupture is an acute event, where the tendon tears or breaks. This is common among athletes, such as basketball, soccer, and football players. It can be a season-ending injury, but with the right treatment and rest, individuals can typically resume their sport in a reasonable amount of time. Some individuals suffer from chronic tendonitis in their Achilles, which is less severe than a rupture but still requires treatment.

Per Dr. Bader, not every Achilles injury needs surgery. Some patients can heal with a combination of casting and physical therapy. “There are some new techniques that are minimally invasive for Achilles rupture, so those are indicated for patients who may not necessarily be able to undergo a whole open surgery approach.” He also encourages foot and ankle conditioning, stretching, and wearing the right shoes to prevent reoccurrence.

Plantar Fasciitis

Plantar fasciitis involves inflammation of the fascia, which is the tissue on the bottom of the foot. Again, the treatment protocol relies on how severe the condition is. In some cases, a home stretching program and the proper shoe setup is sufficient to provide relief.

“A big thing with plantar fasciitis is a good orthotic. Some people are in good shoes, and they’re still dealing with plantar fasciitis. They just need to be propped up into an orthotic. They need that arch support,” notes Dr. Bader.

Steroid injections are another option. For more severe cases, minimally invasive surgery is available.

Get Ahead of the Injury

No matter the foot or ankle injury in play, Dr. Bader urges individuals to seek out professional medical help to prevent them from becoming worse. A podiatrist can also recommend proper footwear to help alleviate discomfort and lessen risk.

“If something is wrong and it’s really affecting your activities of daily life, come in and at least get an evaluation. There are so many cases where we’ve prevented people from getting into situations, like participating in a 5K run or walking around Disneyworld and putting in 30,000 steps a day. We can work through the issue and find a solution.”

For more information about orthopedic care at Riverside click here.