Many foot-related conditions can easily be addressed through conservative treatment measures. When you rest and rehabilitate your affected foot, it should heal and be fully functioning again within a reasonable time period.
However, in some cases, these conservative methods aren’t enough to encourage proper healing. It could be that the foot disease or injury is too severe or that it just doesn’t respond to the treatments as it should.
If you’ve found this is the case for you, you might be worried you need surgery, and understandably so, since traditional open surgeries to repair foot issues can leave you sidelined for weeks, even months.
At Foot and Ankle Institute of Colorado in Colorado Springs, Colorado, Matthew Hinderland, DPM, Jordan Cameron, DPM, Trevor Whiting, DPM, and the rest of our team offer minimally invasive surgery to repair chronic or severe foot-related problems that require surgical intervention.
In this month’s blog, we look at common foot ailments that respond well to minimally invasive foot surgery and why it’s such a welcome alternative to traditional open surgery.
Let’s take a look at common foot ailments that we can address with minimally invasive surgery techniques:
A bunion is a bony bump that forms at the base of your big toe. It develops as a result of your big toe being pushed out of alignment toward your smaller toes. The bump can rub against your shoes, causing painful blisters and calluses. If the bunion worsens, you can have mobility issues.
Changing out your footwear and wearing orthotic devices can help correct the bunion, but if it doesn't get better, surgery may be necessary to restore foot function.
A hammertoe develops when there’s a ligament and muscle imbalance in any of your four smaller toes, which causes the middle joint to buckle and become stuck in that position. When a hammertoe first develops, it’s typically still flexible. However, if it goes untreated, or if the first lines of treatment are unsuccessful, the toe can become rigid.
We recommend starting with footwear changes to help encourage your toes to relax, and we can supplement your new shoes with custom orthotics and toe splints. When these treatments aren’t enough, surgery becomes a viable possibility.
A heel spur is a bony protrusion that develops on the underside of your heel bone as a result of surrounding ligament or tendon damage (usually plantar fasciitis). When your body tries to heal the damaged tissue, it triggers an inflammatory response, which adds extra calcium deposits in that area.
Pain caused by heel spurs can be relieved through rest, ice, anti-inflammatory medications, and supportive footwear. However, heel spurs won’t go away on their own, so if the pain isn’t getting better, the only way to remove them is through surgery.
When you’ve been dealing with a chronic bunion, hammertoe, or heel spur, you’ve most likely already spent a long time struggling with mobility issues. And with a traditional open surgery to correct your foot problem, that time spent off your feet has to extend for weeks more as you recover and heal from a major surgical procedure.
However, when you undergo minimally invasive foot surgery at Foot and Ankle Institute of Colorado, our team makes just a few small incisions that are 75% smaller than incisions used in traditional open surgery. We use imaging technology to expertly guide the surgical tools and precisely perform necessary repairs.
By using small incisions, your recovery time is significantly reduced, meaning you can be back on your feet and pain-free fast.
To learn more about how minimally invasive foot surgery can get you back on your feet quickly, schedule a consultation with our team by calling our office or using our online booking feature today.
