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Tag: foot pain

Does Your Child Have Sever’s Disease?

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Sever's Disease Heel Injury In Kids

My oldest son has been dealing with heel pain for the last month.  He is a very active 9-year-old with soccer, basketball, baseball and running.  Currently, he is playing soccer this fall.  He is a classic example of a young boy or girl from 8-14 years old who commonly suffer from Sever’s Disease.  I know the name sounds terrible and is misleading, but Sever’s Disease is simply the name for a heel injury.

Children have growth plates in the heel bone (calcaneous) that allow the bone to grow in length.  Around the ages of 13 to 15 that growth plate closes, but until then can become irritated by repetitive injury or a sudden growth spurt.  The Achilles tendon is the strongest tendon in the body and attaches to the back of the heel.  If a child has a sudden growth spurt it takes time for the tendon to lengthen and can put increase pull on the back of the heel. That increase pull can irritate the growth plate in the back of the heel and cause pain.  In my son’s case, he grew about an inch over a two-month period this summer and subsequently started complaining of heel pain.

If this sounds familiar for your child and you are wondering if they have Sever’s Disease, here are some symptoms to look for:

  • Pain in the back of the heel along the heel bone and Achilles tendon
  • Pain that worsens with squeezing of the heel bone
  • Pain is usually worse after sporting events and gets better with rest and ice
  • There is typically no bruising and there may be mild swelling to the area

Treatment:

The good news is that this condition doesn’t cause any long term damage and is self-limiting. It will typically go away with rest and ice.   The problem is, most children do not want to rest and stop doing what they love. Some tips to help reduce the symptoms and pain include:

  • Calf stretching especially after sports
  • Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDS) like Ibuprofen
  • Ice at the end of the day and after sporting events
  • Orthotics to help control heel motion and wear supportive shoes

I have found orthotics to help immensely with children’s symptoms and keep them doing the things they love. If symptoms fail to resolve or worsen, then immobilization with a cast or removable cast boot to really rest the area is the definitive treatment. Once symptoms resolve, then gradual return to full activity with continued stretching is essential.  If your child is suffering from heel pain too, come see us at Anderson Podiatry Center and we can tailor treatment according to his or her activity level.

4 Essential Points to Understanding Foot Warts

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Tis the season for witches and warts! But foot warts aren’t selective to green-faced brewers; even the cleanest mortals can fall prey to these nasty little growths.

Foot warts can be the most persistent, painful, and embarrassing nuisances, but sometimes it seems it would take a magic spell to be rid of them! But take heart, for the solution you seek is not in a black kettle, but right here on this page!

  1. What are foot warts?

If you don’t know what exactly a foot wart is, you are not alone. Many people still believe warts come from toads—not so. They are actually a virus. Unlike the viruses that plague us from the inside of our body, warts are very much visible on the surface of our skin. They are small, hard, grainy growths. Oftentimes you can see little black dots on the surface, which are the blood vessels feeding the growth (very vampire-esque).

The unsightly appearance of warts is not their only detestable trait; some warts can be agitating or even painful, especially those located on the bottom of your feet known as plantar warts. These warts can be mistaken for callouses or bunions since they do not rise up off the skin as much as other warts, particularly because they are being pressed down on when you walk—which is what makes them the most uncomfortable type of wart.

  1. How do you get foot warts?

Warts appear when your skin comes in contact with the wart virus and causes an infection. They most often develop in broken skin, such as a cuts or scratches. Cracked dry feet, for example, are susceptible to plantar warts, especially when walking bare-foot in a public area like a locker room shower.

Children develop plantar warts more commonly than adults, most likely due to their weaker immune systems, as well as the fact that they more commonly play with their shoes off and around other children or equipment that may be carrying the virus.foot warts in kids

Warts are not loners. Like all viruses, they like to spread. So to add to their list of unpleasant qualities, warts can multiply–on your skin, your friend’s skin, your kid’s…anywhere they touch they make friends! This is why it’s critical to attack a wart virus as soon as it’s discovered and uproot it before it has a chance to colonize! Fortunately, this is not a fast-growing virus comparatively, so no need to panic when a wart makes its appearance! Just address it as soon as it’s noticed.

  1. How to Avoid Foot Warts:
  • Wash skin regularly -namely exposed skin like hands and feet
  • Keep hands and feet moisturized
  • Wear sandals/flip-flops when using locker rooms or public showers
  • Cover open cuts with bandages
  1. How to get rid of foot warts:

Oftentimes warts disappear on their own, but this usually takes a year or more! Some warts can be taken care of with over-the-counter treatment. But if this fails, you will need to seek medical care from a dermatologist, or in the case of plantar warts, a podiatrist.

No need to blend in with the witches and goblins this month (there’s face paint for that!). Take care of those pesky foot warts once and for all!

5 Most Common FAQ’s from Patients

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If you suffer from any type of foot or ankle ailment chances are someone out there has experienced the exact same or very similar complaint as you have. Feet and ankle issues are extremely common, which makes sense considering the average person walks around 5,900 steps a day, or much more if they live an active lifestyle.

Because we rely on our feet so much, any type of injury can be extremely debilitating and frustrating, especially if you don’t know where to get help, or are afraid to get it. Sometimes what you really need to have peace of mind about receiving treatment are just answers to your questions, which is why Dr. Anderson of Anderson Podiatry Center put together a list of the most common questions he receives from his patients.

Here are the answers to the five most common questions Dr. Anderson gets asked:

  1. Do I have to give up this activity for the rest of my life?

“My response to this has always been we will go through a full conservative regimen and move to surgery as necessary before we tell someone to discontinue in an activity that is beneficial for their health. Commitment to the postoperative course is compensated by a lifetime of being able to return to that activity.”

  1. Will the deformity return if I have it fixed surgically?

The fear that the deformity will just return even if it is surgically removed is a main reason many choose to not even try it. However, this is definitely not always the case, and if you put in the time and effort to find the right doctor, you could get rid of that loathsome deformity for good. Dr. Anderson supports this as well, he says, “This depends on the quality of surgeon you choose, and the commitment you make to appropriate shoe choice and insole choice in the years following surgery.”

  1. Will my insurance cover this?

“Any out-of-pocket costs will be covered by our front office personnel and you need to understand how your deductible and co-pay’s work. You need to take responsibility for understanding the ways in which your insurance works.”

Calling your insurance company can seem very daunting, but with just one phone call you can find out exactly what your insurance will and will not cover. You could be delaying life-changing treatment that your insurance might cover!

  1. When I can return to activity?

“The answer is always very specific to your problem. By returning too quickly you will lose out on the sacrifice from that activity that you have already undergone.”

Because the answer to this common question is so specific to your individual problem, it is absolutely paramount that you see a podiatrist to get an accurate answer.

  1. How much time will I need off from work?

“Sometimes it is in your best interest to use short-term disability rather than burn all your vacation days and sick days. We as a clinic are available to help you fill out the paperwork and answer the questions with regards to short-term disability.”

This question is also very case-by-case, so see a podiatrist to get a better estimate of exactly how much recovery time you need.

Don’t let your fears of the unknown keep you from getting life changing help! See a podiatrist today to finally get all your questions answered.

APC Office Visit

Fact vs. Fiction: Neuropathy

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Neuropathy is a frustrating, debilitating, painful, and, most discouragingly, a confusing disease. If you or someone you know has neuropathy, chances are they have really struggled with finding accurate knowledge on the subject, and with all the information out there it can be overwhelming deciphering what’s true from what isn’t.

Though neuropathy is a fairly common disease, it is not widely known about. One of the first struggles with neuropathy is getting it properly diagnosed. Also, there are so many thoughts and opinions on neuropathy that you may hear conflicting or even false information. As doctors who specialize in neuropathy and treatments for it, we have compiled a helpful list of fact versus fiction to finally help you better understand your neuropathy.

Neuropathy Facts:

  1. There are a wide variety of symptoms, and not everyone experiences them all.
    • The most common symptoms include: muscle weakness, twitching, tingling, loss of balance, numbness, burning, prickling sensations, and/or nerve pain in your legs or feet, and symptoms can vary from one foot to the other.
  1. Neuropathy is progressive.
    • This is one of the most important facts to know! Neuropathy will get worse over time, so if you have symptoms do not delay treatment. Some patients wait until their symptoms are more severe before seeking treatment, which can reduce the chance to reverse or alleviate them.
  1. Neuropathy is a fancy word for nerve damage.
    • Though it may sound simple, this is exactly what neuropathy is. It’s the disease or dysfunction of one or more peripheral nerves.
  1. There are treatments that can reverse neuropathy symptoms.
    • Though many don’t realize this, there are treatment options that have had huge success in reversing, or at the very least improving some people’s neuropathy. These treatments include:
      • MLS Laser Therapy– helps to reduce pain and inflammation and improve nerve function.
      • Electrical Nerve Stimulation (ESTIM)– helps to decrease chronic nerve pain, often done in conjunction with nerve blocks.
      • Nutritional counseling– when done in tangent with MLS and/or ESTIM can help reverse symptoms.
      • Nerve decompressing surgery– opens up the tight nerve tunnel to allow the nerve to function properly, is a viable option for the majority of patients, and offers the very real hope of reversing neuropathy’s effects, allowing you to move with little to no pain or instability.

Neuropathy Fiction:

  1. Neuropathy only affects diabetics.
    • Although neuropathy is common in people with diabetes, it is a misconception that it only affects those with it. It can have many other causes including injury, infections, alcoholism, and even certain cancers. There are also unknown (idiopathic) causes
  1. If the pain subsides or goes away, you are getting better.
    • False! This is a very dangerous fallacy. When symptoms seem to be getting better they are often actually getting worse, because the later stages of neuropathy can cause numbness making you not feel the pain that is actually there.
  1. I will always have to be on medication.
    • Though medications are commonly the first step in treating neuropathy, they typically come with unwanted side effects or are ineffective. What people don’t understand is that by seeking other treatments options like the ones listed above, you can reduce or even get off your medication.
  1. Any doctor can help treat neuropathy.
    • Although most doctors know what neuropathy is, they are not all equal in understanding or treating it. Our doctors at Anderson Podiatry Center are members of the Association of Extremity Nerve Surgeons. These national and international physician and PHD members receive specialty training and have a minimum two years’ experience in diagnosing and treating neuropathy. AENS members are committed to disseminating current effective treatment knowledge, and to ongoing research that supports the treatment of extremity nerve disease.

These are just some of the basic misunderstandings on neuropathy. If you suffer from neuropathy come see us today so you can finally get the help you deserve!

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Ankle Problems: Why It’s Important You Don’t Ignore Them

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With all the wear and tear we put our bodies through it’s no wonder we go to bed sore at night. We often get so accustomed to these persistent aches and pains that we just live with them. It’s normal to have foot pain and ankle pain after a long day of work, right? Sometimes, yes.

Minor aches and pains at the end of the day, especially if you live an active lifestyle, are typically nothing more than a tired body that needs rest, but don’t let these minor aches and pains you are used to feeling make you ignore more serious issues that require treatment.

Some of the most common foot problems that are ignored are in the ankle. People frequently excuse genuine ankle issues to simple daily wear and tear, so they don’t seek treatments that can help. Three common problems that shouldn’t be ignored include:

  1. Ankle Instability– If you sprain your ankle regularly, have stiff or swollen ankles, or have trouble walking across uneven ground, (especially in high heels) then you may actual suffer from ankle instability.
  2. Ankle Pain– If your ankle seems to always be in pain, tender to touch, swollen, or unstable, this could be a signal to a larger problem, such as arthritis, a fracture, or an inflamed tendon.
  3. Ankle Sprain– Spraining an ankle is a very common injury that often heals on its own with proper rest and care, but when it won’t heal is when there is concern. If your ankle sprain is not healing, is swollen, bruised, painful, and difficult to walk on, then you need to get it looked at. Serious ankle sprains when untreated can develop into long-term problems.

Ankle instability, pain, and sprains can put a huge damper on your active lifestyle. If you experience any or all of the above, the below treatment options may be what you need:

  • AmnioFix Therapy– this new, regenerative medical product enhances healing, reduces scar tissue formation, reduces inflammation, and may be just what your ankle needs to heal.
  • Custom orthotics– doctor-fitted orthotics made from the mold of your actual foot offer huge benefits to your feet and ankles.
  • Casting– casting a mold of your foot is typically done when making custom orthotics, and allows a podiatrist to see the exact condition of your ankle, so they can treat it correctly.
  • Physical therapy- some ankle injuries require physical therapy, especially if they go ignored and cause more permanent damage.
  • Braces or supports– these may not sound ideal, but if they ease your pain, prevent further injury, or fix current problems they are worth it.
  • Arthroscopic surgery– this minimally invasive joint surgery can help fix many common ankle injuries.
  • MLS Laser Therapy– this laser therapy is an exciting new treatment for a wide range of injuries and conditions that cause pain, including ankle problems.

If you have chronic ankle problems don’t ignore them! We are here to help you keep active! Call us today!

Don't Ignore Ankle Problems

3 Essential Books for Understanding and Living with Neuropathy

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Your legs and feet are one of the most important parts of our body; they carry you everywhere you go. So, naturally, leg and feet issues can greatly disrupt your daily life. This is sadly the case for the many people who suffer from neuropathy– or nerve pain. Neuropathy is painful, frustrating, and debilitating, and with all the information out there it can be overwhelming finding good, accurate sources of information, but it doesn’t have to be.

First of all, you might have neuropathy and not even know it. Some symptoms to look for with neuropathy include muscle weakness, twitching, tingling, burning, loss of balance, numbness, prickling sensations, and/or nerve pain in your legs or feet. Neuropathy can be caused by diabetes, injury, infections, certain cancers, and alcohol, and it is progressive and will worsen over time.

To help you correctly live with and understand your neuropathy we have found three essential books to read:

  1. Sugar Crush: How to Reduce Inflammation, Reverse Nerve Damage, and Reclaim Good Health– by Richard Jacoby, DPM

Even though this book is not solely on neuropathy, it is still an excellent resource for those who suffer from it. Sugar Crush was written by a leading peripheral nerve surgeon. In it he explains why sugar and carbohydrates are harmful to the body’s nerves, and how eliminating them may help mitigate or even reverse nerve damage.

He goes on to describe how a diet high in sugar, processed carbohydrates, and wheat compresses and damages the peripheral nerves of the body. This leads to pain, numbness, and tinging in hands and feet. Sound familiar? These are the same symptoms as neuropathy, which is why this book is a great resource for you!

  1. Coping with Peripheral Neuropathy: How to handle stress, disability, anxiety, fatigue, depression, pain, and relationships– by Scott Berman, MD CIDP

Unfortunately, living with chronic pain and a debilitating disease affects much more than just your physical body. It affects your emotions, causes other problems such as anxiety and depression, and often affects those around you as well.

However, keep in mind that although this book may help you cope with the chronic pain you currently live with, you might not always have to. Just as Sugar Crush discusses, there are possible treatments that may reverse neuropathy symptoms and help stop chronic pain.

  1. Mindfulness Meditation for Pain Relief: Guided Practices for Reclaiming Your Body and Your Life– by Jon Kabat-Zinn

Those who suffer from neuropathy often complain of chronic pain as well. If you live a life shaped by pain, you understand the physical and emotional sufferings that usually accompany it. In this book you can learn how to rely on meditation, rather than solely medication, to ease your pain. Often neuropathy patients complain about all the medications they have to take that don’t always work, and almost always come with unwanted side effects. Here is a great alternative.

According to customer reviews, this book offers meditation techniques for beginners, so anyone can use it and find relief, while also discovering new freedom and improved quality of life. However, same with the above book mentioned, remember that there are treatments for neuropathy that have been able to reverse symptoms for many patients, enabling them to live pain free.

These books are very helpful for living with neuropathy, but they are not your only source of information. Speak to a podiatrist to learn all about your disease, and more importantly how you may be able to reverse your symptoms with promising treatment options.

Understanding and Living with Neuropathy

How to Know if You Need Surgery for Your Chronic Foot Pain

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If you’re suffering from foot pain that just won’t go away, you’ll try almost anything to find relief. Pain medications, physical therapy, orthotics, braces, special shoes, rest, ice, heat, massage…the list goes on.

But chronic pain is usually a side effect of something even bigger—chronic damage to the affected joints, ligaments, tendons, and muscles. The severity of this damage is often the most important criteria to consider when determining the best treatment.

What happens to your body parts from regular and long term damage?

  • Chronic damage to a joint leads to osteoarthritis.
  • Chronic damage to tendons causes thickening and scarring of tendons as well as possible rupture or tearing.
  • Chronic damage to ligaments creates joint instability, which can lead to arthritis and worsening of tendon issues.

In most cases, this damage is not going to be isolated to just one structure. Rather, people who suffer chronic pain usually have all of these structures damaged to some degree, and the parts that are the most severely damaged usually determine the best course of treatment.

Is it time for you to consider surgery?

First, we’ll need to determine how bad the damage is. This is where all those x-rays, MRIs, blood work, etc. come into play. X-rays will show severity of arthritis and an MRI will show the severity of damage to tendons and ligaments.

For more severely damaged structures, conservative treatment may have a low chance of success and https://websitetest8.striveenterprisetest.com/anderson-center-for-surgery/surgical treatment may be more likely, but rarely will an x-ray or MRI be the absolute deciding factor of treatment for a chronic issue. It’s just another bit of info to factor in.

Every patient is different, and I tailor the treatment of chronic pain to the particular demands of each person, based on their lifestyle. Together, we decide whether conservative treatments can successfully help with chronic foot pain. If not, it might be time to consider surgery, which, in most cases, can help you get back on your feet sooner, and hopefully pain-free!

chronic foot pain causes

How to Stop Tendonitis Progression

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tendonitis progression

We all know living an active lifestyle is an essential component to being healthy. Whether you are a mega multi-marathon runner, an avid tennis player, a yoga instructor, or a mall walker, your exercise is an important part of your daily routine. However, this healthy lifestyle of yours is threatened when injuries arise in your feet, such as tendonitis. Tendonitis is common and painful, but there are ways to keep the tendonitis progression to a minimum.

Tendonitis progression can affect various muscles in the body, including the feet. Posterior tibial tendinitis, for example, is an inflammation of the tendon that runs from the inner ankle to the shinbone. Some symptoms to look for to determine if you do indeed have tendonitis are:

  • Pain that increases when the affected area moves, such as when walking
  • A cracking or grating feeling when the injured tendon moves
  • Swelling
  • Redness and heat from the affected area
  • The development of a lump along the tendon
  • Difficulty standing on your toes
  • Pain on the inside of the foot or ankle

Tendonitis is a common injury, and is caused by the repetition of a particular movement over time. Though not as common, it may also arise after a sudden injury. Some of the risk factors which increase the likelihood of getting tendonitis are:

  1. Age- Tendons become less flexible and more susceptible to injury the older you get.
  2. Certain jobs- If your job consists of repetitive movements, awkward positions, frequent
  3. Overhead reaching, vibration, or forced extension you have a greater risk of hurting the tendon.
  4. Diabetes- Though experts are unsure why, people with diabetes tend to have a higher risk of developing tendonitis.
  5. Sports- The most common cause of tendonitis comes from sports injuries, especially in sports like running, swimming, basketball, tennis, golf, etc.

Whatever reason caused your tendonitis they all have the same risk: the injury is progressive and will worsen if untreated! 

So, how do you stop this progression? The answer is simple, start treatment right away! Treatment options include:

  • Rest, ice and elevation- these steps can often help alleviate pain.
  • Platelet-Rich Plasma Therapy and AmnioFix Therapy– Anderson Podiatry Center has been doing these treatments to repair feet and ankle tears longer than anyone in the Rocky Mountain region.
  • Custom orthotics– These are made by a podiatrist from a mold of your actual foot to help give you the best results.
  • Surgery– If the tendon is torn too badly, surgery may be the best option.

Before starting any treatment, it is extremely important to have your injury properly evaluated. All too often people think they have tendonitis, when in fact they have a tendon tear. The huge problem with this is that the two injuries are treated differently.

Dr. Anderson of Anderson Podiatry Center explains the concern with this. He says, “People have been known to stretch a suspected tendonitis, as it’s recommended sometimes. If the tendon is torn it will damage it more.” He also says how with a mild tear surgery may be avoided with regenerative medicines like Platelet-Rich Plasma Therapy and AmnioFix Therapy.

Again, the earlier you get your tendon checked by a podiatrist the better. Podiatrists are able to determine the extent of the injury, and get you the care you need before your injury progresses any further. 

Get treated, and get back to your healthy lifestyle!

tendonitis progression

5 Ways to Fix Your Hallux Limitus- The Pain in Your Big Toe

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Walking is an essential function in your daily life. So, if you experience pain in your toe, especially when you walk, it can be extremely frustrating and debilitating. What’s worse, the pain is often exacerbated with certain footwear, such as flip flops, so now you struggle walking and are limited in what shoes you can wear. Luckily, there are options.

Hallux limitus is an arthritic condition that limits the motion and function of the big toe joint. Hallux limitus is similar to a bunion. It is often painful, and can make it difficult to walk. Some symptoms to look for with hallux limitus are:

  • A grinding or grating of the big-toe joint when you move it
  • A bone spur grown on top of the big toe joint
  • Swelling and inflammation
  • Deep, aching, chronic pain
  • Stiffness and limited motion
  • Overall joint tightness
  • Difficulty wearing shoes like high heels, flip flops, and other low support shoes

Hallux limitus, like bunions, is progressive! If left untreated the symptoms worsen and turn into hallux rigidus- no motion of the big toe joint
at all. Hallux rigidus is more painful than hallux limitus. The pain can be so severe that it often decreases your activity, makes you afraid to take long walks, and takes away your ability to run altogether.

Also, hallux limitus when left untreated often leads to other foot and ankle problems. When you have such pain in your big toe you often overcompensate to alleviate the pain, which puts extra stress on other parts of your foot and ankle. Now, you not only have pain in your big toe, but your foot and ankle as well.

Hallux limitus is usually caused by two factors: genetics or an injury to the big toe joint. Some people are born with a predisposition to conditions like arthritis or high or low arches, which can all lead to foot problems like hallux limitus later in life. Also, hallux limitus can stem from repetitive movements, or damage to cartilage in the toe.

Again, hallux limitus is progressive, and only gets worse the longer you wait, which is why early treatment is vital! Seeing a podiatrist will reveal the exact stage of your hallux limitus, and then help to determine the most appropriate action to take out of the five common treatments. The treatments include:

  1. Custom Orthotics– Unlike over-the-counter orthotics, custom orthotics, made by a trained podiatrist, take a mold of your actual foot. They then create orthotics specifically designed to correct your individual foot problems.
  2. Cortisone Injections- These are injected directly into the joint to reduce swelling and inflammation, however they are only short term solutions that may damage the joint.
  3. Platelet-Rich Plasma Therapy– This new tissue regeneration therapy can be used as an alternative to surgery that has a fast recovery time.
  4. AmnioFix Therapy– This new, regenerative medical product containing organic cellular components enhances healing, reduces scar tissue formation, and reduces inflammation.
  5. Surgery– In the more advanced stages of hallux limitus surgery may be needed.

Of the treatments above, the Platelet-Rich Plasma Therapy and AmnioFix therapy have shown to be the most successful in early treatments. When used before hallux limitus progresses too far they can even prevent the need for surgery all together. Come visit your podiatrist in Fort Collins or Broomfield for further consultation.

new treatment for hallux rigidus

New Treatment for Arthritic Feet and Ankles: Avoiding Joint Replacement or Joint Fusion

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Arthritic pain in the foot and ankle is on the rise. With our active aging baby boomers many may find their activities starting to be limited because of this affliction. It is common for many to use anti-inflammatories, such as Advil, for pain. Although this may help temporarily with the pain the long term use may have negative effects.

As wear and tear takes place on our joints from use, or in some cases injury, the cartilage begins to wear thin. The cartilage that lines the joint is very slick, and when it begins to diminish you may eventually have bone rubbing against bone resulting in pain.

At the end of the treatment options lies the possibility of surgery to replace the joint. An example of the surgery is an ankle replacement or fusion of a joint. This can be done to the ankle joint or other joints in the foot. Without a joint your pain can go away, but you’ve now created the need for other joints to make up for the lack of motion in the joint that is now fused. Eventually, they may become arthritic. We have a new solution for you!

Before you consider the surgical risk and extreme lay up of a fusion or joint replacement, consider joint denervation. So what is joint denervation? Simply put, it’s the removal of the nerve branch that tells you the joint is painful.

We have had a high success rate with this surgical concept and minimal down time and risk. The idea is to decide which branch supplies the majority of sensation to that joint and remove it. We usually remove one or two nerve branches, and these branches don’t supply muscles, so you are not made weaker. The numbness that you are left with has minimal to no consequences compared to how much the pain is limiting your activities. In the rare event of no improvement you’re no worse off and you still have the more major surgery option.

The nerves we remove are in the lower leg, and the surgery takes less than thirty minutes. Where the nerve is cut it is buried into muscle so the tip of the nerve is not sensitive. People are able to walk immediately or within a few days. Contrast this with a minimum of six weeks, non-weight bearing recovery when a joint is fused, on top of the increased risk with a major surgery.

So, if you’re facing the pain of arthritis and have the fear of a fusion or joint replacement consider a second look. Don’t give up those activities you like to do, and consider this exciting new option. Please give us a call and we’ll discuss if this is an appropriate procedure for you.

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