injury – Anderson Podiatry Center

Sports and Exercise Training – Ouch! What do I do if I’m Injured?

Posted on December 7, 2018July 1, 2025 by admin

Sports and Exercise Training – Ouch! What do I do if I’m Injured?

By Anderson Podiatry Center, in consult with Dr. Stephen Wilkinson, DPM, Sports Medicine Specialist

Congratulations! You’re training for an event, have begun or are maintaining an exercise routine and are motivated to compete or sustain your regime habit. You are to be applauded for taking your fitness and health seriously and incorporating it into your lifestyle. Your happy body, mind, work and social life will reward you for your efforts in a big way!

At some point in your fitness life, however, you will very likely experience pain or an injury that will frustrate or sideline you. Do you keep going? Do you take time off? As a sports medicine doctor, Dr. Wilkinson hears this a lot and has experienced it himself. How you manage these injuries, minor or not, is critical in determining if you can make your event goal or keep your downtime to a minimum and maintain your active life.

In his practice, at Anderson Podiatry Center for Regenerative Medicine, Dr. Wilkinson counsels many people to recover from injuries as quickly as possible and approaches his patient’s care and training plan with these steps and processes in mind, which helps assure they will be up and at it without skipping much of a beat. In this first of a series, we’ll present the initial steps that need to be taken to obtain a complete analysis that forms the basis of a sound and effective treatment and training plan. Then, later on, we’ll go into some of the customized specific treatment options and interventions – physical, mental and nutritional – that are utilized to get you to the finish line fast!

Step One:

A Complete evaluation begins with understanding the injury. An in-depth history is used to isolate the problem by asking questions about

The nature, location, and duration of the injury
The onset, course, and aggravating factors
Any treatments tried thus far

Patients often receive advice via their peer’s experiences or from the internet without a complete understanding of how that advice affects them specifically. Such treatment or training advice can unwittingly lead to injury. Patients often continue these improper training methods beyond the point of injury and then require professional help before they can continue towards their goals. We’ll alleviate this problem with a careful and complete history of the injury.

Step Two:

Step two involves taking time to understand what the patient is trying to accomplish in detail
(weight loss, cardiovascular fitness, a race completion, a time improvement etc.).

Intervention is different depending upon whether the desired result is subjective or objective.

This breaks down to two basic groups of people:

This group is seeking overall fitness and use a specific goal to provide motivation for training. They want to reach the finish line regardless of how long it takes. This requires significant core and mental fitness.
This group has established overall fitness and is pushing to improve their fitness level via improvement in time or distance; more ‘fine tuning’ and achievement of maximum capacity
while avoiding injury.

Step Three:

Step three involves understanding the patients starting point and whether or not his or her goal is reasonable to obtain by the time the patient needs to be ready to complete.

A 10% improvement per week is our target.

In this step, distance, intensity or speed of training are advanced 10% per week. Patients can often become impatient without clear guidelines and try and accelerate their training
faster than this tried and true path resulting in injury and training setbacks. “Slow and steady wins the race” as they say. Good advice to heed! The steps above give us a great foundation from which to build a plan of action to get you recovered and on your way. In the next blog we’ll discuss the nutritional, physical and mental approaches that provide the answers you need to get past your injury and help prevent future occurrences. See you then!

If you have an important goal to accomplish and are hindered by running or exercise pain, foot problems or injury, ankle injuries, plantar fasciitis or other problems, give me a call at
Anderson Center for Regenerative Medicine. I am not only ready to listen and understand, I am also ready to help.

To make an appointment with Dr. Wilkinson, Click HERE

Dr. Wilkinson is an ultra-runner, having completed many 50 and 100-mile races. As a Podiatrist who has successfully weathered his own sports injuries in the past, Dr. Wilkinson enjoys working with patients who are also athletes pursuing their own fitness goals. He believes in injury prevention through gait analysis, biomechanics, and sound, reasonable training techniques but is also an astute provider of clinical and surgical methodology to help return injured athletes to their playing field. Learn more about sports medicine injury treatment

Sports and Exercise Training – Ouch! What do I do if I’m Injured? Part 2

Posted on January 8, 2019July 1, 2025 by admin

Sports and Exercise Training – Ouch! What do I do if I’m Injured? Part Two of Two

By Anderson Podiatry Center, in consult with Dr. Stephen Wilkinson, DPM, Sports Medicine Specialist at Anderson Podiatry Center

Injury Treatment Plan
In our last blog we covered the steps Dr Wilkinson takes to obtain a complete analysis that forms the basis of a sound and effective treatment plan for foot and ankle and lower extremity injuries. Those who become injured during training can benefit from an efficient, effective treatment plan to keep downtime to a minimum and still be able to reach their fitness or event goals.

This time we’ll explore some of the nutritional, physical and mental approaches Dr Wilkinson uses to help you get past your injury, get to your event or goal and help prevent future occurrences.

At Anderson Podiatry Center and our Center for Regenerative Medicine, Dr Wilkinson uses a mind and body restorative process and training redirection to help you meet your goals. This includes addressing nutrition, sleep, mental attitude, injury mechanism, training or exercise schedule as well as equipment and the potential of your current injury. He thereby devises a rehabilitation program specific to your needs. Advanced modalities are used when needed to accelerate healing. The following explains his approach to these individual parts of the rehabilitation process:

Moving Past your Injury – Focus On:

1. Nutrition

Although a basic nutrient allocation of 20-30% fat, 10-30% protein, and 45-65% carbs is optimal for those with an active lifestyle, requirements of activity, work and family make this easier said than done. Dietary balance should also be adjusted based upon the unique situation of each athlete. I.e. heavier athletes may include weight loss as a goal, and injured athletes may benefit from an adjustment in the recommended nutritional ratios and/or additional supplements.
It is not uncommon to see deficits in calcium, magnesium, vitamin D and iron. Test values are used to indicate replacement or supplements in the correct combination.

2. Sleep

The demands of modern life have contributed to a Healthy People.gov report that approximately 25% of average Americans have insufficient sleep half of the time. This, unfortunately, includes athletes, who have increased sleep demands during training, injury or illness. Sleep evaluation and intervention often involves a sincere allotment of time per daily and required activities, in addition to assessment with regards to activity required for sports goal success. Lower priority activities may need to be curtailed: a potentially tough decision but something’s gotta give to provide the long-term sleep requirements for progress in training and/or injury healing.
When sleep requirements for training exceeds the amount of daily sleep time available, additional time may be needed to safely reach goals despite many athletes’ desires to charge forward. Here, the vision and experience of a sports medicine consultant can be essential.

3. Mental Attitude

Possibly the most beneficial development that occurs when we strive to achieve more involved fitness or event goals is the process through which athletes improve their mental attitude. Improvement in self-confidence and improved self-image can often elevate an athlete’s success capacity beyond what was formerly believed. Important in this process is the conscious control of physical and emotional stress which must include appropriate and attainable goals and small interval reward breaks to allow for physical healing and mental reward for a job well done.
Visualization and self-talk, either alone or with a motivation/visualization coach is important preparation for success. Mental preparation and mental toughness require the acceptance of a fluid process with ups and downs in reaching a goal. The ultimate success of this process involves arriving at the final event both physically and mentally prepared.

4. Injury Mechanism

In foot, ankle and lower extremity sports injuries, understanding the injury mechanism is critical to successful intervention. In sports injuries, even in the most complex cases, there is typically a single event or pattern of recurring events that is at fault.

Single act injuries are often improved and resolved by isolation, rest, and regeneration.
Injuries from chronic repetitive mechanisms can often be overcome through improved balance and redirection of forces to other targeted areas.

The sports medicine consultant can be essential in determining the offending mechanism and developing a recovery program for effective intervention.

5. Training or exercise guidance: schedule and equipment

Once the site and mechanism of injury are identified, a training schedule and specific rehabilitative equipment can be utilized to isolate injury areas, protect healing tissue, and strengthen supportive structures to allow for recovery. Often previously ignored core strengthening exercises, including those for posture and balance, can be performed on readily available equipment such as treadmills and ellipticals. We target larger protective muscle groups and pay specific attention to joint alignment and position, which can have a significant impact on energy utilization and other muscle function. Core strengthening and joint mechanics are often ignored by athletes due to time constraints or lack of specific training with regards to their importance. Attention to these areas in training not only promotes injury healing but also may elevate the athletes post-injury performance above pre-injury levels.

6. The potential of your current injury

The importance of understanding the athletes’ degree of injury and potential recovery cannot be overstated. Most injuries can be overcome with simple interventions. Occasionally, the extent of injury and the recovery potential requires an adjustment in goals and/or time to reach those goals. Additionally, some injuries may require advanced modalities such as prescription orthotics, regenerative medicine modalities, or corrective surgical interventions. As stated previously, appropriate evaluation and management with a clear understanding of time table and athlete goals is essential to success. Sports medicine consultants with proven event success can be essential to this process.

7. Advanced Modalities

These can include custom orthotics and regenerative medicine products:

Orthotics: custom-made shoe inserts that are designed to correct abnormal or irregular foot or leg biomechanics. While over-the-counter foot orthotics are available and may help people with mild symptoms, they normally cannot correct the wide range of symptoms that prescription foot orthotics can. Prescription orthotics are custom made to fit an individual’s unique foot structure. If you exercise and train often, you most likely can benefit from an orthotic that best addresses your particular activity, shoe gear, and foot type.
Regenerative medicine: an exciting new option for fast healing with little downtime, these products stimulate your body at the cellular level, giving it the power to regenerate injured joints and tissues. At Anderson Center for Regenerative Medicine, we use three types of regenerative medicine products.

If you have an important goal to accomplish and are hindered by running or exercise pain, foot problems or injury, ankle injuries, plantar fasciitis or other problems, give Dr Wilkinson a call at Anderson Podiatry Center and Anderson Center for Regenerative Medicine. He is ready to listen and understand, and to help.

To make an appointment with Dr. Wilkinson, Click HERE

Sports and Exercise Training and Injury: The Good, The Bad, and The Answer

Posted on September 27, 2018 by admin

The Goal (aka: The Good):

Just imagine that you have trained for a running event, such as a full marathon or half marathon, for anywhere from three to six months and have spent thousands of direct and indirect dollars in preparation. Or you have spent time and money revitalizing your exercise routine in a determined effort to meet your fitness goals. You are organized and motivated and, if you are training for an event, have chosen a specific race date. Perhaps you have scheduled vacation time off, and prepaid all expenses. You also try to balance the rest of your life as well: eating, sleeping, working, and being an engaged and active member in your important relationships.

The Injury and aftermath (aka: The Bad):

Then the unthinkable happens. You start to feel foot or leg pain and become injured during your training or workout routine, placing your preparation and any event goals in jeopardy. To make matters worse, you take more time to visit a well-intended sports medicine specialist, local podiatrist or other care provider who does not understand who you really are or your motivation. You receive his or her best recommendations that include generic and un-customized directions that often include abandoning your running or activity goals, not taking into account that you are physically and mentally invested. You may even decide to continue with your current training or exercise routine and soon find that you are getting worse instead of better.

The Answer:

What do you do? At Anderson Center for Regenerative Medicine I recommend that you consider our total athlete evaluation and rehabilitation program before you are forced to submit to regret and disappointment.

Here is where I come in:

I examine all aspects of who you are in total.
I begin by understanding your goals as completely and specifically as possible.
I learn the past and recent history of your fitness and its evolution.
I trace your health and training or exercise progression in all aspects from the origin of your idea to your current status.
I use over thirty years of office experience and road and ultra-running experience to understand what you are going to need to reach your goal and maintain optimal foot, ankle, and lower extremity health.
I access the physical and mental assets you possess to reach the finish line.
This includes nutrition, sleep, mental attitude, injury mechanism, training or exercise schedule and equipment, and potential of your current injury.
As a Podiatrist specially trained in sports medicine, I am able to present and use advanced modalities to stop your foot or ankle pain or injury progression and move you back to the starting line. These can include nutrition and training guidance as well as custom orthotics and regenerative medicine products. Surgery is a last resort.

In essence, I use a success centered mind and body restorative process and training redirection to help you meet your goals to include healing your current injury, preventing future injury, and completing your event or attaining your fitness goals.

If you have an important goal to accomplish and are hindered by running or exercise pain, foot problems or injury, ankle injuries, plantar fasciitis or other problems, give me a call at Anderson Center for Regenerative Medicine. I am not only ready to listen and understand, I am also ready to help.

To make an appointment with Dr. Wilkinson, Click HERE

Dr. Wilkinson is an ultra-runner, having completed many 50 and 100-mile races. As a Podiatrist who has successfully weathered his own sports injuries in the past, Dr. Wilkinson enjoys working with patients who are also athletes pursuing their own fitness goals. He believes in injury prevention through gait analysis, biomechanics and sound, reasonable training techniques but is also an astute provider of clinical and surgical methodology to help return injured athletes to their playing field. Learn more about sports medicine injury treatment. By Stephen Wilkinson, DPM

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

Posted on July 26, 2016July 1, 2025 by admin

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!

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

Posted on June 28, 2016July 1, 2025 by admin

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.

Drop Foot: Why it’s Important to Seek Treatment Right Away

Posted on May 10, 2016July 1, 2025 by admin

I recently opened the paper on Sunday night and something in the sports section caught my eye. A star Notre Dame Football player, Jaylon Smith (soon to be playing professional football) has a drop foot. I researched more about his injury and subsequent reconstructive surgery to repair his knee. The discussion in the article was if he would ever fully regain his strength and return to football. I’m not sure if the discussion was about his injury, the surgery, or a combination of both, but in it they were contemplating whether Jaylon would ever return to normal.

In the interview Jaylon was being told to sit and wait. What?! The article specifically mentioned an injury to the common peroneal nerve. As a surgeon who operates on this nerve regularly this raised some serious concern.

I was concerned because I have seen many patients with a history of knee or hip surgery suffer from complications of drop foot. In Jaylon’s case it may have been from the knee injury. Doctors take a “wait and see” attitude towards this. However, if there is not rapid trend toward improvement in the first 3 month I feel surgery should be considered.

Waiting could risk more long term permanent damage!

Drop foot is often considered to be from a sciatic nerve that gets stretched. Understand that the common peroneal nerve is a branch of the sciatic nerve that travels below the knee and sends impulses to the muscles that pull the foot up and to the side. So, the basis of my concern is that the common peroneal nerve travels through an anatomical nerve tunnel just below the knee. This is an area where there is potential tightness or squeezing of the nerve which serves as an anchoring point, and when it is released (opened) it will reduce the stretching of the common peroneal nerve.

It’s been my experience when helping patients with drop foot after years of complications from knee or hip surgery that early intervention would have been better to maximize strength improvement. I perform surgery on this nerve tunnel multiple times per month. It’s a 20 minute procedure with patients going home that day walking, and many have improvement within days. This challenges conventional wisdom that the nerves will take months to repair.

Thus, waiting could be detrimental to his career! So, even for people who aren’t professional athletes, waiting may not be the best plan.

This information I am sharing challenges what I would consider “traditional concepts.” It has been thought that stretching of the sciatic nerve is the primary issue, but it has been my experience that by opening the anatomical tunnel that the common peroneal nerve travels through just below the knee the drop foot can be corrected. As a surgeon, and the past President of the Colorado Podiatric Medical Association; Association of Extremity Nerve Surgeons, who does research associated with this nerve and its effects on the lower extremity I thought my opinion should be shared and considered.

If you experience drop foot from an injury, or knee or hip surgery please seriously consider this option!