Living with a painful podiatric problem can make a day on your feet feel like a decade. If you’re suffering from foot or ankle pain, you’re not alone. Studies show that up to 87 percent of people experience podiatric pain at some point. For some, this pain is short-lived and quickly resolved. For others, it profoundly impacts their quality of life, making work and exercise difficult and participating in enjoyable activities almost impossible.
Don’t put up with foot or ankle pain, blame it on getting older, or chalk it up to a child’s growth spurt. Foot & Ankle Alliance offers expert care to resolve painful foot and ankle issues and help you get back to living your best life.
Complete Podiatric Care for California’s San Fernando Valley
From our state-of-the-art office in Woodland Hills, we provide comprehensive podiatry care for patients from communities throughout the San Fernando Valley. Our knowledgeable and highly trained specialist, Dr. Dana Brems, DPM, treats foot and ankle pain in patients of all ages. Keep reading to learn about some of the most common conditions we address and the treatment options available at our practice.
Plantar Fasciitis
Plantar fasciitis occurs when the plantar fascia, a thick band of tissue that runs along the bottom of the foot from the heel bone to the toes, becomes injured or inflamed. This condition is often caused by overuse, tightness in the calf muscles or Achilles tendon, participating in high-impact activities, or wearing poorly fitting shoes. Common symptoms include pain in the heel and arch, which can be especially noticeable when first standing up in the morning or after prolonged periods of sitting or standing.
We offer a range of interventions to relieve plantar fasciitis pain, including physical therapy, custom orthotics, anti-inflammatory medications, PRP injections, and more. Surgical options are available for cases that don’t respond to conservative care.
Achilles Tendinitis
Achilles tendinitis is a painful foot and ankle injury caused by repetitive or intense strain on the Achilles tendon, the strong band of tissue that runs down the back of the lower leg, connecting the bottom of the calf muscles to the heel bone. The condition is prevalent among athletes and others who increase the frequency, duration, or intensity of their activities too quickly. Symptoms include pain, swelling, or stiffness in the heel and along the tendon that’s worse in the morning or after walking, running, or jumping.
Our practice provides wide-ranging solutions for Achilles tendon pain, such as custom orthotics, physical therapy, anti-inflammatory medications, activity and footwear modifications, PRP injections, and surgical options.
Bunions and Bunionettes
Bunions and bunionettes are painful conditions that affect the foot. A bunion is a misalignment of the big toe joint that causes the bone to jut out, resulting in a painful, bony bump that rubs against the side of your shoe and can make walking difficult. Bunionettes, or tailors’ bunions, are similar but affect the little toe joint instead. Common symptoms include pain, swelling, redness, and difficulty walking.
These conditions are often caused by bones in the front of the foot shifting out of place, and risk factors include genetics, medical conditions like arthritis, and wearing shoes with tight, narrow toe boxes. While our specialist can help you minimize minor bunion pain using conservative treatment methods such as custom orthotics or padding, these progressive deformities may eventually require surgical correction. At Foot & Ankle Alliance, we offer minimally invasive, outpatient surgical options to help you get back on your feet faster.
Foot and Ankle Fractures
Foot and ankle fractures, or broken bones, can range from hairline splits to traumatic breaks. Minor breaks, also known as stress fractures, are overuse injuries caused by repetitive force, while other types of broken bones are more likely to result from rolling an ankle, overextending or over flexing a joint, or dropping a heavy object on your foot. A foot or ankle fracture can cause pain, inflammation, bruising, tenderness, and deformity, impairing your ability to walk and bear weight.
Treatment options for hairline fractures include immobilization. However, more severe breaks may require surgery that includes specialized plates, pins, screws, and other hardware or bone grafts to repair or reconstruct damaged ligaments and tendons.
Heel Pain
Heel pain is a common podiatric complaint with numerous possible causes, including inflamed tendons, bone spurs, stress fractures, bursitis, bruises, and Achilles tendinitis. Several factors increase your risk of experiencing heel pain, such as standing for extended periods on hard surfaces like concrete floors, being overweight, suffering from arthritis, having flat feet or high arches, or wearing poorly fitting shoes.
At Foot & Ankle Alliance, we help patients pinpoint the cause of their heel pain and provide effective options for relief. Depending on the cause and severity of the pain, we may suggest various treatments, such as steroid injections, custom orthotics, supportive shoes, anti-inflammatory medications, physical therapy, surgery, or other approaches.
Hammer Toes
A hammer toe is a podiatric deformity characterized by an abnormal bend in a toe’s middle joint. The condition can occur due to an imbalance of the muscles, tendons, and ligaments that hold the toe straight. Other causes include wearing high-heeled shoes with narrow toe boxes, or stubbing, jamming, or breaking a bone in the affected toe. Though hammer toes are initially flexible, the tendons can tighten, resulting in a permanently bent toe.
Flexible hammer toes can be treated by splinting or taping the toe to hold it straight and doing exercises designed to help your toe joints retain mobility. Ice packs and anti-inflammatory medicines can be used to minimize pain and discomfort. However, severe hammer toes may benefit from steroid injections or outpatient surgical correction.
Rheumatoid Arthritis
Rheumatoid arthritis is an autoimmune disease that causes the body to attack its tissues. Though the disease affects joints throughout the body, it often starts in the small joints of the hands and feet, causing pain, swelling, stiffness, and limited mobility. As rheumatoid arthritis progresses, even walking and standing can become extremely painful.
In addition to anti-rheumatic drugs, other rheumatoid arthritis-related podiatric pain treatments include applying ice to painful areas, taking anti-inflammatory medications to minimize swelling and discomfort, and using custom orthotics to reduce the pressure on your feet. We may also recommend lace-up ankle braces, steroid injections, or surgery to fuse affected joints.
Plantar Fat Pad Atrophy
The fat pads on the bottoms of your heels provide cushioning and serve as shock absorbers when you walk, run, or jump. However, numerous factors can cause these pads to break down, including aging, genetics, abnormal foot structure, diabetic neuropathy, rheumatoid arthritis, foot trauma, certain medications, and wearing high-heeled shoes. Known as plantar fat pad atrophy, this condition can cause pain, inflammation, and tenderness and increase the risk for calluses, corns, and foot ulcers.
Treatment options include custom orthotics and activity and footwear modifications. Surgery may be beneficial for severe cases. Fat grafting allows our specialists to take fat from other body parts and inject it into the bottom of the heels to supplement the thinning plantar fat pads.
Schedule an Appointment
Don’t ignore painful foot and ankle problems. Get the high-level podiatric care your family deserves. Contact us to schedule an appointment with our specialist.