From injuries to discomfort, experiencing foot or ankle pain really impacts everything you do in life. Not treating or correcting an issue can worsen or cause other issues and compound the pain, extend the healing time, and overall negatively impact your quality of life.
With a simple call to the Family Health West (FHW) Foot and Ankle Clinic, you can be seen and evaluated by a caregiver. With aging or diabetes comes some inherit foot and circulation issues. Additional and consistent care may be required to keep a person from having open wounds or unhealing sores.
A foot and ankle doctor, also known as a podiatrist or orthopedic foot and ankle specialist, is a medical physician who specializes in diagnosing and treating conditions and injuries related to the feet and ankles. The FHW Foot and Ankle Clinic is staffed by three board-certified physicians, Dr. Douglas Goforth, Dr. Troy Griffiths, and Dr. Ryan Payne. Both Dr. Griffiths and Dr. Payne also work in the FHW Wound Clinic seeing and treating patients for crossover ailments and providing continuity of care.
Here are some common ailments, but not an all-encompassing list of reasons that you might seek the expertise of a caregiver from the FHW Foot and Ankle Clinic:
Ankle sprains are common at nearly any age. When people start walking, running, taking stairs, riding bikes, and the list goes on, then an ankle sprain is bound to happen. The ligament gets injured caused by twisting or rolling the ankle, and suddenly a person has a sprained ankle.
Plantar fasciitis is also something that many people will experience at one time or another. This occurs when inflammation of the plantar fascia, a band of tissue that runs along the bottom of the foot, causing heel pain and/or bottom of the foot pain. This pain can be especially noticeable when walking or putting full body weight on your feet.
Bunions are a bony bump that forms at the base of the big toe, leading to pain and deformity.
Ingrown toenails can and will occur at any age, especially for athletes or anyone moving (in motion) on their feet a lot. When the edge of a toenail grows into the surrounding skin, causing pain, redness, and potential infection this is an ingrown toenail. This issue can be addressed properly at an early stage but can become a wound if left untreated.
Achilles tendonitis is inflammation of the Achilles tendon, which connects the calf muscles to the heel bone, causing pain and stiffness. This is often associated with athletes and can be caused from lack of proper and thorough stretching (before and after workouts).
Stress fractures are tiny cracks in the bones of the feet or ankles, often resulting from overuse or repetitive impact. There are many small bones in the feet and ankles, and even a hairline crack can cause extreme pain, swelling, and tenderness.
Other issues the FHW Foot and Ankle Clinic address can include hammertoes, gout or joint pain, tendinitis, arthritis, corns, calluses, warts, flat feet, fractures, and dislocations.
Traumatic injuries are not something everyone experiences but if you do find that surgery is your only option for proper healing, the FHW physicians schedule and operate in the FHW Hospital weekly. Not only can a patient be treated through our FHW Foot and Ankle Clinic or the FHW Emergency Room, but then get surgery (if needed) and continue rehabilitation and after-care with the same caregivers and providers.
To schedule your appointment with the FHW Foot and Ankle Clinic today, call (970) 858-2530 or visit the website at FHW.org. Together we flourish.
