Foot pain is common during pregnancy, especially during the third trimester. Since staying physically active is important during pregnancy, consider talking to a foot doctor in Sugar Land about your foot pain. Your foot doctor can evaluate the extent of the swelling and determine if it could be a sign of an underlying complication.

When you watch this video, you’ll learn that the lower extremity swelling that occurs during pregnancy is symmetrical. If you notice that one of your calves or feet is more swollen than the other, your doctor may ask you to have an ultrasound to check for blood clots. Sometimes, sudden and significant swelling may indicate preeclampsia, which can also cause headaches, blurry vision, and upper abdominal pain. Both preeclampsia and blood clots are serious medical conditions that require an immediate medical evaluation.

Many people experience heel pain at some point in their life, and this discomfort is usually caused by plantar fasciitis. If you suffer from heel pain and you’ve been diagnosed with plantar fasciitis by your podiatrist near Sugar Land, then you may be advised to consider fascia injection treatment.

Plantar fasciitis occurs when the plantar fascia tissue, which runs from your heel to your toes, becomes inflamed or damaged. If medications, splinting, and stretching fail to provide you with relief, then your podiatrist may suggest an injection of steroids into the plantar fascia.

During this procedure, your podiatrist will inject what may include steroids and numbing medication into the plantar fascia where you’re experiencing the most pain. The injection site is first determined and marked. Next, your doctor will use a thin needle to perform the injection. The injection site will then be covered, and your doctor will advise you to resume your foot exercises as soon as you feel comfortable enough to do so.

If you’re experiencing toe pain, then your podiatrist near Sugar Land may diagnose you with gout. Resulting from a buildup of uric acid, gout is a type of metabolic disorder that can be quite painful. An acute gout attack is associated with symptoms like intense pain, swelling, redness, and warmth around the affected joint. Watch this video to learn more about the basics of gout.

When crystallized uric acid gets deposited into a joint where it doesn’t belong, this problem is referred to as gout. This cause of foot pain occurs most commonly in the big toe, and the symptoms can be severe enough to prevent a person from walking. Foot pain caused by gout most often occurs in males and individuals over age 50. As part of your treatment, your podiatrist may recommend lifestyle changes that reduce the amount of uric acid in your body.

Has your podiatrist in Sugar Land suggested reconstructive surgery for your foot pain? If so, then you probably have questions about how your procedure will be performed and if any surgical hardware will be needed. Read on to learn about implant hardware that may be used by your foot surgeon.

Uses for Surgical Implants

If your podiatrist says that implants will be needed for your procedure, then he is referring to a type of surgical hardware that will be placed in or on your body. When it comes to ankles and foot surgery, implants are usually used to strengthen tendons and ligaments, attach tendons and ligaments to bone, hold bones together, or replace bone.

Materials for Surgical Implants

Surgical hardware in the form of implants is categorized as either biologic or non-biologic. Biologic options are those that are typically used to strengthened or replace damaged tissue and that are similar to human tissue. Biologic implants can also seem to disappear eventually. Implants that are non-biologic are those made from materials that are designed not to change over time. Examples of this type of hardware include plates and screws made from metal, plastic, and composite materials. Hardware that is plastic or biologic does not show up on x-ray. The material chosen by your doctor will depend on the application that it’s needed for.

Details About Surgical Implants

Patients commonly wonder if they will need to have their surgical hardware removed later. Generally, removal of an implant should not be necessary. However, if the hardware is limiting your motion or causing you pain after the surgical site has healed, then your surgeon may recommend that you have the hardware taken out in a second procedure. Also, patients can benefit from knowing that their surgical hardware for foot surgery should not set off airport alarms at their current sensitivities. Finally, many people wonder about the use of surgical hardware and infections. Today, no evidence shows that implants used in orthopedic surgery increase a patient’s risk of infection.