The Achilles tendon, which is the longest tendon in the body, extends down the lower leg to the heel. Strong Achilles tendons are essential for basic movements, including walking. If you are recovering from an Achilles tendon injury , talk to your foot specialist. Before you begin rehabbing the tendon, your foot doctor in Sugar Land will need to make sure it’s safe for you to do so.

When your foot doctor does clear you to begin strengthening the Achilles tendons, you can watch this featured video, which introduces the topic. It features a fitness expert who discusses the types of exercises you can do and how many reps you should aim for. For instance, your foot doctor may recommend calf raises and presses, and heel raises and presses. You can complete these exercises with the aid of resistance bands, weight machines, or your body weight.

The appearance of a lump under the skin can be alarming, but fortunately, lumps aren’t always cancerous. Sometimes, the development of lumps along the joints of the feet and ankles indicates ganglion cysts . These benign lumps are round or oval, filled with viscous fluid, and occasionally painful. If you’ve been diagnosed with one or more ganglion cysts, your podiatrist in Sugar Land will explain your treatment options. There are both nonsurgical and surgical options for resolving your foot pain.

Active Monitoring

It might not always be necessary to treat a ganglion cyst, especially if it doesn’t cause foot pain. Your podiatrist might recommend closely monitoring the cyst for a while. If the cyst does later press on a nearby nerve, you’ll feel tingling, numbness, muscle weakness, and pain. At this point, it’s time to consider treating it.

Footwear Modification

Changing your footwear may help relieve your symptoms. Your podiatrist might recommend switching to a larger or wider shoe to prevent friction from irritating the cyst. You might also use some extra padding inside the shoe to protect the area.

Fluid Aspiration

Let your foot doctor know if the ganglion cyst is causing troublesome pain or is interfering with your day-to-day activities. It might be time to aspirate the cyst, which refers to the nonsurgical removal of the viscous fluid inside the lump. First, the doctor will thoroughly numb the skin in the area to prevent you from feeling any pain. Then, a sterile needle is used to puncture the cyst and draw out the fluid. You may be asked to rest the area for a day or two. Apply an ice pack wrapped in a soft towel to the area for about 20 minutes. You can use an ice pack about every hour or two to decrease the swelling. It is possible for a ganglion cyst to come back after it’s been aspirated.

Surgical Correction

If the cyst does come back after aspiration, it may be time to consider having foot surgery. Ganglion cyst surgery is a straightforward procedure that only requires a small incision to excise the cyst. Most patients resume their normal activities within three to six weeks.

Bunions are a painful foot deformity that may require surgery. Unfortunately, the first surgery doesn’t always fix the problem. If you’re frustrated by recurring foot problems, it may be time to consider reconstructive foot surgery , commonly called revision surgery. Visit a knowledgeable and skillful podiatrist in Sugar Land to discuss whether reconstructive foot surgery might be right for you. There are several surgical techniques that may be appropriate, depending on your specific situation.

Fixing a Recurrent Bunion

It’s possible for a bunion to come back after the original corrective surgery. This may occur if the first foot surgeon failed to fully grasp the severity of the deformity or used an inappropriate surgical approach. People with particularly flexible feet may be more likely to have a recurrence. When this situation arises, the podiatrist performing the revision surgery might do a Lapidus procedure. The Lapidus approach involves the fusion of the first tarsal-metatarsal (TMT) joint. After realigning the bones, the surgeon fuses the joint to prevent the first metatarsal from moving too much. The Lapidus procedure should prevent the bunion from recurring again.

Addressing Overcorrection of a Bunion

Sometimes, the first foot surgeon might have overcorrected the bunion, such as by tightening the ligaments too much, removing the sesamoid bone, or removing too much of the other bone mass. To address the overcorrection, the reconstructive foot surgeon might make revision bone cuts or fuse the big toe joint in place.

Lengthening a Short Toe

When a foot surgeon must remove some of the bone in order to realign it, the toe becomes shorter. The same effect occurs when the TMT joint is fused. Although some shortening is to be expected, too much shortening can cause problems with the foot’s functioning. Foot pain may also develop. If this is the case, the revision surgery may involve making bone cuts to lengthen the toe. Sometimes, it’s necessary to add bone graft material to rebuild the bone mass.

Solving Post-Surgical Arthritis

Occasionally, bunion patients might develop arthritis in the toe after having the original surgery. Arthritic symptoms might be caused by improper positioning, bone spurs, or infection. Reconstructive foot surgery may be appropriate to remove bone spurs, fuse the joint, or realign the bones.

Sesamoids are unusual bones because they aren’t connected to any other bone at a joint. Instead, they are either ensconced within muscle or connected to tendons. Although the two sesamoids in the foot are quite small, they play an important role in your foot’s proper functioning. Sesamoiditis refers to the inflammation of the tendons connected to the sesamoids. It may also sometimes involve fracturing of these tiny bones. If you visit a foot specialist in Sugar Land because of acute or chronic foot pain, he or she might consider the possibility of sesamoiditis.

If you’ve fractured a sesamoid, your foot pain will develop suddenly. If the tendons have become inflamed and irritated, your foot pain will likely develop more gradually. The pain of sesamoiditis is localized to the ball of the foot under the big toe. It’s common for patients to have trouble straightening and bending the big toe. During a physical exam, the foot doctor might notice visible swelling and bruising. X-rays are usually needed to confirm the diagnosis.