Blog Archive

If you’ve tried nonsurgical treatments for flatfoot, but still have pain from your flatfeet, then you may be a surgical candidate for flatfoot surgery.  The surgeons at Southwest Orthopedic Group and Dr. Stautberg can diagnose and treat your flatfoot. They customize treatment to an individual’s needs, goals, and the severity...

Not everyone with a bunion is a candidate for minimally invasive bunion surgery (MIS). Read more about bunions and the types of surgery in our previous blog posts: What is a bunion and why did I get one? Bunion Diagnosis and Treatment Bunions: Surgical Treatment and Recovery What is Minimally...

You’ve been diagnosed with flatfoot, and you now have developed pain. Possibly, you notice ‘your arch has fallen’. You may need treatment for a symptomatic flatfoot.  The surgeons at Southwest Orthopedic Group customize treatment to individual needs, goals, and the severity of the flatfoot.  Treatments for flatfeet: Can my flatfoot...

Plantar fasciitis is nagging, stabbing heel pain that is worst when you first step out of bed. How do you treat plantar fasciitis? What is plantar fasciitis? Plantar fasciitis is inflammation of fascia (tough tissue) on the calcaneus (heel bone). Microtears cause pain and can persist for a prolonged time. ...

If you have a Jones fracture, you might need surgery.  There are several surgical treatments for Jones fractures. What is a Jones fracture? A Jones fracture is a fracture at the base of the 5th metatarsal.This type of fracture can be a ‘bad actor.’ Because the blood supply to this...

Most Achilles tendonitis can be healed with nonsurgical treatments. But, sometimes the pain persists despite these conservative treatments. You still have pain in the back of your heel that is worse with activity, standing, and walking. Do you need surgery for Achilles tendonitis? And what are your surgical options for...

Does a low arch in the foot mean that you have flatfoot? How do you diagnose a flatfoot, and when is a flatfoot a problem? What causes flatfoot? There are many causes of flatfoot. One of the most common is tendonitis of the posterior tibial tendon. This typically occurs overtime...

If you’ve had a painful bunion for so long that you’ve limited some activities because of pain, then you might be considering bunion surgery. And you may be a candidate for minimally invasive bunion surgery. But what is minimally invasive bunion surgery, and how do you know if you are...

So you twisted your foot and now you have a 5th metatarsal fracture, otherwise known as a Jones fracture. How do you treat a Jones fracture? What is a Jones fracture? A Jones fracture is a 5th metatarsal base fracture in a specific location between the base of the toe...

Once your doctor has diagnosed that nagging pain in your heel as Achilles tendonitis, it’s time to figure out how to make it go away. Luckily, treating Achilles tendonitis does not always mean surgery.  What is Achilles tendonitis? There are two types of Achilles tendonitis. In general, Achilles tendonitis is...

Maybe you’ve noticed that you have no arch in your foot. Or when you walk, your feet seem flatter than your friends’ feet. You might even have pain on the inside of your foot. You may have a flatfoot! What is a flatfoot deformity? A flatfoot is a common foot...

Is your heel painful in the morning and intermittently throughout the day? Does your heel hurt when you get up from sitting? Unfortunately, you may have plantar fasciitis. What is fascia and what is the plantar fascia? Fascia is tough, fibrous tissue that is all over your body. In the...

It’s time to finally correct that bunion, so you are considering foot and ankle surgery. You’ve heard of minimally invasive foot surgery for bunions, but are you a candidate? And if so, what is minimally invasive surgery for bunions? Read more in Bunions: Diagnosis and Treatment. What is minimally invasive...

You may have twisted your foot while playing soccer. Or maybe you just missed a step and twisted your ankle. Now you have pain and swelling on the outside of your foot. Ouch! You may have fractured your fifth metatarsal, otherwise known as a Jones fracture. What is the 5th...

Achilles tendonitis can happen in active people who walk or stand a lot. Or, in those who recently increased their activity levels.  It usually starts as a nagging pain in the back of the heel that persists. If you have this pain, you may have Achilles tendonitis. What is the...

Some unlucky patients have chronic foot drop, which is a weakness or the inability to lift up your ankle. Sometimes, foot drop can be treated with an AFO (ankle foot orthosis) brace, but if conservative treatments don’t work, you can consider surgery for foot drop.   Many patients with permanent foot...

If your ankle arthritis pain isn’t controlled with conservative treatments, your doctor might recommend surgery. If you are considering surgery for ankle arthritis, the two most common surgical options are ankle fusion and ankle arthroplasty (replacement).    What is involved with a total ankle replacement surgery? In a total ankle...

What is an ankle fusion? So, you have end-stage ankle arthritis with continued pain despite conservative treatment. After being evaluated by your orthopedic surgeon, you are trying to decide what surgery is best for you. Below, we will dive into the risks and benefits of an ankle fusion (aka ankle...

You’ve noticed your toes are curling, and now you are developing pain. You’ve tried different shoes, but the pain is worsening. What should you do? If a curling  toe is painless, then it doesn’t need treatment at all, as the purpose of treatment is to minimize pain and improve function....

So, your orthopedic surgeon diagnosed you with ankle arthritis. You still have limiting pain despite conservative treatments. What are your surgical options for ankle arthritis? When to consider surgery for ankle arthritis?  In general, surgery is a final treatment course for any degenerative condition, like arthritis. When all conservative treatments...

Some patients notice they have difficulty lifting up their ankle. This causes them to lift their knee higher when walking. In general, this is called ‘foot drop.’  What is foot drop?  Foot drop is when the tendons that lift your ankle and toes stop working. This can occur slowly overtime...

So, you broke your ankle 20 years ago, but suddenly, it’s painful and swollen again. You may have ankle arthritis.  How to diagnose ankle arthritis? A patient’s history and physical exam can give many clues that a patient has ankle arthritis. First, a simple radiograph can show the ankle joint...

Maybe your toes used to be straight, but you’ve developed some curling of the smaller ones. Maybe, this ‘curling’ has gotten worse over the last few years. The curling might be accompanied by a bunion deformity. You may have developed a hammertoe! What is a hammertoe deformity, and why is...

Have you noticed a general pain in your ankle that is sometimes worse with activity? Does your ankle swell up on occasion? Did you have an injury, either fracture or severe sprain, to your ankle many years ago? You may be developing ankle arthritis.   What is ankle arthritis? In...

Your ankle fracture may not require surgery – read more about that here. But if it does, here are a few things you should know.    How can I prepare for ankle fracture surgery? First, the best thing to do is to minimize swelling by not walking on the ankle...

If you’ve read our previous ankle fracture blog posts, then you’ll know that there are many types of ankle fractures. But do they all need surgery? Or can ankle fractures heal without surgery? Some ankle fractures are stable, or only involve a ‘chip’ of bone. These fractures can often be...

There are many ways to break an ankle. Twisting it while playing football, missing the bottom step, and falling while helping a friend move are all common causes of ankle fractures. Of course, those accidents can also cause an ankle sprain. You need a radiograph to determine whether your injury...

Did you recently twist your ankle while falling? Or maybe step in a hole during a softball game? Or miss a step coming down the stairs? If you are unable to walk after a recent ankle injury, then you may have an ankle fracture.   Do I have an ankle...

Despite resting, inserts, and injection therapy, your big toe is still hurting. The pain is slowly getting worse and interfering with daily activities. If you’ve been diagnosed with big toe arthritis (hallux rigidus) by an orthopedic surgeon and are no longer getting relief from conservative treatments, it may be time...

What is arthritis of the big toe (Hallux Rigidus)? To summarize part of our previous post, hallux rigidus occurs when the cartilage of the knuckle of the big toe wears away, and you develop a bump on the top of your toe.    How is hallux rigidus diagnosed? Using a...

Maybe your big toe just hurts in certain shoes. Or maybe it just hurts when you exercise, or get up on your tiptoes to reach a higher shelf. In any case, you can feel a bump on the top of your toe, and the pain is slowly getting worse.  There’s...

Up to 25% of Achilles tendon tears are not diagnosed right away because the worst of the pain and swelling resolves within a few days. Those patients think they just ‘tweaked’ their ankle and continue about their lives. The muscles surrounding the Achilles allow them to continue walking. But the...

Unfortunately, your weekend sports event didn’t go well and you felt a ‘pop’ in the back of your heel. Your orthopedic surgeon confirms that you tore your Achilles. Now what? Your orthopedic surgeon will recommend one of the following treatments to heal your Achilles tendon: Non-operative Minimally invasive surgery, discussed...

Why does bunion surgery hurt? Unfortunately, bunion surgery can cause pain. The nature of the surgery involves cutting and reshaping bones to correct the malalignment of a bunion. Patients do report pain after bunion surgery, but it is easily controlled and resolves in a reasonable time frame. We use a...

Achilles tendon tears are one of the more common injuries to the hindfoot. Orthopedic surgeons often treat Achilles tendon injuries. These injuries are typically seen in male ‘weekend warriors’ ages 30-40, but they can happen to anyone in any age group. If you suffer from an Achilles tendon injury, your...

Ankle sprains are one of the most common orthopedic injuries. You can read more about them in one of our previous posts on ankle sprains. Most patients with an ankle sprain improve with conservative, non-surgical treatment, including ‘RICE’, immobilization, and physical therapy. However, if you still have persistent pain and...

Bunions: Surgical treatment and recovery   What’s a bunion? You can read about that here, and about non-surgical treatments here.   When is it time to consider bunion surgery? Bunions can develop over time and become painful. Once the pain limits what you want and need to do, it is...

Achilles tendon tears are common injuries. Some patients have chronic pain in their Achilles tendon before it ruptures, but many patients have no pain before the accident. Achilles tendon tears occur when either pushing off or when the ankle is forcefully dorsiflexed (toes pulled up). There is a weak region...

Do you still have pain in your ankle, even months after spraining it? Do you ever feel like your ankle is going to “give out?” If you have continued pain after a severe sprain or series of ankle sprains, you may have chronic lateral ankle instability. You may also be...

A bunion is a deformity of the big toe. Read more general information about bunions here. If you suspect that you have a bunion, or if you have been diagnosed with one in the past, you’re probably wondering whether you should seek medical treatment. Here are some reasons that patients...

Bunions (a.k.a hallux valgus) is a common condition in the Western world. In Latin, hallux valgus  means ‘bit toe’ ‘turning outward’, and a bunion looks just like that on an x-ray: it looks like a bit of your toe is poking out. But a bunion is more than a bump—it’s...

I just rolled my ankle! What do I do next? Even though an ankle sprain is one of the most common orthopedic injuries, you might need an x-ray to make sure you don’t have a fracture. An ankle fracture often feels unstable and you cannot take a step on it....

A weekend warrior feels a ‘pop’ in his heel after landing from a dunk attempt. A good friend helping to push a broken-down car feels a ‘snap.’  Both feel like someone hit them with an object on the back of the heel. These are some of the more common histories...

You walk out to start the coffee, promptly step on one of the toys your children have left on the floor and roll your ankle. Congratulations, it’s likely that you’ve joined the legions of orthopedic patients who have suffered from an ankle sprain. You can rest assured that an ankle...