Bunions or even tailor's bunions can be extremely painful and difficult to find fitted shoe gear. There is a definite genetic component to the development of bunions themselves. In addition we see certain shoe gear or activities can increase can increase the size of bunions. Anything that puts increased forefoot pressure creates increased force to the bunions themselves. I often times will recommend a course of conservative care for people that have not tried these options for their bunions.

At our clinic, we created a special protocol for bunion patients and have extremely successful options for conservative bunion care. There are many great stretching and strengthening exercises for the foot structure. In addition there is a plethora of options including prescription orthotics that our clinic specializes in to control the development of the bunion. In addition we have many different options for bunions that are starting to produce pain and arthritic deformities of the foot. Our clinic takes the latest scientific research in conjunction with years of experience to maximize the outcome of conservative bunion options. If you continue to suffer from bunion pain and wanted to explore conservative options, give us a call at 425-391-8666 or schedule an appointment online.

Some patients begin to notice a bump that is developing on the inside of their foot. They start to get pain with walking and exercise and they wonder what is happening. Often a patient will visit the shoe store or seek advice from nonmedical personnel as to what it is. It is important when been dealing with medical issues to seek the advice of someone who has had years of training and experience in that particular field. Your foot and ankle health is essential for long-term well-being of your overall general health. Bunions are the most common cause of pain and irritation around the big toe joint. The bunion is a bony deformity that often appears as a protuberance around the joint.

The majority of bunion deformities are an inherited foot structure. Patients can often trace to other relatives that have similar foot conditions. The pathology itself continues to progress with time and there is no conservative measures that reduce or correct the deformity. It is important to understand that conservative measures can sometimes help alleviate pain and increase overall functional performance. However, the bunion can only be fixed surgically. The surgical procedures depend on the patient’s overall foot structure, degree of deformity and activity levels. All bunion deformities that require surgical correction are done in the office and no longer require any hospitalization. All bunion procedures that we perform at Issaquah Foot and Ankle Specialists allow patients to be weight bearing and do not require prolonged periods using crutches or knee scooters. If you have a bunion deformity and would like to have it evaluated for either conservative or surgical measures please give us a call at 425-391-8666 or make an appointment online today.

Treating bunions without surgery can be fairly challenging for patients that currently have pain or difficulty fitting shoe gear. Bunions or bone deformity can be inherited from your mom or dad. It is not uncommon for bunions to begin early in adolescence and continuing to develop into adulthood. Patients are often interested in conservative measures that are available to help with bunion pain. It is important to note that there are no conservative measures that are going to fix your bunion deformity.

Quite a few patients come in with all sorts of strapping devices and splinting devices from the Internet. None of these tools fixture bunion or change the shape of your bunion as this deformity is a malalignment of a joint and bone. However, it should be noted that we have many options for people that are having bunion pain and do not want to have surgery performed. The most important issues to address are the mechanical instability and the joint pain. Often times stabilize the foot structure can significantly helped slow the deformity and reduce the pain. There are many options for the arthritic joint that can provide long-term relief. In office evaluation and x-ray are central to recognizing what type of bunion is developing how to best rectify the pain. At Issaquah Foot and Ankle Specialists we have seen thousands of bunions and have many different options available to save the patient’s lifestyle. Please give us a call at 425-391-8666 or make an appointment online if you have bunion pain. 

Bunion surgery in the past was only performed in a hospital setting and patients often stayed the night at the hospital. Things have really changed and now patients do not stay the night in a hospital and most bunions are performed in a surgery center. The average bunion surgery takes less than 2 hours and patients will only require IV sedation as opposed to general sedation. This type of sedation makes for a much quicker recovery from anesthesia and often less side effects. I like to provide all my patients with a nerve block so they will get a good night's sleep the evening of surgery.  The majority of patients will be pain free the first night. 

The next day most patients will have pain that is well controlled with pain medication. Often patients will just take prescription pain medication for the first 24-48 hours and then switch to over the counter pain control.  We utilize advanced techniques that allow all our bunion patients to walk after surgery thereby minimizing down time and speeding recovery.  We have protocols to help get your ankle and toes moving right after surgery to decrease stiffness and swelling. Additionally, we will provide patients with exercise guidelines to help them stay fit and active during the recovery phase. One of the best aspects of our practice is we perform bunion surgery every single Monday and have fixed 1000’s of bunions.  Another enormous advantage of our clinic is an onsite surgery suite that will save patients thousands of dollars on the surgery as we have special discounted pricing compared to other doctors that must take you to a hospital or surgery center. Do not let your bunion keep your from wearing a normal shoe or enjoying the activities you love give us a call at 425-391-8666 or make an appointment online so we can help.

Neuromas or Morton’s neuromas can cause a lot of pain especially in people who partake in physical activities. Often times patients present with burning or tingling in the foot. The pain can subside with massage or taking off the shoe. Patients often relate numbness or tingling to the third and fourth digits and have done online research about Morton’s neuromas. The third interspace is by far the most common spot to get a Morton’s neuroma because the medial and lateral plantar nerves come together in this location.

Patients often have tried cortisone injections or other conservative modalities and then often times consider surgical removal. I always recommend an additional consultation for having a Morton’s neuroma removed because alcohol therapy can be so successful. At our clinic we use an ultrasound-guided alcohol injection therapy and often times see about a 90% resolution of symptoms. If you’re considering having your neuroma removed surgically please see us prior to doing this to see if you are a candidate for this therapy.

Give us a call today at 425-391-866 or make an appointment online today. 

Bunions and tailor’s bunion can be quite painful. Often times we see hammertoes associated with tailor’s bunions on the outside of the foot or on the inside of the foot. Bunion pain especially bunion pain of the big toe can be extremely difficult for patients that are active. We get a lot of questions for what is the best bunion correction that can be performed utilizing surgical techniques. We also get a lot of questions regarding minimally invasive type bunion procedures. The most important part of bunion surgery is having your bunion evaluated.

I highly recommend meeting your surgeon in person and have them evaluate your foot both clinically and radiographically. X-rays are paramount as well as the clinical exam to see what is causing the bunion deformity and what is the best correction method to be applied. There are many different types of bunion surgeries from what we call head procedures or procedures performed at the distal aspect of the first metatarsal or base procedures which are procedures performed at the proximal aspect. The recovery and the long-term reduction of the deformity can be correlated to type of bunion procedure that is done as well as a factors contributing to the bunion. Every bunion procedure we perform the patient can walk on the foot after the procedure and all of them are done in the office to save both time and money. 

If you have tried bunion pads and other bunion relief options give us a call and we’ll help you fix your bunion. Give us a call at 425-391-8666 or make an apointment online today. Myself (Dr. Brandon Nelson) or my partner Dr. Timothy Young would love to see you. 

 

By far the most common conditions we treat at our clinic is plantar fasciitis or heel pain. We see both children and adults for this condition. It is very common for people, especially once they get back to exercising. Plantar fasciitis can be quite painful and debilitating. A lot of patients experience pain in the morning or pain after sitting for prolonged periods of time. Often times there are a lot of discussions about home remedies including stretching and icing and taping of the foot.

There are many different techniques to take the foot. One of the best is called a Low-Dye taping. I’m going to demonstrate this on our Youtube channel, which you can view here. In addition I have placed link to our free heel pain book which gives other great techniques to relieve heel pain.

If you are experiencing heel pain, give us a call at 425-391-8666 or make an appointment online today.

Bunion surgery can be performed in an outpatient setting. This means that for a lot of people they will not need to stay the night in a hospital or even have to have the procedure in a hospital setting. The preference being at an ambulatory surgery center or an office-based surgery center is due to the cost savings and time savings. The majority of bunion procedures can be performed in less than 2 hours.

At Issaquah Foot and Ankle Specialists we have an on-site surgery center for performing bunion surgery. Bunion surgery itself is usually performed on the first metatarsal at either the head or the very distal aspect of the metatarsal or at the base of the metatarsal cuneiform joint. Bunion surgery selection is often based on the size of the deformity in the overall foot structure the patient. It is important to be examined for the bunion itself so we can look at other deformities to make sure there not contributing to this pathology. If you have a bunion and have pain and irritation or interested in looking into having it fixed permanently give us a call at 425-391-8666 or make an appointment online.

The statistics say about 60% of American adults with suffer from plantar fasciitis at some point in their life. The symptoms most commonly associated with plantar fasciitis include; pain in the morning, pain after walking or a burning or bruised sensation to the heel. Plantar fasciitis is best used to describe these symptoms if they have been present for only a few months. After a few months it is more accurate to describe it as plantar fasciosis. Plantar fasciosis refers to a chronic inflamed process of the heel as opposed to an acute.

Plantar fasciitis is by far the most common reason a patient will visit a podiatrist. Heel pain can be extremely challenging and quite debilitating. Often patients that present to Issaquah Foot and Ankle Specialists have seen other physicians and are hoping for a miracle. Well I can tell you we always have a treatment routine that has not been tried as we are the number one source for heel pain in Washington State. We treat other physicians and medical providers on a regular basis as they know we have the latest technology and research combined to maximize outcomes for patients. If you suffer from heel pain let us help you heal.

If you are experiencing heel pain, give us a call at 425-391-8666 or make an appointment online.