One of the most common fractures we see are the 5th metatarsal fracture. We often get referrals from local urgent care clinics or emergency departments. 5th metatarsal fractures are seen quite frequently after ankle sprains or other inversion type injuries. The location of the fracture can determine whether surgery is warranted in order to maximize healing or prevent future debilitation. Jones fractures, a certain type of 5th metatarsal fracture, can be quite challenging to heal. Typically these patients require surgical intervention or can progress to a non-healing fracture.

We typically place one screw down the center of the bone and augment with bone graft to accelerate the healing time frame. Avulsion fractures of the 5th metatarsal are another common type we treat at our clinic. The majority of these types of fractures will heal without any type of surgery but some larger ones may require a screw to hold the fragment in place. We highly recommend anybody with a 5th metatarsal fracture to get evaluated, even if you have been to the emergency room a follow up with a podiatrist is essential.

If you are experiencing any foot or ankle pain, please do not hesitate to give us a call at 425-391-8666 or contact us online for an appointment.

How do you keep working out after an injury?

It all depends upon the injury and what level of activity that you need to do. For the most intense injuries it is very rare that you can initially still do your normal exercise. 

Once you get the green light for exercise, the next question is what can you do.

Absolute minimal impact category:

Aqua jogging: go to the deep end of the pool and put on a flotation waist strap around your waist and then run while suspended in the pool. This way the flotation allows you just to do jogging. The hydraulic action of the water against your legs gives you a very good workout.  But the same time you're not kicking like you would be with swimming, so your toes are not pointed.

A stationary bike can be very effective because you can even do this while wearing a cast boot. The next next option would be to use your heel instead of the ball of your foot on the injured side.

The next category would be very mild impact and more midfoot force exercise:

Elliptical machine, if you can do this exercise keeping your heel down you'll have much less impact and forefoot force.  

A stationary bike using your midfoot or forefoot fits here also. Swimming has virtually no impact but still can really work out the whole midfoot and forefoot.

Mild to moderate impact:

Walking on a treadmill with a short stride.  The longer the stride the more weight and force the goes through the front of your foot. More vigorous exercise bike using the ball of your foot.

In general, you will want to stay in the one category until you get the green light to go to the next category.

For example with a fracture, he would want to wait until there is some x-ray evidence of adequate bone healing before you go from one category to the next. Make sure to discuss this with your Doctor. 

If you have any injury or would like a consultation or second opinion please see myself Dr. Timothy Young, or my partner Dr. Brandon Nelson. 

If you are experiencing any foot or ankle pain, give us a call at 425-391-8666 or contact us online to make an appointment.

Neuromas of the foot continue to be quite a challenge for a majority of patients. Neuromas are often characterized by a burning or tingling pain in the foot, especially the front of the foot. Typically patients are female between the ages of 40 and 60. Often times this pain is exacerbated by shoes or high heels. Other symptoms include numbness of the forefoot, especially to the third and fourth toes. Some people describe it as a balled up sock on the bottom of their foot. One of the best available and long-term treatments that we have found for neuromas are alcohol injection therapy.

This procedure involves using a TENS unit to stimulate the foot to decrease the pain of the injection. We then use freezing cold spray and the smallest needle available to decrease pain and then, under direct ultrasound imaging, inject the neuroma with alcohol. The alcohol is dehydrated alcohol that via osmosis removes the water from the nerve covering. The nerve covering then can no longer transmit pain signal to the brain. The nerve that causes a neuroma is a sensory nerve that controls pain and temperature to the skin but does not control motor movement of the toes. We have found an extremely high success rate utilizing this procedure. If you have a neuroma and are contemplating surgery or have tried multiple other therapies with no success please feel free to give us a call at 425-391-8666 or contact us online for an appointment.

Quite a few patients come into the office wondering if they need bunion surgery. I usually ask the following questions:

1. Do you have pain daily at your bunion?

2. Are you having a hard time participating in the activities you enjoy, such as hiking, biking, etc?

3. Do you have a family history of bunion deformities?

4. Are you having difficulties fitting in your shoes?

Most of the patients I advise to have bunion surgery answer “Yes” to the majority of these questions. Bunion surgery and bunion surgery recovery vary by the size of your bunion and a few other factors. We have fixed thousands of bunions and use the latest techniques to minimize down time and scar appearance. We do everything from minimally invasive bunion surgery to reconstructive bunion surgery. The best thing to do is schedule an appointment and have your bunion evaluated, even if you do not want surgery we have techniques to slow the progression of your bunion.

If you are experiencing any bunion pain, do not hesitate to give us a call at 425-391-8666 or contact us online for an appointment today.