At Issaquah Foot & Ankle Specialists we are the leaders in treating pediatric patients. We are the number one referral center for Pediatricians that are looking for a foot and ankle specialist. We have over 40 years of experience treating pediatric patients. The most common presentation we see is a child with heel pain. Kids begin to present with heel pain as sports start back up, especially soccer and basketball.

Typically children relate a pain that wraps around the back of their heel that often feels like a bruise and gets more painful with activities. Sometimes there is a family history of heel pain in a brother or sister or even mom and dad. I encourage parents to have their child examined as there are many causes of heel pain and those should be ruled out. Apophysitis or Sever’s Disease can be the cause of heel pain in children. This is a type of growth plate irritation that can be extremely uncomfortable. However, it should be noted that there are other causes and I would stress that parents should have their child evaluated before beginning treatment for apophysitis. If your child is suffering from heel pain give us a call today at 425-391-8666 or make an appointment online and we will help.

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.

The weather is starting to get nice and all of us are wanting to get outside. I know I have dusted off my running shoes and have began to pound the pavement. I have suffered from heel pain in the past and as I start to run again it can rear its ugly head. I will often be a little sore after my run and it reminds me I need to take care of my feet. I once again start my routine of calf stretching and make sure to ease into my mileage. I will find my pro-stretch and specifically start targeting my plantar fascia. I will search the freezer for my frozen water bottle and start rolling my heels out after my runs.  Does all this sound familiar? Heel pain can really derail our exercise routines. 

I have found if I stretch and wear my prescriptive orthotics my heel pain is nonexistent. My prescriptive orthotics are specifically designed for running.  These are not inserts that are purchased at a shoe store or a running store. These are prescriptive medical devices that can only be made by a foot and ankle physician. I have been running for years and have spent year perfecting my orthotics. I love to pass on this knowledge to other runners that have suffered from heel pain. I even see a lot of runners that just want to prevent injury and wear and tear on their joints and these running orthotics really help your lower extremities. If you are a runner and are ready to take care of yourself give us a call today 425-391-8666 or make an appointment online.

Warts can be very unsightly especially when on top of the forefoot or the toes. It often times may get hard to wear sandals or flip flops during the summer. Quite a few people come in to have these removed. Often times they have seen other physicians that have been unsuccessful. Plantar warts are caused by human papilloma virus and can be a challenge to both physicians and patients alike. There are many different modalities to get rid of warts - it depends on the location and the size and the number.

We recommend having an evaluation to make sure the lesion is a wart before proceeding with treatment options. Treatment options run the gamut of topical medications to lasers and even injection therapy. Our success today with treating warts can oftentimes be close to 100% after just a few treatments. The majority of treatments for plantar verrucae is a relatively pain free and highly successful. If you suffer from warts and have tried multiple different treatment options contact our clinic today.

Give us a call today at 425-391-8666 or make an appointment online.

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. 

First I think it’s really important to acknowledge the fact that we are all doing are part in Washington State to protect each other by staying home and staying safe. This is an unprecedented time like we’ve never experienced and it’s important for the health and well-being of our community that we continue to put our best effort forward by continuing to respond appropriately to Covid-19. That being said our office continues to get a lot of patients that are experiencing significant heel pain.

The primary source of heel pain is plantar fasciitis. Plantar fasciitis of the heel presents most commonly with pain in the morning pain after prolonged periods of rest. It is important that a proper diagnosis is made as many other pathologies can cause heel pain. I encourage patients to see an experienced foot and ankle doctor, podiatrist to evaluate your cause and present you with the best treatment options. It's also important to note that not all plantar fasciitis cases respond to similar treatments and each individual case is unique. I highly recommend having your foot evaluated by a physician that treats a lot of heel pain as sometimes the underlying causes missed and just assumed to be plantar fasciitis. At Issaquah Foot and Ankle Specialists we specialize in heel pain and have spent years perfecting our treatment protocols.

If you’re suffering from heel pain, give us a call at 425-391-8666 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. 

Dr. Timothy Young talks about removing a bone spur and corns and pressure points on your toes.

There are different types of bone spurs. Our focus today is on the 5th toe and problems when it overlaps the 4th toe. The inside or medial aspect of the 5th toe has a natural prominence where the medial condyle of the toe pushes against the adjacent side of the 4th toe. If this bone is enlarged we call it a bone spur or exostosis. This pressure point can become a red irritated patch of skin, or it can become a thickening of skin called a corn, or it can get so bad that the skin becomes an open wound.

Some of our patients are fortunate and roomier shoes or pads can alleviate the problem. Some of our patients just want the problem to go away and to have the bone spur removed.

The procedure to remove the bone spur is one of the easiest foot procedures we provide. Once the toe has local anesthetic, the procedure involves a tiny incision and then a special instrument is used to smooth down the bone enlargement. The site is flushed and a steristrip or a single suture can be used. A roomy shoe or surgical shoe can be used for a week and then use a gym shoe for another week and you are done. The recovery is very minimal and you are done. Problem solved. At Issaquah Foot and Ankle Specialists, we have an onsite surgical center that can save you time and money.

If you have a problem like this, please come in to discuss it with myself – Dr. Timothy Young, or my partner – Dr. Brandon Nelson.

 

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.