When do you need foot surgery? For many people, it’s a matter of when they experience a problem first, but this shouldn’t always be the case since some issues can be better restored with noninvasive surgery. Unfortunately, there are all too many times when individuals don’t actually need foot surgery to regain full function. But, instead of seeking medical attention and waiting for the results, these individuals often try to fix their feet surgically, even for minor issues.
Fortunately, the decision on whether or not you need foot surgery to correct your issues should only be made by an experienced physician. With that said, you still need to maintain a good track record of always updating your physician on any new developments.
Here are the signs that would make doctors at reputable healthcare facilities, such as Teton Foot & Ankle, advise you to get foot surgery:
Chronic Foot Pain
If you’re experiencing pain in your feet or other joint-related areas, you should see a doctor for a consultation. You may just be experiencing minor soreness or irritation. In most cases, the pain tends to worsen as the day goes on. However, if you’re suffering from pain that continues through the night or even throughout your normal routine, you may want to schedule an appointment with your doctor. Your doctor will determine the root of your pain, and if it is a symptom of something more serious.
In some cases, the foot pain may be so severe, making it even hard to fall asleep. This means you end up staying up all night or for the most of the night, and the lack of adequate sleep will, over time, start affecting your overall wellbeing. If you’re going through this, foot surgery is essential to try and restore the foot pain and get you back to your normal self.
Reduced Mobility
At first, you might be okay living with the pain in your foot or ankle. However, this quickly changes when you start having a hard time moving, walking, or running properly due to the pain. As a result, it now becomes a lot harder to carry out your daily tasks, such as exercising or walking up and down the staircase with ease.
If you’ve already reached such a point, foot surgery might be needed to restore your movement. Once you’ve had your foot surgery, you should start to notice some differences straight away. Your walk and balance will improve, especially if you previously experience reduced mobility. Your feet will feel more natural, and your movements will be less inhibited. The pain is going to be considerably reduced, especially if it was there before. All of these things combined can mean that you’ll soon start to regain some lost mobility due to foot pain.
Foot Injury
If the cause of the painful or disfiguring foot problem is an injury to the foot, such as a broken bone, a fractured foot, or a foot deformity, you might require surgery. Otherwise, foot problems that result from psychological causes, such as stress or fatigue, can usually be treated with psychotherapy, exercise, or a combination of these treatments. Foot surgery may be indicated if the problem goes beyond these straightforward physical causes and require other medical intervention. The surgeon will carefully evaluate the situation and do the most effective surgical treatment possible. Thus, you should decide whether to have surgery or not, based on the circumstances.
The signs you need foot surgery are not all the same. In fact, some of them may be signs you already have, such as calluses or corns, and need to be treated. You should know, however, that these conditions are more common than many people realize, and may cause serious foot problems that can negatively affect your feet or even leave you handicapped. Surgery is sometimes the best solution for foot problems, so be sure to get a thorough examination and review of your condition by a competent doctor. Remember, however, that it is always better to avoid having foot problems in the first place, so do not hesitate to get checked whenever you notice foot pain or discomfort.
Bone Spurs
Often, individuals will find that they lose feeling in their toes after some time. While this isn’t a sign of anything life-threatening, it can definitely be a sign that a bone spur has developed and may need to be extracted. A bone spur is a born overgrowth, which may be a result of reactive stress of the tendon, ligament trauma, or even pressure. The bone spur's continued growth can cause you severe pain that can happen a lot more often.
After a while, the severity of the bone spur worsens and starts causing you a greater level of pain, which can even hamper your movement. How serious the bone spur gets depends on its size and location. In most cases, they can be found below the toenail plate, and this is the main cause of foot pain and nail deformity.
Surgery may be necessary to get your feet not to experience so much pain. But, the surgical procedure and treatment to be used will depend on the symptoms, location, and size of the bone spur.
Pain Whenever It’s Cold And Raining
As you get older, the joints in your foot become susceptible to cold or rainy weather. This usually happens because of the wearing out of the cartilage inside the bones. Due to this, the nerves located on the inner part become easily exposed to the cold, which triggers pain in your joints. This can be frustrating if you’re into outdoor activities since you constantly suffer from pain because of the cold conditions.
Joint Swelling
It is very common for most people to have some amount of joint swelling after suffering from an injury or surgery. Joint swelling is caused by the body trying to protect the injured area from further damage, and, hence, it forms a white substance over the joint. The amount of swelling will depend on many factors, such as your body weight, the type of injury or surgery you had, and also the duration within which you have been experiencing the symptoms. In some cases, you can have swelling in the feet for months, and it will not hurt a thing!
If you’re in the later stages of life and the joint swelling doesn’t seem to subside with time, then there’s a chance that you may need foot surgery. The swelling caused by joint inflammation and swelling can make it hard for the bones to move correctly, and, as a result, there can be problems with walking and standing. You may also find that the pain becomes so bad that it hurts to get up in the morning. The reason for this is that the bones will be placed under more pressure when they are moving around. There is also a chance that the nerves that supply the feet with sensations may be damaged due to the swelling.
Foot Fracture
Anytime you experience pain in your foot or arch, or if there’s swelling and you can’t walk without pain, you should consider consulting with a foot surgeon to find out whether any foot surgery might help.
If there’s a fracture in your foot, you should wait until the bone heals before starting physical therapy; but if it is just swelling, you do not need to wait as soon as you can. You do not always have to choose to have foot surgery as there are other less invasive procedures you should first consider, such as casting.
However, surgery may be needed if you’re suffering from a displaced fracture since your bones need to be realigned. Doing so will stabilize the fracture and lower the chances of you suffering from a similar issue ever again.
Bunions
This is another reason you should consider getting foot surgery to save yourself from foot pain, which ultimately affects your quality of life. Bunions are an expansion of the tissue and bones found around your foot’s big toe. The signs of bunions include the symptomatic area becoming inflamed, swollen, and red, thereby causing you great discomfort while walking and wearing shoes.
Whether surgery is actually needed must depend if the conservative approaches have failed to lower the severity of the adverse symptoms. If this happens, you need to see a podiatric physician who’ll examine your foot and determine if surgery is the only solution to address the issue you’re experiencing. When making this decision, they’ll carry out an exhaustive diagnosis on the severity of the symptoms, duration of the symptoms, the structure of the affected foot, location of the affected foot, and the appearance of the affected foot.
Arthritis
If you have arthritis, the constant pain caused by this disease on your foot joints can only be reduced through surgery. The surgery done in such a situation is referred to as subtalar fusion, which aims to get rid of arthritis from your joints, fix the subtalar joint instability, or address rigid deformity.
During the surgery, it’s a subtalar joint that is found between the calcaneus bone, talus bone, and the joint under that ankle that is being targeted. Once the fusion surgical procedure has been done, the two bones start healing together, and this restores their function since they can now start working as one.
When Your Relief Doesn’t Seem To Work
If you’re still experiencing foot pain even after using the noninvasive surgical procedures, such as walking aids or medication, then a foot or ankle surgery is the only solution. By opting for a surgical procedure, you can be sure that your problem of chronic pain will be addressed. This is something that the medication or walking aids may fail to achieve; in some cases, these methods may only worsen your situation.
Neuroma
A neuroma is a benign broadening of the nerve segment usually positioned between the third and fourth toes, and which is usually caused by nerve irritation. Some of the symptoms of this disease include numbness, pain in the foot’s ball upon placing your weight, swelling in between your toes, and tingling or burning on the adjacent toes or ball of the feet. The best ways to relieve these symptoms is by taking out your shoes, gently massaging the affected area, and taking breaks while walking.
The main conditions that trigger neuroma include wearing high-heeled shoes, arthritis, abnormal bone structure, or trauma. On your first visit to the doctor, you will be advised to opt for the conservative treatment methods. But, if your symptoms don’t improve, then foot surgery will be done.
Hammertoes
This is a deformity that’s caused by the contracture of the toes, and the main cause of which is the imbalance in the joints or tendons of the toes. Callus and corns might start forming as the hammertoe starts becoming a lot stiffer, meaning you start having a difficult time wearing shoes. Hammertoes will cause you some pain, and to repair this issue, surgery may be needed to realign your toes.
Ruptured Tendons
Once tendons rupture or become torn, they no longer are linked to the bone and muscle, hence impacting how your ankle and foot function. If the tendons only have suffered from slight tears and sprains, they can start to heal themselves. But, if it’s a major or serious rupture, then surgery may be needed to restore your foot’s functionality.
Takeaway
Signs you need foot surgery aren’t that easy to spot. But, with a little help, you can discern whether your feet hurt all the time, if various other complications do arise, or if surgical intervention may be necessary. The bottom line is that you can 't diagnose foot problems on your own; instead, you should consult a physician. You should always do this since the ultimate decision on whether or not you should undergo foot surgery can only be best determined by a qualified medical professional.
Therefore, if you still aren’t sure that there’s a need for surgery, reading post may have hopefully enlightened you as to whether foot surgery is a viable solution for your situation.
