CALL US ON (03) 9897 4922 TO MAKE AN APPOINTMENT

Foot, Ankle & Toe

More than 50 bones and joints combine to stabilise your body when in motion or at rest so any disease or injury to a foot, ankle, or toe can throw life off balance.

Because there are so many working parts in the foot, ankle and toe there is no one “cure all” treatment for them.

Mr Booth considers all the symptoms, following up with advanced diagnostic tools, to determine how to approach any treatment plan.

Common ankle conditions:

  • Achilles tendinitis and tendinosis
  • Broken ankle
  • Sprained ankle
  • High ankle sprain
  • Osteochondral lesion
  • Chronic lateral ankle pain
  • Osteoarthritis
  • Ligament tear

Common FOOT conditions:

  • Flat feet
  • Lisfranc injury
  • Metatarsalgia foot pain
  • Stress fracture
  • Broken heel bone (calcaneus)
  • Heel pain
  • Plantar fasciitis
  • Plantar fibroma and fibromatosis

Common TOE conditions:

  • Bunions
  • Corns and calluses
  • Hallux rigidus
  • Ingrown toenail
  • Morton’s neuroma
  • Hammertoe
  • Toe fractures

BUNION SURGERY

There are four common causes of a bunion (hallux valgus):

  • Congenital predisposition: bunions are not always inherited, though there's often a family tendency towards deformities of the big toe.
  • Female predisposition: 9 out of 10 bunions are found in women due to a combination of the increased laxity or flexibility of women's joints and the types of shoes they tend to wear.
  • Length of the big toe and its conflict with some types of shoes.
  • Women's shoes with pointed toes and high heels which compress the toes

Mr Booth regularly performs bunion correction surgery which relieves pain by restoring normal alignment of the first toe joint. The procedure consists of the realignment of bones or soft tissue and/or joint fusions.

ACHILLES REPAIR

The Achilles tendon connects the calf muscles to the calcaneus (heel bone) and is one of the important tendons in the human body.

The main action of the Achilles tendon is foot plantar flexion. Common pathologies include: tendinopathy, tear or rupture.

You might need Achilles tendon surgery if you tore your tendon.

Surgery is advised for many cases of a ruptured Achilles tendon. But in some cases, Mr Booth may advise other treatments first.

These may include pain medicine, or a temporary cast to prevent your leg from moving.

Mr Booth may not advise surgery if you have certain medical conditions. These include diabetes and neuropathy in your legs.

Examples of mechanisms of injury for rupture includes:

  • Falling from a height
  • Forceful plantar flexion of the ankle (as in jumping with an extended knee)
  • Using the foot to break a fall if you stumble

ANKLE LIGAMENT REPAIR

When the ligaments on the outside of the ankle are stretched or torn, patients can have pain and feelings of instability which may require surgery.

The goal of this surgery is to restore normal stability to the ankle and fix your feeling that the ankle “gives way” and any pain that is associated with an unstable ankle.

Surgery is usually performed as a day stay procedure (you go home the same day) under a general anaesthetic.

Following surgery, expect to be in a splint or cast for a minimum of two weeks and it may be up to six weeks before weight can be placed on the ankle.

ANKLE FRACTURES

A broken ankle is also known as an ankle “fracture.” This means that one or more of the bones that make up the ankle joint are broken.

Two joints are involved in ankle fractures: The ankle joint, where the tibia, fibula, and talus meet and the syndesmosis joint – the joint between the tibia and fibula, which is held together by ligaments. The ligaments are what help make the ankle joint stable.

A fractured ankle can range from a simple break in one bone, which may not stop you from walking, to several fractures, which forces your ankle out of place and may stop you from being able to put weight on it.

Swelling is the major problem which determines the risks and timing if you do require surgery and sometimes it may have to be done in stages. You may not require surgery if your ankle is stable or the fracture is mild.

Your diagnosis and treatment plan will be determined in your consultation with Mr Booth.

Common symptoms for a broken ankle include:

  • Immediate and severe pain
  • Swelling
  • Bruising
  • Tender to touch
  • Cannot put any weight on the injured foot
  • Deformity ("out of place"), particularly if the ankle joint is dislocated as well

HAMSTRING REPAIR

A hamstring injury occurs when you strain or pull one of your hamstring muscles (the group of three muscles that run along the back of your thigh).

You are more likely to get a hamstring injury if you play soccer, basketball, football, tennis or a similar sport that involves sprinting with sudden stops and starts.

Treatment of hamstring strains will vary depending on the type of injury you have, its severity, and your own needs and expectations.

The goal of any treatment — nonsurgical or surgical — is to help you return to all the activities you enjoy.

A severe hamstring injury causes tearing from the pelvis and this may need to be reattached through a small buttock incision.

Your treatment options will be discussed in your consultation with Mr Booth following a thorough examination.