How We Help Our Patient Recover from Injuries Faster and Better

If you’re a person who needs to be on the go all the time—for work, play, or both—then you know how frustrating a foot or ankle injury can be.

The last thing anyone wants to do is wait weeks (or months) for the pain to go away, especially during a year when we’ve all had to spend a lot more time stuck inside than usual. Many of us have a bad tendency to “cheat” ourselves out of needed recovery time and “push through” the pain. Unfortunately, this typically makes the original injury more miserable and long-lasting. It might even lead to a more serious secondary injury!

At Waco Foot & Ankle, we understand your burning desire to get back to doing what you love. That’s why our practice has heavily invested in advanced procedures meant to cut down on your recovery and rehab time and get you back to full speed faster and more confidently!

Rest: The Necessary Evil (But Not as Necessary as It Used to Be)

Almost any foot and ankle injury is going to require some “rest” in order to heal properly. Nobody likes hearing it, but it is the truth.

It’s the same reason why even the best conditioned athletes in the world still need to have “rest days” in their workout schedule, and cross-train in exercises and activities that work other areas of the body while allowing high-stress areas to get a day off now and then.

Even normal exercises cause wear and tear on soft tissues and joints, and literally cause muscle fibers to tear and break down on a microscopic level. That’s not a bad thing—these microtraumas are a necessary first step toward your body rebuilding itself stronger. But that’s why you need rest! Re-stressing those areas too soon, before they have a chance to repair themselves, is what leads to chronic pain and injuries that just won’t heal.

That said, the technology of foot and ankle sports injury treatment has come a long way. With the right tools, injuries that used to require several weeks (or even months) of downtime for healing can now see those recovery times reduced by 40 percent or more!

And the great news is that these advanced treatment options aren’t exclusively available to celebrities and pro athletes. In fact, we are using many of them right here, in Waco, on folks from all walks of life!

A Brief Look at Some of Our Advanced Therapies

So what kinds of tech are we talking about? Here are some of the main ones we offer at Waco Foot & Ankle:

• MLS Laser Therapy. This incredible (and incredibly safe!) procedure stimulates that body’s natural repair mechanisms through exposure to light energy at therapeutic wavelengths. In just a few sessions, pain and swelling is reduced, and the body is energized to repair itself faster. For traumatic injuries like sprains, incorporating MLS laser therapy can significantly shorten the expected recovery time. And if you’ve had chronic pain and inflammation for a long time, it may be the “kick” your body needs to finally overcome it.
• Amniotic Tissue Injection Therapy. Amniotic and placental tissue is packed with growth factors and other vital nutrients that your body needs to conduct cellular repairs. Normally, this material is discarded after a healthy birth, but it can also be voluntarily donated to create this amazing regenerative injectable. One injection can provide lasting, accelerated relief. And unlike cortisone shots, which only mask the symptoms, amniotic tissue therapy actually helps heal the underlying injury.
• Custom orthotics. For athletes, workers, and other active people who spend a lot of time on their feet (and suffer a lot of foot pain because of it), custom orthotics are often absolutely essential. These devices are tailored to provide your feet and ankles with the exact degree of cushioning and support they’ve been missing. That means less pain and strain, elimination of “hot spots” that are receiving excessive pressure. Athletic performance can even increase due to improved biomechanics and greater ability to train without pain.

Not every type of foot and ankle injury will require advanced treatments like these, of course. But if you’re suffering from chronic pain that you just can’t shake, or you’re motivated to make a complete recovery as soon as possible, one or more of these treatments may be worth strong consideration.

Helping Active People Stay Active

Whether advanced therapies like the ones above are selected, it’s also important to consider the overall needs, goals, and situation of each individual patient when building a customized, comprehensive treatment and recovery plan.

For starters, advanced therapies to heal soft tissues faster aren’t going to do you that much good in the long run if you don’t figure out what’s causing the injuries in the first place! We’ll carefully examine your feet, talk with you about your symptoms, check your shoes—whatever is needed to have a firm understanding of the root causes of your pain. This is necessary if you want to avoid a repeat situation!

We’ll also offer our recommendations and advice on how you can cut your downtime further and stay as active as possible throughout your recovery process. Often, we’re able to recommend alternative, low-impact exercises you can perform during your recovery to keep you moving.

This is great for so many reasons! It not only helps keep you motivated, but also means you can maintain your own physical conditioning better than with weeks of complete rest alone.

So if you want the best possible chance at the shortest, safest recovery from your foot and ankle injury, give the team at Waco Foot & Ankle a call! Our office is still open, and we are taking extensive precautions to keep all our patients and staff healthy and safe. You can reach us at (254) 776-6995, or request an appointment online.