Foot & ankle surgery in Droitwich

Your ability to balance, stand and move all rely on your feet and ankles working properly. Should you experience a problem with them, either through injury or disease, you may find your everyday activities quickly become more challenging.

If you’re struggling with a foot or ankle problem, you’ll know how frustrating and limiting it can be. You may find that walking around your house is painful. Perhaps you’ve had to stop your favourite sport because your ankle has felt unstable since you twisted it. It might even be difficult for you to find a comfortable position to sleep without your foot becoming uncomfortable.

Any significant or prolonged pain or stiffness in a foot or ankle can affect your physical, mental and emotional health. 

At The Droitwich Spa Hospital, we can offer you fast access to an experienced Consultant Foot and Ankle Surgeon for assessment and treatment. They will help you get back to enjoying the activities you most enjoy. 

If your foot or ankle is affected by injury or disease, it can make walking and standing painful and more tiring. For more significant damage, you may struggle to safely weight-bear, only able to move about with great difficulty or by using a walking aid like crutches.  

Both your feet together contain one quarter of the bones in your entire body, along with numerous ligaments, muscles and nerves. Given how often the feet and ankles are used, it’s not surprising that problems can occur quite easily.  

Foot and ankle problems are often categorized depending on the area of the foot they occur in - toe, forefoot, midfoot, hindfoot or ankle. Common problems our Consultants are asked to treat include: 

Common toe & forefoot problems:

• Toe deformities, 
• Big toe pain 
• Forefoot pain, 
• Bunions – bony lumps on the side of the feet, 
• Bursitis – inflammation of a bursa, a fluid-filled sac that helps to cushion a joint, 
• Morton’s Neuroma – results from irritation or damage to a nerve in your foot.

Common midfoot & hindfoot problems: 

• Midfoot pain, 
• Plantar fasciitis - characterized by pain in your heel or the bottom of your foot, 
• Heel pain, 
• Achilles tendonitis – overuse of the Achilles tendon, leading to pain along the back of the leg near the heel, 
• Flat feet (also referred to as “fallen arches”).

Common ankle problems: 

• Ankle sprains, 
• Ankle pain,  
• Increasing stiffness in the ankle.

In addition, arthritis can develop in the foot or ankle. The most common type of arthritis in the UK is osteoarthritis. Osteoarthritis causes smooth joint surfaces to wear down, creating friction as bone surfaces move over one another. This causes pain and stiffness in the joint which often gets worse as the arthritis develops. Given the number of bones contained in the foot, osteoarthritis has the potential to cause significant problems with function and mobility.  

Whether you’ve suffered a recent sports injury to your ankle or you’ve had pain in your foot for a longer period of time, it may be wise to seek medical assessment and advice. Our Foot and Ankle Consultants are experts in managing and treating all foot and ankle disorders and would be delighted to help get you back to better health once more.  

When you first visit us to meet with your Consultant, they will take your medical history and discuss your symptoms with you. They may ask you questions like: 

• When did your symptoms first appear? 
• Was there an obvious trigger (for example, did you twist your leg while jogging down some steps)? 
• Do you have any pain? If so, where on the foot or ankle is it? 
• What type of pain is it? (For example, is it dull or sharp and severe, constantly with you or sporadic?) 
• What treatments (if any) have you already tried? Have they helped at all? 
• Are there any particular movements or activities that make your symptoms worse?

As part of their assessment, they will perform a clinical examination of your foot and ankle. This helps them to see how much movement, stability, strength and flexibility you currently have and to observe any ways your symptoms are limiting you. 

Depending on your medical history and clinical examination, additional tests may be required to help confirm a diagnosis or to accurately measure the spread of any disease. With on-site imaging facilities including X-ray, CT, MRI and ultrasound, we can easily and quickly arrange these for you when required.

Once a diagnosis has been made, your Consultant will discuss suitable treatment options with you.

It may be that your foot and ankle condition can be treated effectively without the need for surgery. Other conditions may require some form of surgery to successfully relieve your symptoms and restore better function.

Common non-surgical treatments include resting the affected area as much as possible, using a cold compress to relieve swelling, pain relief medication, physiotherapy and bracing/splinting of the foot or ankle.

Surgical options range from a form of keyhole surgery known as arthroscopy through to “open” surgery for repair of a complex fracture. 

Treatment will always be tailored to you and your specific needs to ensure you get the best result possible from it. Whether your treatment will be surgical or non-surgical, your Consultant will always discuss the treatment plan they recommend, talking with you through any questions or concerns you may have. They will explain the benefits you should expect to see as a result of treatment, your expected recovery time and any potential risks you should be aware of.

When you choose to visit us for any type of foot and ankle treatment, you will benefit from: 

Rapid assessment: With fast access to a foot and ankle specialist, we can assess, diagnose and start any treatment needed sooner. We’ll help get you out of pain and back to better mobility without delay.  

Peace of mind: In an independent survey, 97.7% of the people we treated said they were likely or highly likely to recommend us to their friends and family. We are constantly looking for ways we can improve the quality of care we offer. 

Flexible appointments: With access to a number of highly experienced Consultant Foot and Ankle Surgeons, you’ll be able to schedule an appointment for a time that is most convenient for you. 

Multidisciplinary team: Our Consultants are supported by a team of healthcare professionals including physiotherapists, nurses and radiologists. From your first visit, throughout any treatment and for any follow-up needed, you will always receive the very highest level of care. 

Free parking: Register your car at Reception and you won’t need to pay for parking during your visit. 

There are a number of effective treatment options available, both surgical and non-surgical, for a wide range of foot and ankle injuries and conditions.

Your Consultant will investigate your symptoms, diagnose the problem and talk with you about optimal treatment options. If you require surgery, they can arrange that for you without undue delay.

Whether you live in Droitwich Spa or will be travelling from further afield, please contact us today for help.