At Advanced Foot & Ankle we see a variety of conditions that can cause foot/ankle pain.  Sometimes there are direct injuries that occur, and we can correlate that to the cause of your pain.  Many times, our patients do not have an injury and we need to figure out the cause of your pain to help you begin healing.  One common foot issue is a stress fracture.  This is a partial break in the bone that is caused by too much stress on the bone itself.  This usually occurs when the bone gets overworked with a repetitive motion such as walking, jogging, running, and jumping.  Most people will not feel immediate pain, but the discomfort will slowly get worse over time.  If you continue to perform the action that caused the injury in the first place, the bone can develop a full fracture.  It is important that this does not develop to prevent displacement of the bone, malalignment and prolonged healing time. 

Diagnosis begins with obtaining a thorough history and performing a lower extremity focused physical exam.   We will also take X-rays to evaluate the bony structures of your foot.  Sometimes, the stress fracture is very subtle and not able to be seen on an X-ray so an MRI may be needed.  Treatment begins conservative and surgery is rarely needed if an early diagnosis is made.  Because of this, it is important not to put off being evaluated if you are experiencing lingering foot pain.  At Advanced Foot and Ankle, we have treated hundreds of patients with this condition and we are here and available to help you as well.  If you are experiencing any foot/ankle issues, please call us at 972-542-2155 to be evaluated.