Patients who suffer from ankle or feet injuries or illnesses may believe that their treatment will span weeks or months. They assume they must undergo invasive remedies like surgery or painful steroid injections.
However, podiatrists increasingly prefer to use cutting-edge injectables to treat people with ankle and feet conditions. Learn more about these techniques and in what manner they are used in podiatric medicine today.
Using Growth Factors
This specialized technique uses base cells that have the capability of growing into specialized cells. They are considered to be foundation material because of their potential to transform into specialized cells and their ability to adapt to bone, tissue, organs, and blood into which they are injected.
Doctors and scientists continue to perfect cutting-edge injectable therapies in use today. Doctors increasingly prefer to use these remedies when treating patients because these treatments are minimally or non-invasive, fast, and relatively painless.
Patients who receive injectable treatments also recover faster and can get back to their normal lives sooner. They may still need to use crutches or wear casts even while receiving their therapy until their podiatric injury or illness is fully healed.
Orthopedic Injections in Podiatric Care
Podiatrists obtain growth factors directly from patients’ bodies. The cells are taken from fat deposits in the thighs, abdomen, buttocks, and other locations deemed safe for use.
The doctor will then create a concentrated amount of growth factors that will be injected directly into the area being treated. Most patients can go home within a few hours after their treatment. Patients also only need to rest a few days after the injections before they can return to their normal routines. It is important that they follow their doctor’s post-treatment instructions to ensure the proper healing of their podiatric illness or injury.
Orthopedic injections have proven effective for addressing podiatric conditions like:
- Ligament strains
- Achilles tendinosis
- Partial tendon tears
- Plantar fascitiis
- Arthritis in the ankle
This therapy has also shown promise in healing foot and ankle wounds caused by diseases like diabetes. The therapy eliminates the need for more invasive treatments like surgery and painful steroid injections into the muscles, tendons, or ligaments.
Advantages of Injectable Therapy in Podiatry
Podiatrists continue to prefer injectable therapy for patients because these methods are non-invasive, pain-free, and faster from which to heal. However, they also use growth factors when possible in treating ankle and foot conditions because they have a low rejection rate and can be safer to use than other remedies like surgery or steroids.
Moreover, growth factors contain materials that can encourage the healing and growth of new and healthy bone, ligaments, and tendons. For example, they naturally consist of a material called cytokine. Cytokines are natural anti-inflammatory agents and reduce the swelling in the foot or ankle afflicted by the injury or illness. They also contain hyaluronic acid. Hyaluronic acid is commonly used in cosmetic medical procedures like eyebrow lifts. However, when used in podiatric medicine, it lubricates and encourages the new growth of cartilage.
And as the name implies, growth factor promotes the new creation of tissue in the ankle and feet and other areas being treated with cutting-edge injectables. Doctors can administer the therapy in a single session rather than have the patient come back for frequent and continued treatments.
These therapies have advanced podiatric medicine and now allow doctors to treat injuries and illnesses for which surgery or steroids were once the only available remedies. Patients can avoid invasive treatments as well as prolonged pain and limited mobility, and can get back to their normal routines faster without undergoing prolonged medical care.