Our feet support our body weight, allowing us to take thousands of steps in a day. Such an important task can take its toll and leave them vulnerable to injuries, diseases and infections. Foot and ankle region is one of the most complex systems in our body to treat because there are dozens of bones, joints, muscles and ligaments working together intricately in a truly magnificent way. It is difficult to imagine our life where we are unable to run or walk or even stand properly for some time. With our feet and ankles injured or deformed, there can be catastrophic consequences to the health of our knees, hips and spine. Since the biomechanics of this region are so baffling, we have an entire orthopedic specialty dedicated to this crucial section of the body.
The treatment of broken ankles and ankle sprains which are encountered almost everyday has changed drastically in past few years because of extensive research done by orthopedic surgeons. The problems of Tendo Achilles, the strongest tendon in our body situated at the back of our heel and the plantar fascia, situated at the bottom of our feet can be managed innovatively now-a-days which had earlier remained unsolved for quite a long time leading to chronic heel pain.
People suffering from complex deformities of feet like high arched feet, flatfeet or any other type of weird looking feet could earlier only think of getting some monetary benefit based on their disability status. But now it is possible to make them almost near normal and help them get integrated back into the society.
Arthritis of various joints in our feet and ankle, basically meaning ageing of the joints causing significant pain and disability is now being recognized more frequently. The crooked toes and feet associated with inflammatory arthritis like rheumatoid arthritis and gout are also being noticed regularly which is causing a lot of issues. With more and more people getting into sports, injuries of muscles, tendons and ligaments are also on the rise.
With the exponential increase in the diabetic population in recent years, the problems associated with diabetic feet because of insensitivity and poor blood circulation need to be addressed cautiously and scientifically to prevent amputation (cutting off the diseased limb from the body) and subsequent mortality.
Last but not the least, SURPRISINGLY enough that a lot of problems are also arising because of faulty footwear. This vast spectrum of disorders associated with foot and ankle has made this specialty stand out and people are slowly recognizing the need of its growth.