Medical Essay Example

my foot still did not go away after a couple of days so my mom made an appointment with my regular doctor. After the second set of x-rays, my doctor found that I had fractured my left growth plate. I was given an air cast and excused from all physical activities for 3 months. After my fracture healed I was sent to physical therapy. Originally my physical therapy session was supposed to last for only one month. However, my sessions kept getting extended due to issues with my foot. I still had limited mobility and pain in my foot. But after about 3 months of physical therapy, I was deemed healthy and able to return to physical activity. The pain in my ankle and foot continued to bother me on a daily basis and after the second round of physical therapy, my parents and I decided to try more doctors for different treatments. Due to my ankle pain, I had to stop doing Tae Kwon Do Field Hockey and rowing. I did not want to live the rest of my life with pain and soreness.

The list of injuries on my left foot and ankle runs long. In total there are about 6 different problem areas on my foot that have occurred over a period of about 3 years. The initial injury that I had was a salter fracture on my left growth plate. A Salter-Harris Fracture is an injury to the growth plate area of a child’s bone. The growth plate is a soft area of cartilage at the ends of long bones. Growth Plates are relatively weak and can be injured by a fall,

collision, and excessive pressure or use. Salter-Harris Fractures make up almost 30% of bone injuries in children. My posterior tibial tendon was irritated from the initial fracture. The posterior tibial tendon is one of the most important tendons on the leg and attaches the calf muscle to the bones on the inside of the foot. Posterior tibial tendon dysfunction is one of the most common foot and ankle problems. My tendon has not healed yet due to the fact that tendons cannot heal by themselves. In most cases injured tendons require surgery. Because my posterior tibial tendon is irritated and damaged the arch in my left foot is collapsed and flat. A collapsed arch is a condition where the entire sole of the foot touches the floor when standing. My collapsed arch makes standing walking and running very painful. My navicular bone is also a problem area. The navicular is an extra bone or piece of cartilage located on the inner side of the foot just above the arch. It is incorporated within the posterior tibial tendon which attaches in this area. Since my posterior tibial tendon is injured the area where my navicular bone causes a lot of pain and soreness. All of these problem areas cause constant pain and soreness in my left foot.

I went to 5 different doctors to find a treatment for my foot and ankle pain. Although surgery was the treatment that we went with I also tried multiple non-surgical treatments and methods of reducing pain. The first doctor I went to was my regular pediatric doctor who then recommended an orthopedist in White Plains. We went to him next

but he claimed that my pain was all in my head and I was too sensitive. Needless to say, we did not return to him. We found another orthopedist closer to home and visited her next. We actually stayed with her for a while until she told us I would experience pain for the rest of my life and that I would have to deal with it since she could do nothing. Once again we found a new orthopedist for another opinion. We only visited the nex orthopedist once and it was very short. However, she recommended us to my current doctor. My current doctor is an orthopedic surgeon specializing in sports medicine. After visiting him multiple times I tried a different treatment other than surgery. He had me wear an air cast walking boot for a couple weeks to see if relieving pressure off my foot would give the tendons and problem areas in my foot time to rest and recover. My foot pain did not go away so we turned towards surgery as the next treatment. I had 3 different options for surgery. The first option was a PRP injection into the arch of my foot where the posterior tibial tendon attaches to the bone. A PRP injection is an injection using platelet-rich plasma to promote the healing of injured tendons ligaments muscles and joints. The second option was getting punctures into my tendon to increase blood flow and then PRP injections. The third option was getting tendon repair surgery. Tendon repair surgery involves repairing injured tendons and removing any damaged tissue. After thoughtful consideration, my parents and I decided to go with

option 2 which was the PRP injection with the punctures. We chose option 2 because it was a nice middle ground. We scheduled the surgery for June 27th at NYU Langone Outpatient Surgery Medical Center. My doctor performed the surgery and it lasted only about 45 minutes in total.

According to my doctor, the recovery time for my surgery would be about 4 months. We had to let my foot fully heal from the surgery before we could determine if it helped my tendon. Post-op I woke up in the recovery room under a mountain of blankets. I had a bunch of wires connected to me and an IV in my left hand from which I still have a scar. I couldn’t feel my left foot and was very groggy. We were given a bag of hospital supplies, such as waterproof bandages for my foot. I was brought to my car in a wheelchair and sent home. The doctors put my left foot in a cast and then covered it with layers of ace bandages. I was instructed to leave the cast on for a week and then take it off to let my foot “air out.” For the first two weeks, I had to use crutches to walk around and apply little to no pressure on my foot. After a couple weeks I was then switched back into an air cast walking boot with crutches. I wore the boot with crutches for a couple days until I was comfortable with walking again and then I only used the boot. I wore the boot for about 2 months and iced my foot every day. After 2

months my doctor then told me to only wear an air cast brace with sneakers. It was at this time that I started physical therapy. Prior to my surgery, I had already been to physical therapy two different times. This time my parents decided to try a different place for therapy and I went to the physical therapy center in the Hudson Valley Hospital. I wasn’t very hopeful about physical therapy because in the past it did not work for me. However, my thoughts quickly changed. I met my physical therapist and she instantly made me feel comfortable and happy. She made me laugh a lot during the first meeting where we talked about my surgery and foot/ankle situation. She then performed a couple of tests, checking my strength and mobility. Over the next couple visits, I was given a list of different stretches and exercises to do on my foot to help strengthen my tendons and muscle. I noticed in my mobility but unfortunately not my pain levels. I was able to stretch my foot a lot farther than before and my balance improved as well. My pain levels stayed the same and did not increase which I saw as an improvement. Unfortunately, the insurance company decided that my foot and ankle conditions had plateaued and cut off my physical therapy sessions. After a long discussion with the company, we were given 3 more sessions which we spread out between multiple weeks. I will continue to perform my physical therapy exercises and stretches at home every night.

My doctor and physical therapist have given me multiple exercises and products to help prevent future injuries and

pain. First I have 2 different ankle braces. My doctor gave me a special air cast brace to wear while doing physical activity. There is a little pump that inflates air into the section of the cast underneath my arch, therefore, giving me some much-needed arch support. I also have an ASO brace that I can wear on a daily basis. It is a black lace-up brace that provides a lot of support to my ankle and foot. I also have custom made shoe orthotics that I wear with my sneakers every day. My orthotics are specifically molded to my feet and required me to have my feet covered in plaster to make a mold. They keep my feet in place so my arches don’t collapse. My doctors have also advised that I avoid high impact physical activities, such as running and Tae Kwon Do. I instead should partake in low/no impact exercise. I am currently attempting to use the elliptical and exercise bike. In the future, I hope to be able to run and walk for more than 15 minutes without experiencing pain and soreness. I will continue to be hopeful in my recovery and rehabilitation.