Don't let your feet be a disaster in 2021!
If there is anything we have learned in 2020, it is that the future is never certain for anyone. But we all can take precautions for our health to keep us at our best. As this new year begins we wanted to wish everyone a happy and healthy new year! We also wanted to assure everyone that we take your health and safety very serious at the Center for Ankle and Foot Care, and want to let you know we still have all of our Covid protocols in place.
Our doctors and staff are working very diligently to keep you healthy and our office as a safe place for you to have your foot or ankle problem addressed. Dr. McGowan and Dr. Henne want you to be safe and stress free while they help you with your problem.
We are continuing to have no waiting room, this decreases any patient to patient contact and to decrease any gathering in an enclosed space. Every treatment room is thoroughly cleaned in between patients. "We are lucky enough in this environment to have an office that is big enough to accommodate multiple patients in individual treatment rooms, so people rarely have to wait in their cars" Dr. McGowan explains. "Patients just call when they arrive at the office and then they are instructed to what treatment room to go into when they enter the building."
Our facility is is equipped with onsite X-ray. This becomes such a great asset to the patient who has fallen and the pain is only in the foot, ankle or lower leg. We are able to accommodate same day appointments for foot and ankle related injuries. "I think it is a great sense of comfort for patients to be able to get into a smaller environment like our office instead of an emergency room. You don't need to avoid treatment if you have had trauma to the foot or ankle, you need to seek out your specialist who have the capabilities in their office to treat your problem. Covid is not a reason for you to walk around on a broken ankle for 6 weeks" Dr. Henne explains.
We have about 28 bones in each foot. Our feet take a big beating sometimes with everyday wear and tear. When we walk, about two and a half times our body weight goes through our feet and running about 4 times or more our body weight. These are things many of us do each day. Without the right support or protection of your feet, these simple activities can cause foot and ankle problems like: stress fractures, tendonitis, plantar fasciitis and more.
Getting any pain in your foot or ankle means your body is telling you that something is wrong and you should go get it checked out. Ignoring foot pain very often turns into a much bigger problem than it originally would have been. "It is not uncommon for people to ignore foot pain, but during the fall months of 2020, we saw many patients who just ignored real foot problems for 6 months or more. These people's prognosis was much worse. Some diabetic patients who ignored a small wound for months went on to amputations. Other patients who thought the pain in the ankle would eventually go away, had Achilles tendon rupture or other tendon problems that pushed them to surgical intervention versus the conservative route that would have helped many months ago" Dr. McGowan reflects.
As 2021 is off and running, we want to make sure you know we are happy to see you in our office and get you back on your feet as quick as possible. Happy New Year from our family to yours!
The Center for Ankle and Foot Care
Michele McGowan DPM
Timothy Henne DPM
3190 Citrus Tower Blvd STE A
Clermont, FL 34711
352-242-2502
