09.01.23
Get Help for Your Chronic Foot Ulcer
Foot ulcers are a real pain—literally! A foot ulcer is a major hassle, making otherwise simple tasks difficult, such as walking. Even though you might be tempted to ignore the pain and wait it out, a chronic foot ulcer can lead to some very serious conditions down the line if left unaddressed.
No one should have to deal with chronic foot ulcers, and they can be very hard to get rid of. Ozark Regional Vein & Artery Center offers solutions for many of your different healthcare worries. And to those of our patients who are living with a chronic foot ulcer, we can suggest treatment options that can lessen your pain and allow you to heal. Walking shouldn’t be a laborious task, and we think everyone has the right to feel great all the time.
Foot Ulcer Causes
What causes a foot ulcer? Before we talk about treatment, know that many factors contribute to the formation of these horrible little injuries.
Blood Flow
Often, an ulcer can form due to poor circulation in the foot. The shape of your foot may be slightly malformed or distorted. This can occur naturally or as a result of injury, leading to imperfect blood flow. Without proper blood circulation, the tissues don’t get enough oxygen and nutrients, both of which are essential to the healing process.
Diabetes
Many of the people struggling with a foot ulcer have something in common: diabetes. Elevated blood glucose levels slow the body’s ability to heal and decrease its ability to fight off infections. Likewise, this increases the risk of developing a chronic foot ulcer—affecting approximately 15% of patients with diabetes. Smoking cigarettes and drinking alcohol can also lead to higher rates of foot ulcer formation.
PAD
Peripheral Artery Disease (PAD), a disorder caused by plaque buildup in the arteries, may also contribute to foot ulcers. PAD affects many people all over the world. In fact, almost 65 million people in the United States may have some form of PAD. People without ulcers can still have PAD. If you’re laying down and notice pain in your toes, that may be a sign that something is wrong.
Treatment for Foot Ulcers
Though many things may cause chronic foot ulcers, we offer ways to treat them. We can clear the plaque in blocked arteries with a simple outpatient surgery. The method is pretty intuitive, and we can perform it in our very own lab.
To clear the plaque, we insert a catheter and move it up through the arteries. This actually cleans the plaque from the arteries, sort of like a pipe cleaner. The method might sound a little…intense, but it’s actually a routine method, and it requires very little downtime. You don’t have to deal with the fallout of a serious operation to treat your foot ulcers.
Ulcers may be more prevalent than you think. They can occur all over the body, and it’s important to take them seriously. Foot ulcers may be small, but they’ll cause big problems if left untreated. A foot ulcer can become infected and may even require an amputation.
Schedule Your Own Treatment Now
Need more information about a treatment with us? We’d love to talk it over with you. Consultations are a big part of what we do. It’s absolutely necessary that we discuss any potential treatment with our patients, and we’ll give you the time to ask your own questions.
Not interested in talking just yet? We get that! You can try our vein and artery tool. It will ask you a few questions so we can try to identify the cause of any discomfort or pain. Let us help treat your chronic foot ulcer.