Services

As Brevard County Foot & Ankle Specialists, Dr. Brian Mallette and Dr. Claudia Mallette are professionally trained and fully qualified to treat any condition relating to foot or ankle pain. Some of the most common causes of foot and ankle pain are highlighted below. We encourage you to visit our Foot and Ankle Library often as we continue to add and update information related to the health of your feet.

Why choose podiatry?

Our feet and ankles are vital to everything we do. We use our feet so much that we often take them for granted; however, once we begin to experience problems, we quickly realize just how much our feet contribute to our overall quality of life. Our feet help us experience this rich world around us, earn a living, get to where we’re going, keep us balanced and so much more. The bottom line is that they make up a complex system. For our feet to function correctly, joint motion, tendon gliding, and muscle contraction must all take place in a smooth, seamless and interactive fashion. If a problem with the foot or ankle is serious enough, surgery may be necessary.

Considering the vital nature of one’s feet and ankles, it is extremely important to only opt for an experienced and capable surgeon. It is essential to find a practitioner who understands how to consistently achieve optimal results and keep complications at a minimum. Care must be given to all the different types of issues that make foot function possible. Podiatry is the field of medicine that specializes in dealing with the problems of the foot and ankle. A skilled and experienced foot surgeon, such as Dr. Mallette, can address problems and concerns of the foot and ankle with surgical expertise.

PRP (Platelet-Rich Plasma) injections

What types of conditions can clinicians treat with PRP? Tendon pathology (especially of the Achilles)
Plantar Fasciitis, Ligamentous Injury, Bone augmentation (fracture repair), wound healing.

Arthritis

Arthritis is inflammation of one or more of your joints. The main symptoms of arthritis are joint pain and stiffness, which typically worsen with age. The most common types of arthritis are osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis.

Achilles tendon disorders

Two common disorders that occur in the heel cord are Achilles tendonitis and Achilles tendonosis. Sometimes the degeneration involves the site where the Achilles tendon attaches to the heel bone. In rare cases, chronic degeneration with or without pain may result in rupture of the tendon.

Bone spurs

Bone spurs are bony projections that develop alongbone edges. Bone spurs (osteophytes) often form where bones meet each other — in your joints. They can also form on the bones of your spine. The main cause of bone spurs is the joint damage associated with osteoarthritis.

Bunions

A bunion is a painful bony bump that develops on the inside of the foot at the big toe joint. Bunions are often referred to as hallux valgus. Bunions develop slowly. Pressure on the big toe joint causes the big toe to lean toward the second toe.

Calluses

A callus is an area of thickened skin that forms as a response to repeated friction, pressure, or other irritation. Since repeated contact is required, calluses are most often found on feet because of frequent walking and poorly fitting footwear.

Claw toes

A foot condition in which the toe has an abnormal bend in the middle joint.

Corns

Corns and calluses are thick, hardened layers of skin that develop when your skin tries to protect itself against friction and pressure. They most often develop on the feet and toes or hands and fingers. Corns and calluses can be unsightly.

Cysts

Cyst facts. Skin cysts are closed sac-like or capsule structures that may be filled with semisolid material, gaseous material, or liquid. There are several causes of cysts, including genetic, infectious, and other causes that result in hundreds of types of cysts.

Diabetic related concerns:

Hypertension

Hypertension is another name for high blood pressure. It can lead to severe complications and increases the risk of heart disease, stroke, and death. Blood pressure is the force exerted by the blood against the walls of the blood vessels.

Neuropathy

Peripheral neuropathy refers to the conditions that result when nerves that carry messages to and from the brain and spinal cord from and to the rest of the body are damaged or diseased. The peripheral nerves make up an intricate network that connects the brain and spinal cord to the muscles, skin, and internal organs.

Orthotics/shoes

Artificial devices such as splints and braces and shoes.

Peripheral arterial disease

A circulatory condition in which narrowed blood vessels reduce blood flow to the limbs.

Wound care

Wound care refers to specific types of treatment for pressure sores , skin ulcers and other wounds that break the skin. Other wounds that may benefit from specialized wound care techniques are diabetic foot ulcers, traumatic ulcers caused by injury, arterial and vein ulcers caused by lack of circulation, and burns.

Fractures  

A complete or partial break in a bone.

Fungus

A fungus that invades the tissue can cause a disease that's confined to the skin, spreads into tissue, bones, and organs, or affects the whole body.

Athletes foot

Athlete's foot (tinea pedis) is a fungal infection that usually begins between the toes. It commonly occurs in people whosefeet have become very sweaty while confined within tight-fitting shoes. Athlete's foot is closely related to other fungal infections such as ringworm and jock itch.

Hammertoe

Hammertoe is a contracture (bending) deformity of one or both joints of the second, third, fourth or fifth (little) toes. This abnormal bending can put pressure on the toe when wearing shoes, causing problems to develop. Hammertoesusually start out as mild deformities and get progressively worse over time.

Heel pain

Heel Pain (Plantar Fasciitis) Heel pain is most often caused by plantar fasciitis, a condition that is sometimes also called heel spur syndrome when a spur is present. Heel pain may also be due to other causes, such as a stress fracture, tendonitis, arthritis, nerve irritation or, rarely, a cyst.

Ingrown toenails

A condition in which the corner or side of a toenail grows into the flesh.

Mallet toes

A foot condition in which the toe has an abnormal bend in the middle joint.

Neuromas

A tumor or mass growing from a nerve and usually consisting of nerve fibers.

Sprains

Also known as a torn ligament, is damage to one or more ligaments in a joint, often caused by trauma or the joint being taken beyond its functional range of motion.

Strains

A force tending to pull or stretch something to an extreme or damaging degree.

Tendinitis

Tendinitis is inflammation or irritation of a tendon — the thick fibrous cords that attach muscle to bone. The condition causes pain and tenderness just outside a joint. While tendinitis can occur in any of your tendons, it's most common around your shoulders, elbows, wrists, knees and heels.

Warts

Warts are growths on your skin caused by an infection with humanpapilloma virus, or HPV. Types of warts include. Common warts, which often appear on your fingers. Plantarwarts, which show up on the soles of your feet. Genital warts, which are a sexually transmitted disease.

Custom orthotics

Custom orthotics are specially-made devices designed to support and comfort your feet. Functional orthotics are designed to control abnormal motion. They may be used to treat foot pain caused by abnormal motion; they can also be used to treat injuries such as shin splints or tendinitis.

Casting

Body casts, plaster cast, surgical cast. An orthopedic cast, or simplycast, is a shell, frequently made from plaster or fiberglass, encasing a limb (or, in some cases, large portions of the body) to stabilize and hold anatomical structures, most often a broken bone (or bones), in place until healing is confirmed.