Advanced On-Site Diagnostics
When it comes to diagnosing and treating foot and ankle conditions, the importance of accurate diagnostic information cannot be overstated.
Feet are complex machines, with an intricate network of bones, muscles, tendons, ligaments, nerves, and blood vessels that work together to enable healthy activity. When you come to us with a certain set of symptoms, it’s not always possible to confirm our suspected diagnosis from a physical examination alone. DIagnostic images greatly help identify the specific location, nature, and severity of the problem.
That’s why our office is equipped with a variety of on-site advanced diagnostic tools. This benefits our patients in many important ways:
- Saves you from having to make a separate trip to the lab
- Ensures that the testing is conducted correctly, by foot specialists who know exactly what they are looking for
- Provides instant results that we can use right away
- Aids in the direct and precise administration of treatment
Advanced On-Site Diagnostic Tools at Sierra Foot & Ankle
High-resolution ultrasound
Ultrasound imaging allows us to both take pictures of and get a real-time look at the condition and motion of soft tissues like muscles, tendons, and ligaments. It also helps us diagnose and understand a wide variety of conditions, including plantar fasciitis, Achilles tendinitis, neuromas, cysts, and much more.
Ultrasound also helps to provide direct guidance for injections, including cortisone injections for pain relief, AmnioFix injections for pain relief and accelerated healing, and alcohol ablation for neuromas.
High-resolution digital X-ray
While ultrasound is often ideal for evaluating soft tissue structures like tendons and fascia, X-rays are often the best choice for evaluating hard tissues like bone. (Often, we’ll use both to confirm a diagnosis.) Digital X-rays often help us identify conditions like bone spurs or stress fractures, and get a clear idea of how bones have shifted out of place in a bunion.
With foot X-rays, it’s especially important that your feet are in the proper position during the scan—otherwise, the pictures may not tell us what we need to know. By getting your X-rays in our office instead of at a lab, we ensure that pictures are taken correctly and results are available immediately.
Precision 3D foot and ankle scanning
In most podiatry offices around the country, custom orthotics are still made using a plaster or foam box mold of your feet—a process that can sometimes lead to errors or inconsistencies in fitting, depending on how the mold is made and what happens to it en route to the lab.
At Sierra Foot & Ankle, our state-of-the-art orthotics fabrication process includes high-definition laser scanning of your feet and ankles, as well as real-time pressure data from a gait plate with more than 40,000 built-in sensors. This allows us to measure your feet and the way they move with unprecedented precision and detail.
The diagnostic data is analyzed to design the best possible set of orthotics for your feet, then transmitted digitally to the orthotics lab, where your orthotics are 3D-printed from scratch to your exact specifications.
Helping Our Patients Get It Right the First Time
Nothing is more frustrating than treatments that don’t work as well as they should—especially if you find out your doctor made an incorrect diagnosis.
Our advanced on-site diagnostic tools help us gather all the imaging and data we need, make more confident diagnoses, and customize our treatment approaches for each patient. This gives you the best possible chance at fast, effective, and complete relief, and allows you to start your treatment right away—rather than waiting a few days (or weeks) to get your results first.
If your feet or ankles are causing you problems or concerns, we can help! To request your appointment with Dr. Victoria Melhuish in Carson City, give us a call at (775) 783-8037, or complete the contact form at the bottom of this page.
Get In Touch
Address
2350 South Carson St
Suite 3
Carson City, NV 89701
Contact
Call: (775) 783-8037
Text: (775) 783-8037
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