My name is Roger Brown and I am a retiree who spends his time between Alabama, Arizona and Florida. I would like to commend Dr. Ricardo Colberg for helping me overcome a chronic, painful condition that bothered me for years.
Approximately 2 ½ years ago, my right heel started hurting really bad. It started as mild aching pain, that would sometimes become very sharp pain. The pain would become worse with walking. I tried living with the discomfort, but the pain became worse and worse until I reached a point where I started to limp.
As a retiree, I live in various parts of the country depending on the season. While living in Arizona, I visited a local podiatrist. He said my foot, including my Achilles tendon was structurally fine; however, he diagnosed me with a heel spur, which is a calcium deposit on my heel. The podiatrist stated this heel spur was likely caused by chronic plantar fasciitis, which made sense based on all the discomfort I had been experiencing the last few years.
My podiatrist recommended physical therapy. I participated in more than 20 PT sessions – with extensive stretching, pulling and twisting. While I experienced some short-term relief immediately following some of my sessions, the plantar fasciitis/heel spurs didn’t go away.
My girlfriend, who lives in Alabama, suggested I see a doctor at Andrews Sports Medicine based on their reputation. When I called to schedule an appointment, the young lady gathered some information and recommended I see Dr. Ricardo Colberg.
During my first visit with Dr. Colberg, we discussed my condition, previous treatment measures that failed. In addition, Dr. Colberg performed an ultrasound within the exam room that confirmed I had a large calcium deposit in my heel associated with the plantar fasciitis. Dr. Colberg looked at me with confidence, smiled and a matter-of-factly-stated that he could help me!
Dr. Colberg recommended he perform a minimally-invasive procedure known as a Planter Fasciotomy. Dr. Colberg said the procedure would be performed at an outpatient surgery center. He explained I would receive local anesthesia and that he would use a device known as a Topaz Microdebrider to remove the inflammation from the plantar fascia as well as scar tissue/heel spurs surrounding my plantar fascia. I had tried extensive physical therapy to no avail, so I made the decision right then in there to schedule the procedure for the following week.
The procedure went well. I was dismissed to go home same day and was told to wear a walking boot for two weeks. When I came back to my follow-up appointment 2 ½ weeks later I told Dr. Colberg I was somewhat disappointed in the outcome. While I was in the boot for 2 weeks, I had improvement and essentially no pain following the procedure. However, as prescribed by Dr. Colberg, I had not worn the boot for the previous 5 days and I was experiencing moderate aching pain.
Dr. Colberg smiled and stated “you’ll get better, we just have to give it more.” He recommended I continue using the topical anti-inflammatory and that I continue my physical therapy. Each week my discomfort continued to subside more and more. Approximately, 2 ½ months following the procedure I was 100% pain free. That was in July, 2017. It is now April, 2019 and I am happy to report I have been pain free for nearly 2 years!
A big thank you to Dr. Colberg, and his staff, in helping me overcome that pesky plantar fasciitis that I had been battling for years!
