Duke Medical Minutes are produced by local sports radio affiliates, and allow Duke specialists to give a brief snapshot into health offerings at Duke.

In this episode, Mark Easley, MD, discusses foot and ankle injuries and the scope of care offered by Duke Orthopaedics.

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Podcast Transcript

Announcer: We're joined now by Dr. Mark Easley, orthopaedic surgeon with Duke hospitals, and we're talking about the foot and the ankle. It can be simple and it can be complex, and you are able to deal with both here.

Easley: Foot and ankle problems I think afflict everybody at some point in their lifetime, and we’re able to handle any of those problems, be it the simple bunion all the way up to complicated problems such as ankle arthritis.

Announcer: I want to talk a little bit about what a patient may feel is a simple injury that could really develop into something a lot more serious.

Easley: Well, I think none of us enjoy going to the doctor, and a chronic problem, something that just nags, we tend to live with. And I’m guilty of that as well. But oftentimes a tendon injury which we presume is just tendonitis and gradually will go away, could actually be a partial tear or even some degeneration of the tendon.

If we can diagnose that, one of the things I think about is that with tendon injuries that we just assume is tendonitis, and if we could intervene earlier, it would actually be to the patient's benefit.

Announcer: Dr. Mark Easley, orthopaedic surgeon, Duke Medical Center, world class facility right here in your own back yard. From simple to complex problems -- they can handle it.