Services

Laurel Foot and Ankle Center, LLC offers a full array of podiatric services to help you maintain healthy feet. You can read more on this page about specific services.

OSSATRON® Orthopaedic Extracorporeal Shock Wave System
Approximately 25% of the American population suffers from pathological bone and joint conditions, calcification and diseases of the tendon. The OssaTron® orthopaedic extracorporeal shock wave system provides a non-surgical, noninvasive alternative (orthotripsy®) for patients suffering from these conditions.

OssaTron® orthotripsy treatment for plantar fasciitis is intended for individuals who have been diagnosed with chronic heel pain (lasting at least 6 months) which has failed to respond to conservative treatment (cortisone injections, physical therapy, orthotics, etc.). If you meet this criteria, you may be a candidate for OssaTron® orthotripsy.

Dual Energy X-ray Absorptiometry (DEXA) Densitometer Scanning
Early osteoporosis may go unnoticed until the bones become so weak that a sudden strain, bump or fall causes a bone fracture. In the past, conventional X-rays could only detect the disease after 25 percent of a bone’s mineral content was already gone. Now, several imaging techniques make earlier detection easy, quick and convenient.

The most effective imaging technique is the dual energy X-ray absorptiometry (DEXA) densitometer scanning technology that’s now available at Northern Virginia Foot & Ankle Associates, LLC. A DEXA scan can spot a loss in bone density as low as 1 percent.

DEXA scans use low-dose X-rays to determine the bone density. The scanning technique is fast and painless and requires no injections or invasive procedures. During a scan test, a person lies fully clothed on a padded treatment table while a mechanical wand is passed over the body. The radiation dose during the test is less than the radiation exposure during a coast-to-coast airline flight.

Your physician may recommend a DEXA scan to help:

1. Confirm a diagnosis of or tendency toward osteoporosis
2. Detect low bone density before a fracture occurs
3. Determine rate of bone loss if the test is repeated over time
4. Monitor the effects of treatment over time

The DEXA test is different from a bone scan. The latter test may help a physician identify certain bone abnormalities such as infection, inflammation and cancer, and requires an injection of radioactive material.