Every medical word on this site, explained as if I were talking to an 8-year-old. If a term confuses you, look it up here — it’s probably written more clearly than you’d expect.
The big rope-like cord at the back of your ankle. It joins your calf muscle to your heel bone and helps you push off when you walk or run.
When the Achilles tendon snaps. It often happens during sport. People say it feels like being kicked at the back of the ankle.
An operation to remove part of a leg, foot, or other limb when it can’t be saved. We always try to avoid this if there’s any other way.
An operation where the surgeon makes tiny cuts and uses a small camera to look and work inside the ankle. Smaller cuts mean a faster recovery.
A surgery to swap a worn-out ankle joint for an artificial one made of metal and plastic. It can stop the pain and let you keep moving the joint.
A surgery that joins the ankle bones into one solid piece so they can’t move — and so they can’t hurt. Used when an ankle is badly worn out.
When the ankle gives way, sometimes after lots of sprains. The ligaments holding it together have stretched out and don’t hold the bones in place properly.
Medicine that stops you feeling pain. A general anaesthetic puts you to sleep for an operation. A local anaesthetic just numbs one part of you.
Medicine that kills germs (bacteria). Used to treat or prevent infections.
When a joint gets sore and stiff because the smooth cushion inside it (cartilage) has worn away. Can happen with age or after an injury.
Another word for fusion — joining bones together so a worn-out joint stops moving and stops hurting.
Keyhole surgery on a joint. The surgeon uses a small camera and tiny tools through small cuts.
When a surgeon takes a small piece of bone or tissue from one part of your body and uses it to repair another part.
Extra bone added during an operation to help broken bones grow back together. Can come from your own body, a donor, or be man-made.
When germs get inside a bone and cause damage. It can be very serious if not treated, and is one of the main things Professor Heidari is known for treating.
A clever surgery to fill in a missing piece of bone. The surgeon slowly moves a healthy section of bone across the gap, and new bone grows behind it.
A bony bump on the side of the big toe. The toe leans towards the others and the joint sticks out. It can hurt and make shoes uncomfortable.
The smooth slippery layer covering the ends of bones inside a joint. It lets bones glide. When it wears away, the joint hurts.
A serious problem some people with diabetes get. The bones of the foot quietly weaken and collapse, and the foot changes shape.
A meeting with the doctor to talk about your problem. The first one is usually face-to-face; later ones can sometimes be on Zoom.
An injection that calms down swelling and pain inside a joint or tendon. Useful, but not used too often as it can weaken tissue over time.
A 3D X-ray that builds a detailed picture of bones from many angles. Better than a normal X-ray for complicated breaks.
When the surgeon carefully cleans out infected or dead tissue so the rest of the area can heal.
When a bone or joint isn’t in the shape it should be — for example, leaning the wrong way or sticking out. We can usually correct this with surgery.
Foot problems that happen because diabetes has damaged the nerves and blood vessels in the foot. Cuts and sores can be hard to feel and slow to heal.
A surgery to shave off an extra bony bump on the foot — often used to help a wound or ulcer heal.
A metal frame outside the leg, attached to the bone with pins. Holds bones in the right place while they heal. Used for tricky breaks and reconstructions.
When the arch of the foot drops down. Can be there from childhood or appear in adults when a tendon stretches out.
A medical word for a broken bone.
An infection that develops around a broken bone or the metalwork holding it together. Needs careful treatment to clear it without losing the limb.
When a surgeon takes a piece of healthy skin and muscle from one part of the body, with its own blood vessels, and moves it to cover a wound somewhere else.
Joining two bones together so the painful joint between them stops moving and stops hurting.
When the big toe joint becomes stiff and painful because of arthritis. “Hallux” means big toe, “rigidus” means stiff.
A toe that bends in the middle so it looks like a tiny hammer. The bent bit can rub in shoes and hurt.
A computer-controlled metal frame with six legs (hence “hex”). It can correct a crooked bone in three dimensions, slowly and accurately.
A long metal rod placed inside a long bone (like the tibia or femur) to hold the bone in place while it heals. Stays inside permanently.
The ligaments on the outside of the ankle. The ones that get hurt when you go over on your ankle.
When one leg ends up shorter than the other. Can be from birth, from an injury, or from a healed fracture. Can be fixed by lengthening the shorter leg.
A strong band of tissue that holds two bones together. When a ligament tears it’s called a sprain.
A whole branch of surgery devoted to rebuilding the bone, alignment and length of a limb — usually a leg — after injury or disease.
Surgery to save a leg or foot from amputation. Often involves several specialists working together.
An injury where the bones in the middle of the foot are pulled apart. Often missed at first, but important to fix.
When a broken bone has healed, but in the wrong position. The shape needs to be corrected with surgery.
A team of doctors and specialists from different areas who all look at the same patient together. Used for complicated cases like bone infection or diabetic foot.
Pain in the ball of the foot — the part you push off from when you walk.
Surgery done through tiny cuts instead of one big cut. Less pain, faster healing, smaller scar.
A pinched, swollen nerve between the toes. Feels like a stone or a marble in the shoe, with a sharp pain.
A scan that uses magnets and radio waves (no X-rays) to take detailed pictures of soft tissue — muscles, tendons, ligaments and cartilage.
When a broken bone has not healed in the time it should have. Usually needs another operation to help it heal.
A treatment that uses your body’s own healing materials — like blood platelets or stem cells — to help joints and tendons heal.
A doctor who specialises in bones, joints, ligaments, tendons and muscles. Professor Heidari is one.
A way of working where the bone surgeon (orthopaedic) and the soft-tissue surgeon (plastic) plan and operate together. Used for the most complicated leg injuries.
A serious infection inside a bone. Can be hard to clear with antibiotics alone — often needs surgery to remove the infected bone.
An operation where the surgeon carefully cuts a bone to change its shape or angle, then fixes it in the new position to heal.
A bad break at the bottom of the shin bone where it meets the ankle — usually from a heavy fall or car accident.
Pain in the heel from a sore, inflamed band of tissue under the foot. Usually worse with the first steps in the morning.
A magnetic intramedullary nail that can lengthen a bone slowly — the patient holds a magnet on the leg each day and the nail extends a tiny amount.
A treatment where blood is taken, the healing platelets concentrated, and injected back into a sore joint or tendon to help repair.
Putting something back to how it should be. In surgery, rebuilding a damaged bone, joint, ligament or limb.
Restoring blood flow to a part of the body where it’s blocked or weak — for example, before working on a diabetic foot.
A small tunnel in the body that lets fluid or pus from a deep infection track to the surface of the skin. A clear sign of infection.
Injuries to muscles, joints or bones that happen during exercise — sprains, strains, fractures, ligament tears, tendon ruptures.
A torn or stretched ligament. Different from a strain (which is a torn or stretched muscle or tendon).
A tiny crack in a bone caused by repeating the same activity over and over — common in runners. It needs rest, not surgery, in most cases.
The bone at the top of the foot that fits into the ankle joint. Important and tricky to fix when broken.
A strong cord that joins a muscle to a bone — like the Achilles tendon at the back of the heel.
A sore, irritated tendon — usually because of overuse. Sometimes called tendinitis.
An operation to swap a worn-out ankle joint for an artificial one made of metal and plastic. Keeps the joint moving, unlike a fusion which stops it.
An open sore that doesn’t heal on its own — common in the diabetic foot when nerves and circulation are poor.
A quick scan that shows up bones (and any breaks). The first investigation for almost any bone or joint problem.
A piece of bone or tissue used in an operation that comes from another species (often cow or pig), specially treated so the body accepts it. Sometimes used to fill bone gaps when there isn’t enough of the patient’s own bone available.
