When you think “wellness” your feet are probably not the first thing that comes to mind.
But as anyone with a foot or ankle injury can tell you, it’s pretty debilitating, especially for athletes, when that part of your body isn’t working properly.
“People tend to neglect their feet until there’s something wrong with one of them,” says Chelsea Viola, a podiatrist and part owner of Vale Foot & Ankle. “They’ll say ‘Well, there’s nothing I can do about my foot problem.’ "
A Glastonbury native who practiced podiatry in Florida for several years before returning to Connecticut, Chelsea, along with her husband Khoa Ngyuen, opened Vale Foot & Ankle in Oxford in 2020. The couple last May opened a second location at 300 Hebron Ave.
Both are podiatrists and members of the American College of Foot and Ankle Surgeons.
The couple treats patients who suffer from both injuries and infections of the lower extremities.
A large part of their practice, Chelsea says, is treating sports-related injuries and patients who suffer from diabetes.
“About 50 percent of our practice is sports related injuries. There are a lot of foot and ankle injuries in sports and we love working with athletes. Getting them back to their sport is very rewarding.”
Probably one of the most underserved populations of foot injuries or diseases, she adds, are diabetics. Because of the circulatory problems diabetes causes, diabetics often suffer nerve damage in their feet.
While she and her husband specialize in foot and ankle surgeries, Chelsea says the couple take a very conservative treatment approach with their patients.
“We exhaust all medical options before we explore surgery,” she says.
If surgery is needed, most of the time it can be done in one of their ambulatory surgical centers in Glastonbury or Oxford, and surgeries are always minimally invasive. Most patients can return home the same day as the surgery.
Vale Foot & Ankle Surgery, PLLC
300 Hebron Ave., Suite 104
Phone: 203-941-6999
Online: Valepodiatry.com
