Physician's Corner

Lawrence Kosova, DPM

Family Podiatry Center

With a variety of podiatrist and surgeons in the area, it is often difficult to determine the best one for you.  With outdoor fall sports winding down and winter around the corner, it is the perfect time to get a hold of your aches and pains.

Dr. Lawrence Kosova of Family Podiatry Center in Naperville has proved to be an integral part of the dance medicine community—from high school recreational dancers to national level dancers and performers.  Dr. Kosova had the prestigious honor of being the only podiatrist to lecture at the International Association of Dance Medicine and Science’s (IADMS) annual meeting a few weeks ago in Pittsburgh.  He lectured about a different technique for lateral stabilizations for ankle ligament ruptures and instability, Dr. Kosova presented his lecture as a case study done on a dancer he worked with. 

While he was at the IADMS annual meeting, Dr. Kosova also presented on his experience with Regenerative Amniotic Growth Factor injections.  This is something that is relatively new to the medical community; however Dr. Kosova has been seeing great success using this procedure (see photo).  “With dancers, we see the tendons and ligaments get really thickened and inflamed.”  Dr. Kosova continues, “It’s amazing, you inject regenerative growth factor into it and the inflammation and pain goes down significantly in just a few days.

When asked how Dr. Kosova’s approach differs when dealing with an elite level athlete versus the general population, he was quick to tell us, there is no difference! “I treat everyone the same. I tell my patients that they’re going to get the same treatment as a professional dancer or athlete would get,” Dr. Kosova continues, “I don’t really see a huge distinction—If you have an ankle sprain, we will treat you just the same.”

“There’s really not a quick fix for a lot of these [athletes],” Kosova said, “most of what I see is overuse injuries. I sit the patient down, take time with each one, and really understand how and why they’re coming in.” And that he does.  Catching small, nagging issues early are essential to quality care and recovery.  In the athlete’s case, “if you treat the athlete early enough, and properly, then they will have more longevity to continue their sport long-term”, Kosova said.

One of the reasons Achieve keeps seeing patients succeed is because of the quality care they receive at Family Podiatry Center in Naperville. For every patient we send over, we are confident that they will receive a quality assessment, diagnosis and treatment plan. Additionally, Dr. Kosova can perform Alpha-Stim® pain reliving waveforms in office as well as on-site surgical procedures such as relieving flat feet with HyProCure.

When Dr Kosova was in high school he was able to work with physical therapy as part of a medical club program.  During that time, he was able to work with top athletes in the state of Michigan, and he was able to be part of the physical therapy/sports medicine team that helped get these athletes to return to top form.  “That really gave me an appreciation early, and because of that, in our practice we always work with physical therapists.”  Dr. Kosova continues, “I think physical therapy is crucial to get somebody back to their highest level the quickest way.”

Dr. Kosova and Achieve have worked together for many years.  Achieve has always appreciated Dr. Kosova’s “Patient First” attitude.  When working together, we have an overall goal of understanding our patient, healing our patient, and setting them up for success.  “It makes no sense not to bring physical therapy into the treatment plan,” Kosova said, “especially one that communicates so well with our patients.”  For us, we know we have a good doctor when we can call his office, speak directly to him, and talk about treatment plans for a patient we are seeing in an hour. Dr. Kosova’s dedication to truly making people feel better is unmatched.

To learn more about Dr. Kosova, or schedule an appointment:

Family Podiatry Center

640 S Washington St.

Naperville, IL 60540

(630) 355-3668

http://www.napervillepodiatrist.com/

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