Foot and Ankle Problems Few things are as painful or bothersome as foot or ankle pain. After all, most of us need to walk to get some place, right? What if every time you walked, you had pain? You then begin to see what a problem it can become; combined with the fact that reduced walking means burning fewer calories, you can get trapped in a cycle of declining health pretty quickly. This is especially true if you are getting older. So what can be done? What are your options? This depends on your diagnosis and that can be the tricky part. What exactly is wrong? Unless you know for sure, it will be near impossible to fix what you do not know. There are many things that can cause pain in the foot or ankle but lets start with the ones that are most common. The foot and ankle can seem complicated but it is essentially the arch in the foot that gives the body its support plus absorbs shock when you walk or run. When you walk, each step creates 1.4 times your body weigh in pressure on each foot so if you weight 200lbs; you create 280lbs of force on each foot! No wonder people get flat feet. You should also know that when you walk or run the foot becomes the trigger and the rest of your ankle, knee, leg, hip and body respond to that motion. If your arch is collapsing, each time you step, it creates too much motion. Your foot drops and turns out and this in turn stretches the inside of your knees (knock knees). It also stretches the butt muscles and weakens your hips and low back which can give you pain anywhere along this kinematic chain. Whether you have heel pain, arch pain, pain in the ball of the foot or pain in the ankle, you can appreciate that controlling the motion and biomechanics of the foot helps in the foot and up the leg to the body. When we use exercise to stabilize the foot, whether it be custom arch supports or orthotics, the principle is the same; we are trying to correct too much movement or instability. Some people have pes cavus; a high rigid arch in the foot. You may think this is ideal but it is not! If the arch is too high and rigid, all the shock and pressure in the foot when you step or run travels up the foot into the ankle, knee, leg, hip and back. Athletes with this problem have more muscle pulls and calf and ankle problems. At TriState Hand and Occupational Therapy, we can asses the biomechanics of the foot, ankle and leg. We can help determine what can be done to correct the problem. Sometimes you need to strengthen the muscles that support the arch in the foot and other times if the tendon in the back of the calf is painful, it may be because it is too tight and needs stretching. Sometimes your heel can turn in or turn out and your ankle can turn in or out as well. Once again, we will try to get to the root of the problem to make walking easier for you. In any case, here you will get a one on one assessment of your problem. We can help make walking enjoyable for shopping, hiking or if you just want to get rid of your shin splints for running, we can get it done for you. We can also examine your mechanics for running and help improve your stride. We can also give advice for what type of shoe to look for when you go shopping for the right type of shoe. So ask your nurse practitioner, doctor or physician assistant for a referral if you have a foot or ankle problem. You can also call us at 301-759-4263 for more information. We can help you get back on your feet again. Get off the sidelines and get back in the game. Try therapy first at TriState Hand and Occupational Therapy. Call us today! |
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