Osteopathic Treatment for Foot & Ankle Pain
Foot and ankle pain can impact our everyday ability to stay fit and mobile. Foot & ankle pain can be extra challenging due to the following:
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Our feet and ankles support our entire body weight
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They are more suscecptible to poor circulation due to the effect of pressure and gravity
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Foot and ankle is made up of many ligaments, which have less blood supply and adaptability versus muscles
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This can make the enviorment harder to heal
Foot & Ankle "Fun" Facts
The anatomy of the foot and ankle is one of the most complex area of the human body: 26 bones, 33 joints, over 100 ligaments, and more than 30 tendons controlled by 32 distinct muscles.
Fun challenge: Help your osteopath re-enact their university life trauma by asking them to name them all! (double appointment fee may apply)
Causes of Foot & Ankle Pain
Hypermobility:
As the foot and ankle complex is largely made up of ligaments and muscle tendons, having more bendy ligaments and tendons generally means that your foot and ankle have a harder time supporting your bodyweight, and can increase the chances of injury.
Modern life:
Our feet and ankles carry a massive amount of responsibility. Yet, unlike the rest of our body, we rarely think to strengthen or mobilise them.
Modern life and narrow shoes mean those 32 individual foot muscles rarely get used to their full potential, leaving our joints and bones feeling a little "cramped" (unless you are part of the barefoot shoe club - I salute you!)
I'm not going to tell you to throw your shoes out of the window and start running wild on the grass all day.
I'm just here to vouch for "foot day" being just as important as the dreaded "leg day", and if you ask me, more fun and less effort after a hard days work!
A small amount of dedicated time per week to stretch and release chronically tight areas, and get those foot, toe, and ankle muscles working can make a world of difference to the whole body.
Injury:
The foot and ankle is a common site for sprains and strains, if you're in acute pain, especially if there are signs of injury such as swelling, heat, redness or visible damage, do not wait and see if it goes away, get it checked out.
This is particularly important because in recent years, research has done a bit of a U-turn when it comes to what we recommend to help healing, the internet and AI has not reliably caught up, for example:
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We used to follow "RICE" rest, ice, compression, elevation
Now in most cases of injury we advise against absolute rest and to use ice and Ibuprofen with caution.
This is because our priority is to heal the injured site, inflammation is needed as it's the body's way of healing.
Loading is compulsory for the body to know how to regenerate the tendon or ligament fibres, resting it completely can lead to a very disorganised, messy attempt at healing. Loading exercises, guided by a professional, are always best after an injury for this reason.
How do we help with Foot & Ankle Pain?
We will assess for injury, assess the mobility of your feet and weather there is any ligmament laxity. We examine how you load through your feet, comparing it right to left, and how that might related to your whole lower body and pelvis.
We can provide a variety of different specific exercises and hands-on techniques, to help with a range of problems such as:
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Sprains & strains
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Lower body muscle imbalance
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Knee, hip or back pain related to the feet
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Arthritis
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Bunions
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Plantar Fascitis
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Difficulty activiating gluteal muscles/pelvic instablity
Head over to our online booking if you're ready to tackle the problem or discover more about how the hip might be related at our Hip Hub