In general, humans take 3,000-5,000 steps every day!
Add to those activities such as running and aerobic exercise and we add not only more steps but stress to our already overly worked feet and ankles. The foot and ankle are responsible for absorbing ground impact, stability and motion of lower limbs and providing balance – all whilst under the full load of the body.

A fine balance has to be achieved between all these elements making it particularly vulnerable to injury. Problems with the foot can therefore often create issues all the way up the lower limb and even to the lower back or further.

Problems can include:
Strain or Sprain: Overuse of a sudden twist to the foot can result in ankle sprains and possibly muscle and ligaments being torn.

Plantar Fasciitis:
Pain affecting the sole of the foot to the heel due to poor foot mechanics. Common symptoms include: Sharp/ Severe pain: Indicating inflammation

Aching, stiffness and dull pain:
Commonly associated with muscular problems

Restriction:
Affecting the foot and ankle joint, causing additional strain on the lower leg so treating the whole leg is important

Weakness and/or swelling:
Often occur due to trauma, nerve damage or an inversion sprain

Chiropractic care is a very useful and effective way of treating foot and ankle pain.

Here at Well Adjusted Health we will not only examine your area of pain but also examine your knee, hip and lower back. This is due to the direct biomechanical influence they have upon the foot and ankle.

Once the cause and condition have been identified there are a number of different treatment methods that we might consider depending on the cause of the problem including looking at normalising the joint function using adjustments where needed. This could be the lower back, hip, knee ankle and foot. We will also look at the musculature relationship to see how tight or weak it is. We may advise on a programme of exercises and stretches to improve general balance and wellbeing to improve strength, endurance and stability.

We often see old ankle sprains (sometimes over a year) in which the foot and ankle isn’t moving properly. Often the ligaments, muscles and joints have stiffened up in order to protect the ankle which wasn’t fully recovered. This then leads to the ankle joints getting restricted, making walking difficult. We have also observed patients in which this one-sided ankle stiffness progresses into knee, hip or back pain due to the lack of normal movement in that side of the body.

Ankle sprains often aren’t taken seriously, and in some ways can have more lasting effects than simple fractures for example.

If you have a specific question regarding any pain or problem areas, or would like to book a Free 15 minute consultation for you or your family please call Well Adjusted Health on 01903 892171