Help For Ankle Pain – North Adelaide Orthotics
Painful foot, knee, hip and lower back conditions arising from ankle pain is a common condition seen in our orthotic shop. North Adelaide Orthotics offer custom orthotic solutions for a range of painful problems throughout our local and surrounding Walkerville, Medindie, Bowden and Croydon communities.
What is Ankle Pain?
There are many causes of ankle pain and at our orthotics clinic we start by grouping them into acute and chronic injuries.
If you have just suffered an acute injury then it may be too early to determine if foot biomechanics play a role. However, professional advice is the best way to ensure the injury does not reoccur, so please give us a call.
For those that have chronic ankle pain, the following information is for you because chronic ankle pain is generally the result of overloading, poor biomechanics, arthritis or diabetes. All of these conditions lead to significant pain in isolation, but when one or more are combined the pain can be debilitating. Unfortunately, this is what we commonly see at our clinic. The most effective way to resolve or manage these conditions is by understanding the condition and addressing the underlying causes.
Causes of Chronic Ankle Pain
Chronic ankle pain results because the joint and the surrounding tissue are unable to accommodate the demands placed on them. With arthritis and diabetes these demands may be quite low relative to your activity levels previously, but they are exceeding your ability to cope with them.
Some of the most common causes of chronic ankle pain include:
- Sudden increase in activity (work, social, or sport)
- Poor foot posture (feet roll in when you walk)
- Excessive weight or sudden weight gain
- Poor footwear
- Aging
- Arthritis (joints wearing and altering biomechanics)
- Diabetes (poor biomechanics can increase focal pressure and lead to pain)
Management of Ankle Pain
In order to successfully manage chronic ankle pain, it is important to address the cause of the problem rather than simply managing the symptoms. Employing the latest technology and biomechanical assessment techniques, we are able to identify those tissues under excessive load allowing us to develop a comprehensive treatment plan to address your specific needs. Typically your plan will involve biomechanical correction, self-management strategies, and modalities that address any structural imbalance.
Treatment options for chronic ankle pain include:
- Orthotics (as your foot rolls in it twists your Achilles)
- Soft tissue mobilisation
- Stretching and strengthening
- Weight loss
- Motion control shoes
- Anti-inflammatory medications
- Non weight bearing activities
Complications
The main complication with chronic ankle pain is a slow reduction in your quality of life. If not addressed, chronic ankle pain may lead to secondary complications both locally and further up the biomechanical chain resulting in knee, hip, or back pain.
Action Steps
To help improve your chronic ankle pain and ensure that you get back to your best as quickly as possible, the following steps can be taken:
- Watch the self-assessment video and analyse your foot posture.
- Consider the causes of low arches above, and determine which may be relevant to your particular situation.
- Arrange a free lower limb biomechanical assessment (valued at $79). Simply click on the free gait analysis button below to download your free voucher and start addressing your pain today.
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