Foot Dysfunctions

FUNCTION FOOT ORTHOTICS

Preventing Injury and Increasing Your Performance.

No one shares the same foot structure. Many of us rarely give our feet a second thought, until they cause us pain. We force them into shoes that don’t fit and neglect to care for them properly. Yet, a small abnormality in foot function can have a large impact on the entire body causing pain and discomfort in our back, legs and neck and interrupting not only our daily lives but for a sports person, their game and their winning streak!

The ultimate solution to preventing injuries is treating existing problems with precise custom-made functional foot orthotics.

You can have hip and knee pain, lower back and SI joint mechanical dysfunction which can all be corrected with Orthotics fitted, correctly, into your everyday shoes and trainers.

Custom Made v Over-the-counter arch supports?

These are a ‘one-size-fits-all’ and this is not good for those with on-going conditions.

In our practice, we custom-make all our own foot orthotics. We provide a thorough foot and ankle gait analysis, muscle strength testing and proprioception testing.

Shin Splints

Medial Tibial Stress Syndrome (MTSS) is commonly known as Shin Splints. The people who are at the greatest risk for developing MTSS are beginning runners, people who over-train and people with a poor selection of shoe gear.

The usual mechanical factors that lead to MTSS are an imbalance between the posterior and anterior muscle groups. The posterior muscles may be both too tight and too strong. The effect of the tight musculature has an impact on the gait cycle at two points, just before and after heel contact and when the foot is leaving the ground at toe off.

Symptoms 

These stresses cause a repetitive inflammation in the muscle or at the attachment of the muscle to the bone. Other factors that may cause MTSS are continual running on a hard surface and a biomechanical abnormality in the foot such as excessive pronation.

The initial treatment for MTSS is decreasing the amount of training, adequate stretching exercises before and after running and proper shoe gear with shock absorption. Running on hard surfaces should be avoided. Icing immediately after exercise should also be done to control inflammation.

At BG Sports Chiro we provide a thorough evaluation of the training schedule, training surface, shoe gear being used and the biomechanics of the foot and ankle. If a biomechanical fault is found in the lower extremity a custom foot orthotic will help eliminate the fault and reduce the pain.

Back and low back pain, knee pain, ankle instability and  sprains, muscular strains, pelvic instability and muscle imbalances can also be treated with foot orthotic therapy.

Foot orthotics can enable the body to work to its potential. Once a patient is in balance, he or she should notice improved performance and enjoy lower risk of injury.

Sprained Ankles

A sprained ankle is a very common injury. It can happen to athletes and non-athletes, children and adults. If can happen when you take part in sports or when you are walking along the pavement or at home!

The ligaments on the ankle hold the ankle bones and joint in position. They are the ones that protect your ankle from the twisting, turning, and rolling of the foot. As a ligament is an elastic structure they can stretch beyond their normal range and this is when a sprain occurs. A severe sprain can cause actual tearing of the elastic fibers.

Symptoms

A severe in-turning or out-turning of the foot causes the ligaments to stretch beyond their normal length. You may lose your balance when your foot is placed unevenly on the ground or fall and be unable to stand again on that foot. When excessive force is applied to the ankles soft tissue structures, you may even hear a pop and pain and swelling is the result.

Sprained ankles are graded.

Grade 1 Sprain:

• Slight stretching and some damage to the fibers ( fibrils ) of the ligament.

Grade 2 Sprain:

• Partial tearing of the ligament. If the ankle joint is examine and moved in certain ways, abnormal looseness of the ankle joint occurs.

Grade 3 Sprain:

• Complete tear of the ligament. If it is pulled or pushed there will be gross instability within the ankle.

At BG Sports Chiro we will complete an analysis of the injury and provide a treatment plan and custom make Orthotics to ensure stability.