Osteopathy for Foot & Ankle Pain
Foot and ankle pain is quite common, especially in active people and those who play sports with a lot of directional change.
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If you're looking for effective and personalised osteopathic treatment for foot and ankle pain in Ivanhoe, look no further than Matrix Health & Performance. With patients suffering foot and ankle injuries, we will often perform a gait (walking or running) analysis, as we find this gives tremendous insight to the injury.
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In our experience, the most common causes of foot and ankle pain are:
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Plantar fasciitis: A condition that occurs when the plantar fascia, a thick band of tissue that runs along the bottom of the foot, becomes inflamed, causing heel pain. This can be particularly sore for the first few steps in the morning, until it warms up. We often hear people say it feels like they are walking on glass for the first few minutes of the day (ouch!).
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Ankle sprain: A condition that occurs when the ligaments in the ankle are stretched or torn, causing pain, swelling, and limited mobility. This is common in sportspeople, particular soccer and netball.
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Achilles tendinitis: A type of tendinitis that occurs when the Achilles tendon, which connects the calf muscles to the heel bone, becomes inflamed, causing pain and stiffness in the back of the ankle. This is very common in recreational runners or those who have recently switched footwear, especially to minimalist type footwear. Often they've just read the book 'Born to run'.
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Stress fractures: A type of overuse injury that occurs when the bones in the foot or ankle are subjected to repetitive stress, causing tiny cracks in the bone that can lead to pain, swelling, and difficulty walking. These are rarer but occur in those performing high amounts of physical activity.
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There are limited studies on osteopathic treatment on the ankle and foot, however we find that like most other areas of the body, a bit of TLC goes a long way!
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To read about how we approach foot and ankle pain, click here.