Lower Extremities – Part 1

by | Jul 3, 2018 | Body Signals | 0 comments

Every Step You Take

 

Bottom Line:
The average person walks over 100,000 miles in a lifetime! Every step places stress and strain on your foot and ankle. Most ankle injuries occur in the soft tissue, meaning your ligaments were stretched beyond their reasonable limits. It’s easy to suddenly twist your ankle when hiking, running, or even stepping off a curb in an awkward position. Research has estimated the re-injury rate after an ankle sprain could be as high as 80%. Thankfully, new research has also shown that adjustments can reduce your injury rate while also reducing pain and improving function.

Why it Matters:
Your foot contains 26 bones, dozens of ligaments, and more than a hundred muscles all working together through 33 joints. Also included in this complex structure are the arches of your feet. Your arches are designed to support the weight of your body when standing and disperse the forces of each step to reduce the overall wear and tear on the joints. As you can imagine, proper movement of the 33 joints in your foot is crucial to its performance.

  • Your foot is made up of 33 individual joints or articulations.
  • The re-injury rate of a sprained ankle has been estimated to be up to 80%.
  • Emerging research indicates adjustments may be able to decrease the re-injury rate while also improving function and decreasing pain.

Next Steps:
Take a look at the soles of your shoes. Is the wear pattern even? Or is one area wearing out before the rest? If the wear pattern is not even, let us know! This is a sign that your gait is not balanced and you may be placing undue stress on your foot and ankle that could cause pain in the future or predispose you to twist an ankle. We would be happy to analyze your movement and provide you with a plan to find relief.

Science Source:
Predicting Short-Term Response to Thrust and Nonthrust Manipulation and Exercise in Patients Post Inversion Ankle Sprain. Journal of Orthopaedic & sports physical therapy  2009

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