What is foot and ankle pain?
The human foot and ankle have 26 bones and 33 small joints, all held together by a network of soft tissue made up of muscles, tendons, ligaments, nerves, and blood vessels. Ankle and foot pain is any sort of pain, swelling or tenderness anywhere within the soft tissue, bones or joints.
What causes foot and ankle pain?
Most foot and ankle pain is caused by muscle or strains and ligament sprains. Other common causes include:
- Achilles tendinopathy - damage or inflammation in the tendon that runs from the calf to the heel bone.
- Tibialis posterior dysfunction - causes pain, redness, warmth and swelling in the tendon that connects the inside of the calf to the arch of the foot. It can also involve ankle or heel weakness and cause the arch to drop.
- Plantar fasciitis - pain in the inner and inner side of the heel due to damage to the strong band of tissue (plantar fascia) which runs from the heel to the base of the toes.
- Low or high arches - weight shift due to low or high arches put excessive strain on the ankle, heel, and ball of the foot, increasing the risk of plantar fasciitis and other problems.
- Corns, calluses or bunions - can cause toes and other parts of the foot to lose flexibility, become stiff and otherwise cause weight shift changes that can cause other foot and ankle problems.
- Neuroma - typically affects the third and fourth toes and the ball of your foot cause by a damaged or irritated nerve and often becomes more painful over time.
What conditions can we rehabilitate?
Our physical therapists (PTs) are experts in the art and science of the evaluation and treatment of human movement dysfunctions. We care for people of all ages and treat a variety of muscle, joint and neurological conditions.
Some of the conditions we have successfully treated include:
- Ankle Pain
- Ankle Sprains
- Achilles Tendonitis
- Excessive Pronation
- Post Surgical Conditions
- Tibialis Posterior Tendonitis
Physical Therapy treatments for foot and ankle pain
Click the <PLAY> buttons in the square below to see videos of some treatments for ankle and foot pain. To see other videos, hover over the videos below and click the left and right navigation arrows that appear.
Visit our Medical Library for more information on ankle and foot pain.
