Foot & Ankle Pain

The feet and ankles are one of the most ignored and least appreciated areas of the body. They are not commonly adjusted by chiropractors, but Dr. Debbie Thompson in Renton, WA specializes in foot and ankle adjustments.

We stand on our feet, we walk on those same feet and then we try to stick them in a pair of shoes that are too tight and confining and wonder why we have foot pain at the end of our day. The average person walks about 4 miles every day or about 115,000 miles in a lifetime. In a typical day, the feet endure a cumulative force of several hundred tons.

Not unlike the rest of the human body, the muscles and the joints in the foot and ankle love to move freely, but when they lose their normal movement you can feel foot and ankle pain. Twenty muscles are responsible for all the movements in the foot necessary for standing, walking, running, dancing, kicking, hiking, biking, chasing after the kids, working... In other words, muscles are working all day long and can get overused, tired and spasmed. What's can happen next? You feel foot and ankle pain.

There are multiple reasons why people get foot and ankle pain, but the 4 most common reasons addressed at Free Spirit Chiropractic in Renton, WA are:

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1. Subluxations/Poor Nerve Supply - The main nerve supply to the foot and ankle areas comes from the lowest part of the spinal cord called the lumbosacral area. In the foot, there are 26 bones (28 if you count the sesamoid bones at the base of the big toe) and 33 major joints which perform multiple movements when they are functioning normally. Normal joint movements stimulate the foot for healthy circulation and nerve flow. Subluxations are when there is abnormal joint movement, the nerves are irritated, the muscles are imbalanced and their are abnormal biochemical changes.

2. Poor Foot Mechanics - The foot can mechanically change when there is a reason to adapt or compensate for pain in another body area. How this can happen is walking with a limp, using crutches temporarily or even wearing a therapeutic boot on one foot for several days to weeks. Your whole body starts adapting and compensating immediately and throws the foot mechanics off which can result in foot and/or ankle pain.

3. Old Injuries/Scar Tissue - Scar tissue builds up around old areas of injury in the foot and ankle. Scar tissue is more sensitive to pain than the once normal tissue it takes the place of in the foot and ankle. Some old injuries can be ankle sprains/strains, past fractures and post surgical areas. Inactivity in general can also cause excessive scar tissue build up in the feet and ankles.

4. Unbalanced/Spasmed Leg Muscles - Muscles in the legs will become imbalanced for similar reasons that poor foot mechanics happen. The body can compensate to an injury or change in gait. Muscles will also become imbalanced when there is a repetitive activity which uses the muscles on one side more than the other. You might use one leg to dig with a shovel or one leg could be used to operate a heavy clutch on a vehicle or heavy machinery. Another way the muscles can be strained is if a runner has a tendency to run on their toes or they could be wearing poorly fitted shoes for their athletic event which cause the muscles to be overworked and strained. There is increased inflammation and irritation to the nerves, the joints and the muscles. The muscles are connected to long tendons that lead right into the foot and often times cause foot and/or ankle pain.

In addition to foot and ankle pain other symptoms that can show up in the foot and ankle are numbness/tingling, lack of sensation, lack of strength, lack of function or lack of balance.

If you have any of these foot and ankle symptoms and this article made sense to you, call Free Spirit Chiropractic today 425-917-8645 to receive a Complimenary Consultation to see if we can help you.

Free Spirit Chiropractic in Renton, WA has helped thousands of people just like you...

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425-917-8645

425-917-8645

15205 140th Way SE, #H302   Renton ,  WA   98058