Are you suffering from ankle pain and are looking for relief?
We will get to the root cause of your foot pain, so when we treat it, it will not only feel better but be less likely to return.
That is the Drummond Difference.
We even offer FREE foot scans!
Looking for tips on how to relieve your ankle pain?
Often ankle pain comes from tight muscles of the foot, lower leg and even the thigh!
Learn how to use a foam roller and lacrosse ball to help alleviate your foot pain:
Maybe you are finding having a difficult time just getting around because your ankle hurts so bad to walk on. Maybe it hurts to just get up out of bed, especially those first few steps. Maybe your foot pain is really starting to have a negative impact on your life. Maybe your condition is worsening, and you are starting to gain weight from having to be more sedentary. Maybe you are curious to learn what a chiropractor can do for you and your ankle. What ever the reason, we here at Drummond Chiropractic are here to help. We provide the best assessment, treatment options and advice to get you back on track with the greatest results as fast as possible. Click Here to schedule with us to see how we can help you.
All of our chiropractors are experts of the musculoskeletal system, including ankles. We find and treat for the root cause of the pain, not a temporary relief like pain relievers. You may be surprised to learn your ankle pain may be from something simple like wearing the wrong type of shoes for your feet, or even the wrong sized shoe. It maybe some other health condition that is expressing itself as ankle pain. It may be a structural imbalance in your feet that needs orthotics to correct. Regardless of the cause of your ankle pain, our goal is to find it and correct it.
Bonus: we can bill insurance.
If you are experiencing ankle pain, schedule an appointment with us today. The sooner you get treatment, the sooner you can walk without pain. With one of our experienced chiropractors on staff, we should be able to schedule in today.
You don't have to be in pain. Why wait? You are just one click away from the beginnings of relief.
If you would like to check out Dr. Karin's "Combat Foot Pain" book on amazon, CLICK HERE
More on ankle pain...
Ankle pain is an extremely common and potentially disruptive affliction that has many possible causes. These include stress fractures, arthritis, nerve irritation, cysts, tendonosis and tendinitis.
The most common cause for ankle pain is achilles tendonitis. The achilles tendon is made of fibrous tissue. Tendonitis means inflammation of the ligament/facial tissue that runs from the calf muscles to the back of the heel. This tendon originates from the back of the heel bone, where it is often most painful. Treating achilles tendonitis may involve a combination of taping it for support, anti-inflammatory drugs, arch supports or orthotics, stretching, Graston and rehabilitative therapy.
Risk factors include:
- Flat feet
- High arches
- Non-supportive shoes
- Inappropriate shoes (too small)
- High Heels
- Obesity
- Plantar fasciitis (can refer pain to the ankle)
We offer free foot scans
CURIOUS HOW WE TREAT ANKLE AND FOOT PAIN?
- Chiropractic adjusting (see video above)
- Custom Made Orthotics
- Isometric Stretching
- Graston
- Cupping
- Dry Needling
- Home remedy advice
- Scroll down to learn more:
If you would like our tips on how to massage foot pain away, check out:
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Treating Achilles Tendonitis
If you suffer from achilles tendonitis, you can recover, but treatment is necessary.
See a healthcare provider to confirm that you have achilles tendonitis. If you do, you may need orthotics. (See Chapter 3 for more about orthotics.)
Figure 5‑3: Click here to learn more about orthotics
Home care includes heating the calf muscles for five to ten minutes, stretching the lower leg and foot as described in Chapter 19 and then ice massaging the area of foot that is in pain with ice for two minutes. For achilles tendonitis, you can ice the back of the heel.
Avoid any activities that cause or aggravate your foot pain.
Extreme cases may require the use of a boot to stabilize and support the ankle. If you need to wear a boot, make sure to put an orthotic in it because boots are typically flat. The lack of arch support can worsen the achilles tendonitis.
Make sure you find a shoe to wear on your asymptomatic foot that has a higher sole so your leg lengths remain the same. You don’t want to mess up your back while trying to heal your Achilles tendonitis!
More on Treating Achilles Tendonitis:
Again, there are many conservative treatment options for Achilles tendonitis, including a stretching regimen, icing, footwear modifications, anti inflammatory medications and weight reduction to lessen impact on the feet.
More severe cases may be treated with additional padding and orthotic devices, the use of a walking cast, night splints and physical therapy. Surgery to the Achilles tendon may be an option, but only if all other treatments have been ineffective.
If you are experiencing ankle pain, schedule an appointment with us today. The sooner you get treatment, the sooner you can walk without pain. With three experienced chiropractors on staff, we should be able to schedule in today. Click Here to schedule with us and start your journey to pain free feet.
If we determine that we CAN help your condition, we will treat same day, demonstrate home exercises and stretches you can do to speed your recovery. We will follow up the appointment with a Report of Findings email that details what your condition is, what our treatment plan is and lists the prescribed exercises and stretches, complete with videos that you can follow along with. To learn more, check out:
You don't have to be in pain. Why wait?
to schedule with us.
Do you want to be able to run again?
We will get to the root cause of your foot pain, knee pain, hip pain, low back pain, what ever pain you have that is limiting you from getting back to life and running again. Pain should not limit your running. If pain free running is your goal, we will determine the root cause of your pain so you can get back to the activities (like running) that you enjoy.
Five Red Flags of Over-pronation
Over-pronation is when your toes point away from the center of your body. Instead of pointing straight ahead, your feet turn out over seven degrees. This can strain the muscles of the ankle and sprain the ligaments of the ankle, causing ankle pain.
Signs that your feet over-pronate include:
1. Your foot flares while walking:
2. Your knees turn in:
3. Your Achilles tendons bow so that your heels point outward:
4. Your feet are flat:
5. Your shoes wear out unevenly:
The Consequences of Over-pronation
Oftentimes, a person stresses one foot more than another because they favor one leg. This results in one foot collapsing faster than the other. When this happens, every time a person stands, walks, or does any activity on their feet, the very foundation that they are standing on is imbalanced. It’s like walking on a slope that always tilts the pelvis the same way. This causes a greater strain on the ankles, knees, hips, pelvis, and back (Figure 3-3).
Figure Above: Unevenly collapsed feet negatively impact other joints of the body.
A collapsed arch affects the gait, causing one foot to over-pronate, which is one of the ways the body compensates for the loss of shock absorption.
This is why I am not a fan of minimally supportive shoes. If we were walking on natural surfaces that were soft and uneven, like the types of surfaces our ancestors walked on, then yes, minimalistic shoes would be great. But because we walk on unnatural, hard, flat surfaces, we need arch supports.
Nor am I a fan of shoes with high heels or negative heels. Our bodies were not designed to walk a long distance on a constant uphill or downhill slope.
I have treated women who have worn high heels so often that they developed low back pain; some reached a point that they could not even bring their heels to the ground because their calf muscles were so contracted! It took months of rehabilitation to elongate their calf muscles to the point they could walk in normal shoes without back pain.
You don't have to be in pain. Why wait?
to schedule with us.
SHOES – WHAT YOU DON’T KNOW CAN HURT YOU
BASICALLY PUT, healthy feet are a result of good support, lack of injury, good nutrition, good genetics, and good hygiene. In this chapter, we are going to focus on what to avoid and what to look for in shoes. |
Poor Shoes - what is a good shoe for one, is not a good shoe for another
If your feet overpronate, you need orthotics that will support your arches and help control the motion of your gait.
If your feet supinate, you will need more cushion because your higher rigid arches don’t absorb as much shock as they should. You may also need high arch supports to prevent your arches from collapsing.
If you are a supinator wearing a shoe for a pronator, this will make you vulnerable to injury and pain. Understanding your feet will help you determine the type of shoe that is perfect for your needs.
Sitting and Ankle Pain
At a minimum, prolonged sitting increases swelling of the ankles, and over time, the swelling can become uncomfortable and even painful.
Figure 14‑1: Prolonged sitting can cause ankle pain.
I have had patients come to me thinking they have Achilles Tendonitis because they feel severe ankle pain when they first stand up. Upon questioning, I discover that their pain improves with walking. This tells me they don’t have Achilles Tendonitis, but likely are experiencing ankle pain caused by swollen lower extremities.
When your ankles are swollen, it hurts to bear weight at first. As you move around, the fluids causing the swelling drain, and the pain lessens. It doesn’t take a noticeable amount of swelling to be painful. Patients who have swelling caused by too much sitting are often relieved to find out they don’t need to buy expensive orthotics.
You don't have to be in pain. Why wait?
to schedule with us.
Other Causes of Swollen Feet and ankles
Feet and ankles can also swell from standing for long periods of time on a regular basis, flying in airplanes, long commutes (sitting too long without moving), genetic weakness of the valves of the blood and lymph vessels that allows back-flow of fluid, or damaged vessels.
Back-flow in the veins and/or lymph vessels puts even more pressure on valves and causes them to stretch apart, allowing even more back flow. Like a balloon, once the valves have been stretched, it’s easier for them to stretch again, making the valves less able to hold back further back-flow.
To relieve pain from weak valves, you can perform the Foot ABCs for Lymphatic Drainage (described in Chapter 19) and elevate your feet often. This drains the lower extremities of the excess fluid.
Figure 14‑2: Lymphatic drainage.
If the valves are damaged enough, the relief will be temporary because standing up will cause the legs to swell again.
If raising the feet above the heart is not enough to provide lasting relief, you may need to wear compression stockings. You can choose from a variety of compression hose that come in different lengths and amounts of pressure.
Graduated compression socks are effective at preventing and treating varicose veins and swelling of the lower extremities. They gently squeeze the vein and lymph vessel walls together so they can close and prevent the back-flow from occurring.
Usually medical compression stockings are 15 mmHg or higher to compress the legs enough to support the veins and lymph vessels of the lower legs.
You don't have to be in pain. Why wait?
to schedule with us.
EXERCISES AND STRETCHES FOR ANKLE PAIN
THE ABOVE IS FROM DR.KARIN'S COMBAT FOOT PAIN. Specifically, Chapter 19. Here we explain how to strengthen the muscles of the lower extremities to help support the foot and stretch the muscles and joints of the lower legs and feet to help alleviate ankle pain. |
Heat or Ice?
IF YOU ARE EXPERIENCING FOOT OR ANKLE PAIN and are looking for an alternative to over-the-counter pain relievers, temperature therapy may be an option. Heat therapy and ice therapy are useful, and sometimes can be used interchangeably.
Heat Therapy
Heat is a great analgesic (pain reducer) and opens up capillary beds, bringing more blood to the region that is experiencing pain. This is great for tight muscles. However, heat therapy is also inflammatory. If your foot or ankle pain is caused by inflammation, heat can make it worse.
Ice Therapy
Like heat, ice is a great analgesic. But ice is also an anti-inflammatory. Ice therapy is a suitable treatment for acute injuries (during the inflamed state) because ice therapy causes your blood vessels to constrict, which reduces blood supply to the region. But if you don’t have any inflammation, ice therapy is unhealthy for tissues already starved for blood, as with foot or ankle pain that is caused by spastic muscles.
Careful!
Be careful with heat and ice. They are very effective tools when used correctly, but they can be dangerous when used incorrectly or to treat the wrong ailment.
Patients often make an emergency visit to my office after sleeping with a heating pad. This is a dangerous practice. It is too easy to overheat the region and wake up in a terribly inflamed state.
It is also dangerous to sleep with an ice pack, especially if you are on pain pills. I have had more than one patient wake up with frostbite under an ice pack after having slept with one.
The Safest Treatment For ankle Pain
I believe the safest self-treatment for most foot pain is to
1. Heat the lower leg muscles (avoiding the ankle and foot) for ten minutes to bring nutrient-filled blood to the area and to relax the muscles of the lower extremity.
2. Stretch the calf and lower leg muscles gently while the muscles are warm and pliable (as shown in the stretches mentioned above).
3. Finish with two minutes of ice to the most intense spot of pain in the ankle to calm any inflammation that may have worsened with the heat and stretching.
You don't have to be in pain. Why wait?
to schedule with us.
Taking pain pills for your pain? STOP!
Drummond Chiropractic, LLC
Ankle Pain Specialists
565 N Walnut S
Bloomington, IN 47404
(812) 336 - 2423