Common Foot Injuries and How Physiotherapy Can Help

Feet have many little bones, tendons and muscles making them quite complex and therefore they can be prone to pain and injury. Your feet support the rest of your body and do a lot of hard work! So, when they hurt it is likely you will experience pain in other areas. Foot problems can lead to pain in the knees and back which can affect overall movement.

Sore feet can be caused by poor fitting shoes, inadequate support, overuse, or a particular injury. Diagnosed and treated early, many types of foot pain can be dealt with relatively simply.

Common Foot Injuries Treated by Physios St Kilda, Blackburn & Essendon

Sore feet are often treated by physiotherapists, with an accurate diagnosis key to being able to treat the issue successfully and helping to prevent recurrence. Here are three of the most common foot injuries seen by physiotherapists.

1.   Plantar Fasciitis / Fasciopathy

The plantar fascia is a fibrous tissue that runs along the bottom of your foot, connecting the heel bone to the toes.

Pain is felt predominantly in the heel and is caused by excessive pressure against the inner part of the heel, where the plantar fascia begins. The pain is usually worse after waking or a long period of rest, or after a long period of standing, walking or running.

Contributing factors include:

• Excessive increase in exercise load.
• Long periods of standing, walking or running.
• Footwear that isn’t supportive or is too firm.
• Suboptimal foot or hip mechanics, or weak calf muscles.
• Poor technique when running.

Increasing the time spent on your feet and wearing soft soled shoes can help in the short term. Ultimately, any deficits in the legs will be addressed to improve movement of the leg and reduce pressure on the heel.

The teams at Melbourne Sports Physio in St Kilda, Blackburn or Essendon are qualified and experienced in this condition and will be able to help minimise pain straight away. Initially, taping the foot may be used to reduce pressure on the heel while walking. Shockwave therapy can assist with inflammation.

Strengthening weak calf and hip muscles will also be a part of the treatment and will continue as the pain level improves to minimise further flare ups.

Your physio may also conduct a running assessment if necessary because excessive heel strike during running can put too much pressure on the plantar fascia. A more optimal running technique in conjunction with the strengthening exercises will go a long way to prevent further plantar fasciitis.

2.   Peroneal Tendinopathy

The peroneal tendons are a pair of tendons that run along the outer side of the ankle. They connect to the outer side of the foot and if they are too weak for the demands of the physical activity placed on them, they can become painful.

Pain can be felt anywhere on the outside of the ankle and down into the foot and tends to improve with movement. First thing in the morning can be most painful, but it may also increase after walking or running at a level that the tendon can’t handle.

An accurate diagnosis is important for pain in this area, as bone stress fractures can happen to the bones near the tendon. A bone stress injury tends to be ok in the morning, but pain can worsen through the day due to the increase of pressure through the foot. With ankle pain, your physio may recommend an x-ray or MRI to help determine the cause.

Taping the ankle and foot can help with reducing pain immediately but for longer term management the tendon needs to be strengthened through an exercise program which is likely to include calf muscle exercises.

3.   Bone Stress Injuries

A stress injury in the foot can occur when a lot of force is put on the feet from the body, such as during running or playing sport. A bone stress injury is one of two issues:

• Stress reactions: Painful overuse injuries where there is a ‘hot spot’ on the bone without there being an actual fracture.
• Stress fractures: The result of a stress reaction that has caused the bone to become weak enough to break.

Physiotherapists are unable to fix a bone stress fracture but can diagnose the problem when consulted for foot pain. It is vital these injuries are treated as soon as possible because long-standing stress fractures can get to a point of non-union where the bone can no longer heal. Your physio may refer you directly for an x-ray or to a GP for a CT scan.

After the imaging, management of a foot bone stress injury should involve a sports doctor for specialised treatment.

If you are experiencing any type of foot pain, don’t delay in making an appointment with the experts at Melbourne Sports Physio in St Kilda, Blackburn or Essendon. They will have you moving pain free as soon as possible.