Foot & Ankle Pain

Does This Sound Familiar…

after giving up your favourite activities and resting for weeks, you are still in pain

Most people think, when they get foot pain, it will eventually ease off and go away on its own. They will wake up one morning and, ‘like magic’, foot pain will be a thing of the past… In fact, many conditions affecting the muscles and joints of the body do get better on their own within 8-12 weeks of ‘rest’. However, while it may be doable to stop playing tennis in order to give your shoulder some rest, it is not that easy to give your feet ‘rest’, unless you are planning on not leaving your bed. Even if you laid off your favourite activities and stayed off your feet for a couple of weeks — which is not very practical for most, let alone active adults — the pain would likely come back as soon as you resume your normal routine. ‘Rest’ only gives the body a ‘timeout’ but does nothing to address the root cause(s) of the foot problem(s). You are caught in a vicious cycle of rest and painful activity without addressing what is causing your pain.

your x-rays show arthritis and your doctor sent you home with painkillers and told you to ‘just live with the pain’ 

It is not uncommon for adults struggling with chronic foot pain to be sent for x-rays by their physician and told they have arthritis, before being released home with painkillers and the message they ‘just have to live with it’. The problem is, painkillers only mask the pain and do not address the underlying issues. There are often underlying structural issues that can not be visualized on a standard x-ray foot series or advanced imaging and that require a thorough hands-on examination in order to find the root cause of the problem and treat it effectively. This explains why so many people are suffering from chronic foot pain that won’t go away.

you have done physio, massage, chiropractic, and rehab, but the pain keeps coming back

Some adults experiencing chronic foot pain have received manual or exercise therapy in the past to help with their pain. While it can be helpful to strengthen a ‘weak’ foot or mobilize a ‘restricted’ foot to improve function and pain, exercises or manual therapy often don’t address the root cause of the patient’s foot problem. In many cases, there is an underlying structural dysfunction that cannot be exercised or mobilized away but requires correction with custom orthotics (prescription insoles). This explains why manual or exercise therapy can only provide temporary relief for many chronic foot conditions.

you tried custom orthotics, but they didn’t work for you

There are also adults suffering from chronic foot pain who have tried custom orthotics (prescription insoles) previously that either did not work for them or did not fully resolve their foot issues. This should be surprising, since custom orthotics are considered an effective treatment for many painful chronic foot conditions. However, not all orthotics are made the same; material quality, comfort, and prescription accuracy play a role with regards to patient compliance and effectiveness of the orthotics. Furthermore, the best insoles are only as good as the shoes they are worn in, yet many Canadians come to us with ill-fitting or worn-out footwear unfit for orthotics. High-volume orthotics clinics or general practitioners rarely spend the time to look at patients’ shoes, let alone educate their patients about ‘proper’ footwear and foot-healthy habits.

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