Your foot and ankle pain can lead to a variety of problems in your day to day life because it creates enormous discomfort for you when it comes to moving from one place to another. If you are struggling with severe foot and ankle pain, you can’t even easily get up from your couch to grab your coffee mug that is placed on the coffee table. It means such type of pain stops you from moving easily which makes it difficult for you to carry out your routine activities.
There are several causes of foot and ankle pain and sports and workplace injuries remain the most common among them. Apart from injuries which can be caused due to various reasons, medical conditions such as arthritis can also lead to foot and ankle pain. In addition to that, other crucial reasons of foot and ankle pain include blocked blood vessels, joint infection, nerve damage and gout etc.
There is no denying the fact that your feet have to support the entire weight of your body which puts a lot of pressure on them due to which you easily end up injuring them. If you look at the structure of your each foot, you will get to know that they are made up of over hundred muscles, ligaments, and tendons etc. Apart from that, they consist of 26 bones and 33 joints, which makes it clear that the structure is quite complex and hence you have to be even more careful when it comes preventing yourself from receiving injuries.
You have to take proper treatment to recover from your foot and ankle pain, otherwise, you won’t be able to return to your normal activities quickly.
Treatment For Foot And Ankle Pain
Some of the most common foot and ankle problems that are faced by a wide range of people across the world include plantar fasciitis and Achilles tendinopathy which create enormous discomfort to them. If you talk particularly about plantar fasciitis, it is nothing but a kind of problem wherein a person experiences pain in the bottom of the foot. In addition to that, people also experience acute pain in the heel, which makes it really hard for them to walk properly.
On the other hand, if you talk about Achilles tendinopathy, which leads to stiffness in the tendon. The tendon that is affected by Achilles tendinopathy is the one which is accountable for joining your calf muscles with your heel.
One of the most important ways of dealing with your foot and ankle pain is to find a renowned clinic in your town that offers effective physical therapy services to deal with such problems. Physical therapy is considered as one of the most important ways of reducing the foot and ankle pain and enhancing your fitness. When you approach a clinic for foot pain treatment, make sure that they offer effective physical therapy services. Whether you visit an in-patient clinic or an outpatient facility, make sure that the therapists over there are quite experienced and knowledgeable.
When it come to treating your foot and ankle pain, the therapist will first try to diagnose your problem by checking your medical history, which is followed by the physical examination. Your therapist considers all these things so that they can get a comprehensive idea about your illness. It helps them in identifying the root cause of your foot and ankle pain, which makes it easier for them to offer tailored physical therapy services to treat your illness.
When you get personalised care, you are bound to recover from your illness fast, therefore, make sure that you get your treatment from a clinic which offers maximum facilities.
Your therapist suggests crucial exercises that help in minimising the pain and discomfort that you face.
Here are some of the important exercises that help in dealing with foot and ankle pain.
Get Relief From Pain By ‘Stretching Your Calves’
When it comes to stretching your calves, the first thing that you have to do is stand in front of a wall and touch it with your both hands. After that, you have to place your left foot ahead and keep the left one behind it. In the next step, you have to bend your left foot towards the wall and without bending your right knee. Keep doing this step a couple of times and make sure that while doing so your heels stay effectively on the ground.
After doing this step a couple of times, you can then place your right leg ahead of your left leg and repeat the same thing again. This is one of the best exercises when it comes to minimising the pain caused by plantar fasciitis.
Stretch Plantar Fascia
It is again a very easy to follow exercise, wherein all you have to do is grab a comfy chair and sit tightly on it while rolling your foot back and forth over a foam roller. If you do not have a foam roller, you can also use an ice cold water bottle to stretch the plantar fascia. While doing this exercise make sure that you maintain a straight posture. Once you are done with it for a couple of times make sure that you reverse the position of your legs can continue with the same step.
Apart from that, you can also start stretching your big toe by sitting cross-legged on the chair. All you have to do is pull your toe gently towards you and hold it for a couple of seconds.
This is a highly simplified way of stretching plantar fascia which eventually helps in minimising foot and ankle pain.
Walk Backwards
When it comes to dealing with Achilles tendinopathy walking backward can also prove helpful. In addition to that, slow calf raises are also important if you want to see quick results.
