Foot and Ankle Pain & Injury

Foot and ankle pain are common reasons why someone might seek advice from a Physiotherapist. The problem may be due to an injury from sport or other activity, or you may have been told you have some degree of degeneration in the joints, caused by arthritis or something similar.

With acute injuries like ankle sprains, good old fashioned Rest, Ice, Compression and Elevation – also known as RICE – is your best line of treatment in the first instance. It’s important though to seek early diagnosis too, from a suitably qualified health practitioner like a Physiotherapist. A Physiotherapist will be able to accurately diagnose the type and severity of your injury and give you appropriate advice and treatment. They will also advise you with regard to not returning to activity too soon, which can cause re-injury, prolonging the recovery time.                                              

Chronic or re-occurring injuries in the lower limb can be caused by faulty movement patterns. Our DMA Physiotherapists are also experts at addressing these kinds of issues, with exercises aimed at helping to retrain strength and appropriate muscle firing patterns to correct the problem. Sometimes orthotics (shoe inserts) may be required to correct a biomechanical issue. If this is the case, your Physiotherapist will be able to recommend a well-qualified Podiatrist for that purpose.

An often overlooked cause of ongoing foot and ankle pain is the relationship with the knee and hip, as well as lumbopelvic stability, and the role of the nerves that exit the spine to supply the muscles and joints in the leg. These issues can co-exist with things like arthritis in the joints, but play a big factor in the actual cause of the problem itself. By carefully assessing your whole body, your DMA Physiotherapist will be able to identify the role of co-existing pathologies and implement an appropriate treatment program accordingly.

Using our DMA Clinical Pilates methodology combined with traditional physiotherapy techniques like exercises and massage, we will work together with you to help get to the cause of your problem and get you back doing the things you want to do.

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