You spend an incredible amount of time using your feet every day, and if you are suffering from foot and ankle pain, your life can be greatly impacted. It can cause dread and agony when taking the stairs, walking a block to your office, or even driving your car. Foot and ankle pain can stem from a variety of different causes, but Summit Physical Therapy can help get you back on track.
Do you ever wake up feeling as if your joints are stiff or tight? Do they ache as you get moving in the morning, becoming less painful as the day goes on? If so, this may be a sign of early-onset arthritis. This is a common ailment that many people experience, but choose to live with their painful joints for far too long before seeking help.
Your feet and your ankles are complex mechanical structures that must work together in harmony in order to function at their optimal levels. The Arthritis Foundation states that the ankle joint consists of three bones that all must interact with one another correctly, along with the various connective tissues that hold the assembly of the joint together.
The foot is even more complex, containing approximately two dozen bones, 30 joints, and over 100 muscles, tendons, and ligaments. Because of all the complicated structures that make up your feet and ankles, pain in those areas is a very common affliction. An injury to your foot or ankle can result in pain so severe that you avoid putting your weight down. This leaves you with only two options; hopping around, risking injury to your other foot, or worse, being stuck in a chair, unable to go anywhere and take care of yourself or others. Even mild pain can cause physical limitations to your daily life, and burden those around you.
Foot and ankle pain can occur suddenly due to an acute injury, or it can develop over time in relation to a chronic, underlying condition. According to the Mayo Clinic, there are several common causes of foot pain and ankle pain, including:
