Ankle Pain
Ankle pain and other issues are very common, especially here in New York City where people typically walk thousands of steps per day. Additionally, the majority of city residents and tourists climb and descend many flights of stairs every day to their apartments, work places, and to navigate through the subway system.
If you have ankle pain or other ankle issues, it can massively impact your day to day life. It can be more challenging to commute, exercise, or stand, and those activities can make the issues feel worse. Many patients with ankle issues tell us that walking and climbing stairs makes it worse.
Ankle issues can significantly impact your daily life and necessary daily activities. When untreated, some of these issues can become chronic. Furthermore, since the ankle is part of the foundation of the body, it is common for us to see other parts of the body compensating and other issues can develop over time. We often find the foot, knee, and low back are also affected by ankle issues.
One of our specialties is evaluating and treating extremity issues, or issues outside of the spine. In our years of clinical practice, we have observed that many patients have extremity issues that have been overlooked, under-treated, or not appropriately addressed in the past, and these unresolved issues are still affecting them. We are passionate about addressing these issues with a high degree of specificity and attention.
Common Ankle Issues
Ankle sprains (inversion sprain), ankle pain, ankle sounds (popping or cracking) with movement, calf and lower leg stiffness, loss of range of motion in the ankle, ankle instability, duck foot walk, pigeon toe walk, shin spints, pain on the outside of the lower leg, tarsal tunnel syndrome, lower leg edema or swelling, and more.
Common Causes:
- Falls, trips, and slips
- Sport injuries
- Foot pain/issues/alignment
- Poor knee/hip alignment
- Poor posture/spinal alignment
- Improper footwear for your body (high heels, stiff work boots)
- Poor running technique
- Repetitive strain injuries
- Weak muscles or muscular imbalances
- Trauma
- Fractures
- Underlying disease or pathology (rare)
What is the most common cause of ankle pain?
In our experience, the most common causes of ankle pain are biomechanical in nature. This means that one or more joints are out of alignment and this irritates the lower leg, ankle, and foot. If it is there for a long enough amount of time, it can lead to degeneration and chronic instability. We usually find incorrect alignment, muscle tension or weakness, and stiffness in the bones and joints of the ankle that need to be address for resolution or improvement of the condition.
The alignment and posture of your spine also impact your ankle. When the posture is abnormal, it will add weight and pressure to different parts of the body, including the ankle and foot.
How we help people with ankle pain and ankle issues:
At Alternative Space Chiropractic, we take a holistic approach with ankle pain. We always treat the whole body and not just the parts that hurt. For ankle issues, we treat the issue locally and also pay attention to the rest of the body. This is because the body compensates to take pressure off of joints and tissues that are feeling pain, so most issues will have compensations throughout the rest of the body. Our approach involves local and specific soft tissue work and adjustments to your ankle and spine.
Our goals are to help you not only relieve your pain and improve your conditions, but also to get your whole body healthier and functioning better. When we work on the whole body, your main issue resolves faster and you may notice other issues improving, even if you didn’t bring them up. We are experts in extremity issues and have helped thousands of people with ankle issues and pain. There can be many factors into what is causing your ankle pain and we have seen many different patterns and ways they can present in the body.
Our Process
Our process involves a complimentary consultation which allows us to determine if we are the right people to help you. If we are not, we will refer you to the right people. If we think that we can help you, we will proceed with a paid examination.
During this examination process, we will perform a range of orthopedic, neurological, and musculoskeletal tests in order to find the problem. Once we have the necessary information, we will tell you what we found.
After that, we will create a custom treatment plan designed to help you heal naturally. Our treatments include spinal adjustments, extremity adjustments, muscle and fascia work, posture drills, exercises, stretches, and anything else we can think of that will help you heal faster. We also consider your lifestyle and help you make modifications to prevent future issues.
