Foot Pain/Issues
Foot pain and other issues are common, especially here in New York City where many people 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 experience pain or other issues in your feet, it can impact many areas of your life. It can be more challenging to commute, exercise, or stand, and going through these daily activities can make the issues feel worse. Many patients with foot pain or other issues in their feet express to us that walking, exercising, and using stairs makes it feel worse.
Issues with the feet can significantly impact your daily life and necessary daily activities. When untreated, some of these issues can become chronic. Furthermore, since the foot is the foundation of the body, it is common for us to see other parts of the body, like the ankles and back, compensating and developing other pain and symptoms over time.
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 Foot Issues
Pain in the medial arch of the foot, flat feet/low arches, plantar fascitis, bunions, pain in the front of the ankle/top of the foot, pain on the outside of the foot, pain in the ball of the foot, toe pain, big toe pain, heel pain, achilles tendon pain, duck foot walk, pigeon toe walk, swelling on feet, shooting pain in foot, difficult range of motion in the foot.
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 foot pain?
In our experience, the most common causes of foot pain are biomechanical in nature. This means that one or more joints are out of alignment and this creates irritation and dysfunction. If it is there for a long enough amount of time, it can lead to degeneration and chronic instability. We usually find improper alignment, muscle tension and weakness, and stiffness in the joints of the foot that need to be addressed for resolution or improvement of the condition.
The alignment and posture of your spine also impact your feet. When your posture is abnormal, you add weight and pressure to different parts of your body, including your ankle and foot.
How we help people with ankle pain and ankle issues:
At Alternative Space Chiropractic, we take a holistic approach with foot pain. We always treat the whole body and not just the parts that hurt. For foot issues, we treat the issue locally and also pay attention to the rest of the body. We find that the body will compensate for many local issues in order to take pressure off areas that are under stress. Our approach involves local and specific soft tissue work and adjustments to your foot, 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 foot issues and pain. There can be many possible causes of your foot pain, but we have seen many cases.
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 the examination process, we will perform 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.
