Tag Archives: orthotics

Treatment Options for Achilles Tendinitis

Treatment Options for Achilles Tendinitis

- Ankle, Blog, Foot

Treatment Options for Achilles Tendinitis

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The Achilles tendon is the largest tendon in the body. It connects your calf muscles to your heel bone and is used when you walk, run, and jump.  Although the Achilles tendon can withstand great stresses from running and jumping, it is also prone to tendinitis, a condition associated with overuse and degeneration. Achilles Tendinitis causes pain along the back of the leg near the heel. If you suffer from Achilles Tendinitis – try these pain relief methods.

Treatment Options for Achilles Tendinitis

REST: Cut back your training by decreasing your mileage and intensity. Also, avoid hills and speedwork. You may substitute running with swimming, running in water, and biking to reduce the irritation.

ICE: Apply ice to the affected area for 10 to 20 minutes with at least one hour between applications. Do not apply ice directly to your skin – a pillowcase or dish towel works well as a protective barrier. Frozen peas or reusable gel packs are flexible and conform well to the injured area.

PROPER FOOTWEAR/ORTHOTICS: This situation can be corrected with arch supports or custom orthotics. Orthotics allow your foot to maintain the correct position throughout the gait. Avoid walking barefoot and wearing flat shoes. If your pain is severe, your doctor may recommend a walking boot or to cast you for a short time. This gives the tendon a chance to rest before any therapy is begun.

NON-STEROIDAL ANTI-INFLAMMATORY MEDICATION: Drugs such as ibuprofen and naproxen reduce pain and swelling. They do not, however, reduce thickening.

PHYSICAL THERAPY: Achilles tendinitis can be a painful, chronic condition if left untreated. Physical therapists may use stretching, massage, custom orthotics, strengthening, and/or balance activities to help your body relieve pain and heal.

CORTISONE INJECTIONS: Cortisone, a type of steroid, is a powerful anti-inflammatory medication. Cortisone injections into the Achilles tendon are rarely recommended because they can cause the tendon to rupture (tear).

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feet cause pain

Can Your Feet Cause Pain in Your Knee, Hip or Back?

- Back, Blog, Foot, Hip, Knee

CanYourFeetCausePain_FBsize

Can your feet cause pain in other areas of the body?  Yes it can.  The foot is an arch and arches decrease compressive forces by distributing them across the span of the arch. Engineers use arches in building and bridges to hold up greater weight across longer spans.  The human foot has 3 arches that all work together to distribute the forces our bodies put on it.  This allows us to walk, run and jump.

We start running into problems when the arch is either too flat or too high – causing the forces put through the foot to be abnormally distributed, resulting in strain.

  • Flat feet limit the range of motion of our ankle, causing our hips to rotate inward and move towards the center of our body.
  • High arches do the opposite to our hip joints.
  • These changes cause strain to our ankle, knee and hip joints, and our back.

knee pain

People can be unaware that their feet cause pain throughout the body because they were born with flat feet or high arches and they do not know what “normal” feels like.   As physical therapists we have treated many children who didn’t realize that their feet are not supposed to be sore.  But instead of seeing them for prescribed foot pain, they come for pain in their joints or back.

Orthotics were developed to correct or adapt to changes in the foot.  Orthotics should be fitted by a healthcare professional trained in assessing the foot and gait.  Standing on a pressure plate in the store is not good enough.  Why?  If your foot hurts are you going to stand on it normally?  Probably not.  This results in an abnormal reading.

An orthotic by itself is not the best treatment.   A physical therapist will assess your function, strength, flexibility and range of motion.  Patients will present with other problems as the result of abnormal arches.  Treatment with orthotics combined with strengthening and stretching exercises, balance training, functional training and manual therapy is necessary to restore full function.