Do you suffer from knee, hip and/or lower back pain?
There are many conditions associated with knee, hip and lower back pains such as Osgood Schlatter (growing pain in the knee), patellofemoral pain (maltracking of the kneecap), iliotibial tibial band (ITB) syndrome, patella tendinopathy, osteoarthritis, and bursitis.Whatever the diagnosis may be, it could be caused or exacerbated by dysfunctions of the feet and legs. Any weakness or movement impairments in the foot and ankle can lead to excessive loading in the soft tissues (muscles, tendons, ligaments) and joints of the knee and hip. The increased load on the knee can accelerate wear and tear of the cartilage and meniscus, resulting in early osteoarthritis.
Patellofemoral pain syndrome, which accounts for up to 40% of all knee pain in all age groups, is often associated with foot pronation (rolling in). During pronation of the foot where the arch flattens out, there is a rotation movement that occurs at the knee, and this results in muscle imbalances of the thigh and hip muscles, causing kneecap tracking problems.
Here is the rule: “when there’s a restriction, there’ll be compensation.”
Restriction of the foot and ankle joints is another typical problem that creates a chain of events throughout the body. Restriction of the ankle dorsiflexion (upward bending) would force compensation to occur in the knee, hip and/or lower back during gait and squatting motion, as the ankles are unable to bend when they needed to.
Bunion or osteoarthritis of the big toe joint would affect one’s ability to perform lunge movement due to restrictions in the toe joint.
What we do to help
No matter the issue, our sports podiatrists are trained and are experienced to identify and treat any foot and ankle dysfunctions that may be causing or contributing to your knee, hip or lower back pain. Our aim is to provide corrective care to your feet to build a strong and stable foundation to support your knee, hip and lower back, while addressing the symptoms of the affected body areas with our specialised treatment.
To see if your feet and legs are contributing to your knee, hip or lower back pain, please book a time and get assessed today. Once the problem is identified, our sports podiatrist will provide you a tailored treatment plan to achieve your health goal(s) together!
Effective treatment techniques for knee, hip and lower back pain:
- Foot Mobilisation Techniques
- Custom Foot Orthoses
- Kinesiology Sports Taping
- Corrective / Rehabilitation Exercises
