Foot intrinsic stretch

Pivotal Motion Physiotherapy presents this foot intrinsic stretch that will assist foot and ankle pain.  This stretch should not be an aggravating stretch.  

Sports Medicine Australia on Sports Injuries

Don’t let injuries cut your sporting season short – simple steps can keep you going strong.

Anita Green could have chosen a more convenient place to sprain her ankle. Then a 20-year-old medical student, she was deep into a New Zealand bushwalk and miles away from the nearest road when she stumbled over a patch of rough ground and felt a jolt of pain shoot through the joint.

“Luckily there was a glacier nearby so I could ice it,” Green laughs. She cooled the injury for a while and her friends helped her bind it in bandages, “but I still had to walk three hours to get out,” she says. It can’t have been fun.

The hiking accident wasn’t the first time Green sprained her ankle. In fact, over the years she’d injured it six or seven times playing sports like cricket, basketball and tennis. “Every time I went to a doctor, they wouldn’t treat it seriously once they’d ruled out a broken bone,” she says.

The trouble was, every time Green sprained the joint, it became weaker and weaker, and the injuries worse and worse. Finally, after the New Zealand episode, she made an appointment with a sports physiotherapist who told her that she needed to spend some time overcoming underlying muscle and ligament weakness contributing to the sprains.

Overall, recovery from that last injury took six months of careful rehabilitation, says Green. But the effort was worth it – in the years since then, she hasn’t had another major problem with her ankle.

Ankle strengthening exercises

Exercise physiologist Andrew Cate suggests some simple exercises to help maintain strength, flexibility and stability in your ankle joint, and prevent injury.

The ankle joint is made up of three bones – tibia, fibula and talus – with ligaments on both sides of joint that hold the bones together. There are also many tendons that cross the ankle joint and facilitate movement. The ankle joint is responsible for moving your foot up towards your shin (dorsi flexion) and down towards the floor (plantar flexion). Another joint below the ankle joint moves your foot out to the side (eversion) an in towards your other foot (inversion).

Toe tapping

• Sit on a chair or bench, and raise your toes up towards your shins, keeping your heels on the ground.
• Lower your toes so they touch the ground, keeping your heels on the ground.
• Perform two sets of 12 repetitions, and gradually build up your repetitions over time.
• Once this becomes easy, progress to tapping one foot at a time, and put your resting foot on top of the foot you’re tapping, pushing up against it.

Standing heel raises

• Stand on the edge of a step or bench on the balls of your feet.
• Raise your heels so you come up high on your toes.
• Lower your heels enough to feel a stretch in your calves for one repetition.
• Progress to one foot at a time as you get stronger.

Stand on one foot

• Stand with one foot flat on the ground, with your other leg bent back at the knee.
• Begin by holding for 30 seconds on each foot, and gradually build up your duration over time.
• Progress to standing on one foot with your eyes closed.

Ankle circles and alphabet

• Lift one foot into the air, and draw circles with your toes for 30 seconds.
• Make sure to move your ankle through its full range of motion in both directions.
• Repeat on the other foot.
• As you progress, pretend to write letters of the alphabet with your foot.

Please note: These are general exercises. If you have an injury you should consult a qualified health professional for advice and an exercise program tailored to your needs.

Anti-pronation taping for the foot and ankle

Pivotal Motion Podiatry and Physiotherapy clinics present an anti-pronation taping that supports the arch of the foot.  This taping is particularly useful for plantar fascia issues and pain in the metatarsal region.

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Shoe lace changes to relieve pain

Patients come to Pivotal Motion Podiatry in the past concerned about numbness and pins and needles every time that they go for a run. After checking out all of the possibilities that could cause the problem, we eventually get to looking at footwear. Often, these seemingly serious problem can be solved with a simple change to how the patient laces their shoes.

This problem is particularly common with people that have a reasonably high arch. The high arch often puts more pressure at the top of the foot against the shoe. If the shoe is too tight, there are a number of nerves that run across the top of the foot that can become compressed. This can cause changes to sensation in the form of pins and needles, burning, pain, or numbness.

Shoelaces can be the cause of your shoe pain.

Many problems can be resolved by simply changing the way you lace your shoes. I have stumbled upon a great website, “Ian’s Shoelace Site”, which details a huge range of different lacing techniques for decoration and comfort. It can be found at Ian's Shoe Lace Site and has some amazing ideas to avoid shoe lace issues. Here are a few of the most common techniques that are suggested:

If your shoes appear to be slipping at the heels, or not tight enough around the mouth of the shoe, the ‘lace-lock’ technique is great for tightening the shoe around the ankle. The lace lock technique uses the top two holes that are found at the top of a pair of shoes. Once tightened, the shoes will hold much firmer to the foot.

This lacing can be used to create a gap at the top of the foot. This can be used to take pressure away from a painful bump, or to prevent the laces from compressing the top nerves of the foot at a specific location.

Straight bar lacing is another method that can evenly reduce the pressure at the top of the foot.

This technique is great because it allows the shoes to be tightened with the use of only one hand – particularly useful for disabilities or injuries, such as arthritis or a broken arm.

Knotted lacing ensures that a firmer positioning of the laces, preventing unwanted slipping.

If you are looking for more creative ideas to assist with ankle and foot pain look future at Ian's Shoe Lace Site.

Ankle Surgery - Brisbane Surgeon Dr Greg Stirling

Dr Greg Stirling is a Brisbane located orthopaedic surgeron of whom specialises in lower limb injuries and conditions.  Surgeries that Dr Sterling conducts includes Achilles tendon surgery inclusive of repair; ankle arthroscopy (keyhole surgery); ankle arthrodesis (fusion); plantar fasciitis; subtalar joint fusion.

Foot intrinsic muscle stretches

Stretching the foot at times can be difficult.  This foot intrinsic stretch is effective for those with plantar fasciitis and lower leg cramps.  Thanks Pivotal Motion Physiotherapy for this video.

Tandem Stance for improving ankle stability

Pivotal Motion Physiotherapy assists patients with ankle instability or general balance with Tandem Stance exercise

Ankle joint taping→

Ankle taping for sports is at times imperative.  Pivotal Motion Physiotherapy presents how to tape a basic ankle for a lateral ankle sprain injury. Adaptations also include how to restrict plantar flexion movement with is pointing of the toes.