Biomechanics and Foot Mobilisation
Certainly, the most important aspects of heathy foot and lower legs can’t always be seen. The bone structures, muscles, tendons, ligaments, nerves and blood vessels, all must work together in harmony to ensure fully functioning, pain free and healthy feet. The field of Biomechanics primarily deals with how the skeleton and muscles, bound by ligaments and tendons, interact with the forces of the body and gravity to enable physical movement.
Some interesting facts about your feet. Did you know
- Each of your feet has 26 different bones?
- Your feet together have nearly ¼ of all the bones in your body?
- Each foot has 33 joints?
- Your toe bones are called Phalanges?
- Your Metatarsal bones connect to the Phalanges?
- Your Cuboid and cuneiform bones connect to the Metatarsals?
- Your heel bone is called the Calcaneus?
- Your ankle bone is called the Talus?
- A ligament is tissue which joins a bone to a bone?
- A tendon is tissue which joins a bone to a muscle?
- Transferred pain can make it difficult to find the true source of injuries
- Your Gait is the way you walk, your pattern, speed, rhythm, style.
As you can see, there’s lots of moving parts, and plenty of things that can go wrong. It’s not always obvious where problems lie, and many times we ignore niggling and painful problems until they become “normal” to us. If left untreated, these issues can lead to a gradual and permanent loss of mobility which has a knock-on detrimental effect on our quality of life.
Why do Joints Stiffen or Lock Up?
Joint stiffness or a locked joint can be associated with any joint, muscle, tendon and ligament injury or some other underlying cause such as a chronic condition. Joints can lock and become stuck in an open or closed position, much like a door that doesn’t quite fully swing open or close, it runs into something and it becomes stiff and/or painful.
Joint stiffness or locked joints in the feet can alter the alignment causing an altered gait, in turn causing other issues such as callus, corns or referred pain. Due to the anatomy of the foot and its interactions with the knees, legs and hips, often issues with feet can manifest as joint issues elsewhere.
Mobilisation treatments, have come a long way over the years, and there are many treatment options available. Podiatrists use several techniques to diagnose, analyse and treat biomechanical issues. These include Gait Analysis, Joint Mobilisation and Orthotics.
Joint mobilisation techniques focus on attaining a normal range and pain-free joint motion, whereas orthotics provide support to maintain the natural shape of your foot. At Bull Creek Podiatry, we pride ourselves on providing a holistic view to treat patients with the latest advanced techniques, tailored to the individual.
It doesn’t matter whether your issues are sports related, growth related, age related or otherwise, we’re here to help. For treatment or advise contact us now at BCP for a consultation.
