When you have foot pain, you may resort to over-the-counter insoles, custom prosthetics, heel pads, and a variety of other solutions that do not really address the problem. You may assume your problem is the result of wearing high heels or other shoes that don’t fit, of standing or walking on your feet too long, or of being overweight, without considering that the pain may be something you need to seek medical attention for. Chiropractic treatment may be able to help you get to the root of foot pain.
Common Types Of Foot Pain
The foot is comprised of 26 bones that can cause pain if they are misaligned. In the hands of a good chiropractor, foot adjustments can offer long-lasting relief from foot pain regardless of where it occurs:
- Top of foot
- Arch of foot
- Ball of foot
- Side of foot
- Back of foot or heel
- Bottom of foot or heel
These common foot misalignments may result from problems, such as:
- Pronation, when your arches are too weak to keep your feet properly aligned
- Metatarsalgia, when the metatarsal bones in the ball of the foot are misaligned
- Planter fasciitis, stress to the elastic tissues that span the length of the foot
- Heel spurs or calcium deposits
Home Remedies And Traditional Medicine Are Not Enough
Home remedies, supplemented by anti-inflammatories, rest, ice, and an even stretching exercise cannot get to the root of the problem like good chiropractic techniques can. Even respected medical treatments such as ultrasound, muscle stimulation, and exercise take a while to work and may not get fast enough relief. A chiropractor realizes that your feet may have scar tissue adhesion, muscle restrictions, and dysfunctions that require first investigating the location of distress in the muscles and soft tissues, and then treating them, often with methods such as Active Release Techniques known as ART.
Active Release Techniques May Help Your Foot Pain
ART is a type of active massage that shortens the muscle, tendon or ligament before applying hand pressure to the feet to stretch and lengthen the tissues. Once the muscles are lengthened, the practitioner is better able to assess whether the muscle contains scar tissue or whether it is healthy. If he finds pockets of scar, he can apply more tension in the area of the injury to treat it. In the process, he assesses whether your body has compensated for the dysfunctional area by placing stress elsewhere.
This technique is very helpful in treating plantar fasciitis and many other sources of foot pain that can interfere with basic walking, as well as sports, recreation, and work activities. While the length of the treatment program varies from person to person, as few as six treatments may produce significant results. This is why many sports teams have ART practitioners on staff to treat that star athletes who develop foot problems.
When you have foot pain, the chiropractors and medical staff at Raintree Medical & Chiropractic Center can help you find relief. Contact Raintree Medical & Chiropractic Center today at 816-623-3020. You can also request a convenient appointment online.