Knee and Ankle Pain

Knee and Ankle Pain

The ankle and knee are complex joints which are often affected by your biomechanics and foot posture. Therefore, if you are experiencing ankle or knee pain or both, it is necessary to get a biomechanical assessment.

Patello – Femoral Joint Syndrome

Knee pains at the front of the knee when walking up or down stairs, during sitting and inflammation are all signs of the patello-femoral joint syndrome. This occurs as a response to the inflammation under the surface of the knee cap.

There are a number of causes of patello-femoral pain syndrome including overstressing the joint with specific activities such as running, excessive pronation and a quadriceps muscle imbalance.

Arthritis

Arthritis is inflammation of one or more of your joints. It can cause pain, stiffness and loss of mobility in any joint in the body and is quite common in the joints of the foot and ankle.

During standing, walking, and running, the foot and ankle provide support, shock absorption, balance, and various other roles that are vital for movement.

Osteoarthritis is the most common and is a degenerative condition. In osteoarthritis, the cartilage in the joint gradually thins and is worn away. As this occurs, it becomes frayed and rough, and the joint space between the bones decreases. This loss of joint space can result in bone-on-bone shearing forces and produce painful osteophytes (bone spurs).

Osteoarthritis develops slowly, causing pain and stiffness that worsen over time. Poor foot and ankle biomechanics can result in osteoarthritis of the foot and ankle.

Rheumatoid arthritis is a chronic, systemic disease that usually affects multiple joints throughout the body, and often starts in the foot and ankle.

Rheumatoid arthritis is an autoimmune disease, meaning the body’s immune system attacks its own joints and tissues. In rheumatoid arthritis, immune cells attack the synovium (outer layer of joint) causing it to swell. As the disease progresses, the synovium invades then attacks and damages the bone and cartilage, as well as ligaments and tendons, and causes serious joint deformity and disability. An enlarged bunion and prominent metatarsal heads with loss of fatty pad on the ball of the foot are common clinical presentations of rheumatoid arthritis.

 

What can be done?

At Penrith Podiatry we can help:

• Footwear advice
• Stretching/strengthening of involved muscle groups
• Strapping
• Biomechanical Assessment and use of orthotics if necessary

At Penrith Podiatry we have the experience to treat the knee and ankle when they are related to poor foot mechanics. By controlling foot motion and creating better alignment in the lower limb, we may be able to reduce knee and ankle pain and dysfunction.