Your feet have to bear the weight of your entire body, so that puts more pressure on them as they impact on the ground. That means your feet and ankles are more likely to experience:
- bone pain at the top of the foot
- fractures from a small injury, or even just from walking!
In fact, the bones can become so brittle that if you see our Chiropodist for pain, redness, and swelling on your feet, she may detect a fracture and also determine if you might have osteoporosis. That’s right, some people find out they have osteoporosis because of a foot fracture!
There are a number of factors that can contribute to stress factors:
Gender – They are more commonly found in women compared to men, especially after Menopause. Since estrogen helps prevent bones from getting weaker by slowing the natural breakdown of bone, its reduction during menopause significantly speeds up bone loss.
Foot Problems – People with unusual arches in their feet are more likely to develop stress fractures.
Certain Sports – Dancers, gymnasts, tennis players, runners, and basketball players are more likely to develop stress fractures.
Lack of Nutrients – A lack of vitamin D and calcium may weaken the bones and make you more prone to stress fractures.
Weak Bones – Osteoporosis can weaken the bones therefore resulting in stress fractures.
As people age, we experience depleted circulation, dry skin, rough, brittle nails, and bone density loss. This can affect your foot health if steps are not taken to treat them. Proper foot health means that you can have a more active lifestyle, with less pain and increased circulation.
How a Chiropodist can help:
A full biomechanical analysis will be performed to see how your gait, muscles and tendons around the fracture are affected.
Custom made foot Orthotics may be recommended if muscles, tendons, ligaments and joints are not in an optimal functional position which can aggravate pain and discomfort. It is also important to reduce further strain on the fractured area. Our custom orthotics can be made from different materials to accommodate your needs, such as semi flexible, semi-rigid, rigid or additional cushioning and make a significant difference on your recovery and future prevention.
