If you’re like many people, you’ve enjoyed easy, pain-free mobility your entire life. As you get older, or if you suffer an injury or trauma, this may change. Pain anywhere can be miserable, but pain in the hips, legs, knees, or feet can make it difficult or impossible to move around, interfering with many basic activities.
Acute pain, or pain that comes on suddenly, is usually the result of an injury or trauma. This type of pain is typically easier to diagnose and treat, partly because it’s pretty easy to figure out what triggered it, and also because it’s less likely to be ignored.
Chronic pain, which comes on gradually and may start with little more than the occasional twinge, can be harder to treat, partly because it can be difficult to identify what causes it, but also because it’s more likely to be ignored, allowing it to grow worse over time.
Many people treat pain with medication so they can go about their lives with minimal interference. Medication only serves to cover pain, not cure it, which often leads to taking more medication, perhaps even at higher doses. If this describes you, you could be making the problem worse, and risking long term health consequences.
Chiropractic can offer relief, not by masking pain, but by finding and treating the root of the problem. Chiropractic is safe, gentle, and effective. But chiropractic doesn’t stop at finding and treating the problem that is causing your pain, it goes further and helps you strengthen the area to help you avoid future injury or pain. Besides the techniques you may be familiar with, chiropractors have a couple of techniques specifically used to treat pain in the lower part of the body.
Myofascial Release Technique is often used for treating tightness in the lower hips, legs, and lower back, which can also contribute to knee pain. Myofascial release is a specific deep tissue massage technique used to loosen muscles in affected areas to relieve pain and improve range of motion.
Active Release Technique is a chiropractic technique most often used to treat injuries to the meniscus, one of the most common knee injuries, especially among those who participate in sports.
Many problems begin in the feet. Each foot is made up of 26 little bones, 33 joints, 20 muscles, and over 100 ligaments, each of which is crucial to not only supporting the weight of the rest of your body, but also bending, rotating, and flexing so you can move. Your feet are under constant strain, especially if you wear shoes that don’t fit properly, or high heels.
When you have a problem with your feet, the rest of your body will be thrown out of alignment, leading to many other problems. You can identify problems that could cause pain later by looking at the soles of your shoes. If you notice uneven wear, especially on either the inside or outside of the shoes, you may have a misalignment or other problem that could lead to more painful issues.
If you are experiencing pain in your feet, legs, knees, or hips, a chiropractor can help. Even if you aren’t experiencing pain, if you notice any uneven wear in your shoes, a chiropractor can assess your gait and how you distribute your weight to identify any abnormalities. If needed, your chiropractor can recommend custom orthotic insoles to ensure proper alignment and balance to keep you mobile and pain free.
If you are in pain, or even if you just want to be certain that everything is working as it should, call Chatty Chiropractic now on (03) 9303 9952 (Roxburgh Park) or (03) 9746 3977 (Sunbury) to schedule an appointment for a chiropractic evaluation.