Common Conditions

Arthritis is a disease affecting the joints of the foot and ankle. We can assess, monitor and provide advice and assistance by monitoring your feet for signs, symptoms and changes. 

Arthritis comes in many forms, the most common being osteoarthritis, although sometimes this can’t be prevented, it can be slowed down and we can assist symptoms.

There are many causes and complications. We use comprehensive methods of history taking, examination and activity modification to assess and create an effective diagnosis and treatment plan for coexisting foot and ankle diseases.

Like other areas of the body, the feet and their attached(remove) ankles also run the risk of developing musculoskeletal problems. While some foot and ankle issues are more complex than others, the experienced team of podiatrists at Functional Foot & Ankle Group will ensure your treatment is the perfect fit.

Depending on the severity of your case, foot or ankle surgery may become an option for you. Our Podiatric Surgeon has the experience and skills to treat a wide range of foot and ankle conditions and injuries. 

Do you get pressure and pain on the balls of your feet and heels? Does the ball of your heel or forefoot make the majority of pressure areas when you see your foot print?

You likely have a high arch foot type and you are more likely to experience reduced ability to absorb shock and load through your feet. This also has an effect on stability of the ankle for some, as you will put more pressure on the outside of your foot and are more likely to roll your ankle or have stress related injuries to your lower limbs. 

The chronic friction for such foot types may lead to callous or corns on the high-pressure areas as well.

Have you noticed your toes changing shape, becoming more like claws than they are straight? Do you often get corns, pain or irritation of your toe joints when in footwear? You could have claw or hammer toe deformities.

These are caused by a complex interaction of your foot type and function. Our feet have a complex network of muscles and tendons that make it move, just like a puppet has strings.

If an imbalance of the action of some of these muscles and tendons which attach in the toes occurs, then they can become buckled and deformed. Over time, if this poor position is maintained, the joints in the toe can become arthritic and can be set in that position, causing many problems, especially with footwear and irritation.

Treatment for these claw and hammertoes can include non-surgical techniques such as addressing the corns and protecting them with various paddings and strappings to footwear advice and orthotics by our experienced Podiatrists.

Surgical correction can provide successful results, especially if conservative measures fail.

There are 26 bones in your feet, which is over ¼ of your whole body. With an incredibly clever design, all 33 joints and their surrounding ligaments, tendons and muscles work together to propel us daily.

They take a substantial load and it is no wonder fractures can occur through overuse or acute injuries to our bones and soft tissue. 

Our team of Podiatrists can help you assess your injury quickly and effectively and may also use diagnostic imaging as needed. Our Podiatrists will create a treatment plan, with realistic time frames depending on your injury. 

We have moon boots and post-operative shoes, as well as carbon fibre plates in our clinics on standby. A patient-specific rehabilitation program, specific for your needs will be created and work with you every step of the way to get you back on your feet as quickly as possible. 

Does the back of your heel bone hurt when walking or running or perhaps up higher at the heel cord? You could be suffering from Achilles tendonitis or simply inflammation of the Achilles tendon.

This tendon is part of a very powerful and important muscle in our posterior chain used when walking and running called the calf muscle. If the tendon becomes mechanically stressed or fatigued, then it can become inflamed and hence painful. One of the major causes of this mechanical fatigue is foot function.

That is why it is essential that you have your feet checked along with getting the correct advice regarding exercise regimen, stretches, dry needling, strengthening/ loading, footwear and medical management with anti-inflammatory agents.

If your foot is unstable during walking and running, this can place unnecessary strain on your Achilles tendon. The use of prescription orthoses is a successful way to address any mechanical foot problems and aid in the recovery of this problem, and hopefully address any future mechanical causes which may result in re-injury in the future.

Pain under the ball of the first toe joint can often be Sesamoiditis. Sesamoids are two small bones that lie within the tendon under the big toe joint and are imperative for the foot to function effectively. 

Much of the load transfer which occurs during the propulsive phase of walking and running is transmitted through the first toe joint, which is why it is larger and more robust than the other toe joints in your foot. For this weight transmission to occur effectively, adequate leverage is required.

The sesamoid bones help provide this much needed leverage force, hence their strategic position under the first toe joint.

If there is repeated stress on the area through mechanical or physical stress, these can become inflamed and become painful and generally will need a combination of treatment methods depending the severity of the patients symptoms. Offloading within the shoe, activity modification or rest and sometimes medication or injections are needed. 

A sprained ankle occurs when your foot rolls, twists or turns the ankle beyond its normal range of motion. This can stretch or tear the ligaments or tendons that assist in keeping the ankle stable. More severe sprains can involve fractures.

Treatment for these differ depending on the severity, hence, it’s always a good idea to get one of our Podiatrists to assess and diagnose and decide on the correct treatment plan.

Myofascial Pain Syndromes (MPS) are defined as musculoskeletal pain disorders caused by one or more myofascial trigger points and their associated reflexes. MPSs are most often under-diagnosed or misdiagnosed and this is mainly attributed to incomplete knowledge of their nature, lack of validated diagnostic criteria and confusion/overlap of symptoms with those of other musculoskeletal pain disorders.

Myofascial Trigger Points (TrPs) are hyper-irritable points located in taut bands of skeletal muscle or fascia which when compressed lead to local tenderness and referral pain. The pathophysiology of trigger point formation is enormously complex but are thought to develop in response to sudden injury or prolonged muscle overload. Injured muscle fibres shorten, (forming taut bands) either in response to excessive Ca2+ ion release, or increased acetylcholine release from the motor end plate, producing local tenderness and referred pain.

Trigger Point Injection/Dry Needling is an incredibly effective treatment of MPSs and often provides patients prompt symptom relief.

Inflammation of the Peroneal tendon is a common cause of pain at the side or back of the foot, through an acute or chronic (overuse) injury. The Peroneal muscle and tendon assist the foot in flexing upward and outward and play an important role in stabilising and preventing sprained ankles.

As with all tendon issues, there are different methods of treatment, pending injury severity and causation. 

Our Podiatrists can help choosing the right one for you, get in touch today.

Does your child complain of a painful knee particularly during sport?

Or do they complain of a painful, usually swollen area just below the kneecap? Then they are probably suffering from a common growth-related condition called Osgood Schlatter’s Disease. This condition is not a disease as such, but rather a tight tendon attachment to a soft growth plate located below the knee.

During periods of rapid bone growth, particularly in the long bones of the leg, this tendon pulls at the immature growth plate to which it is attached and causes inflammation and pain.

Treatment for this problem includes appropriate stretching exercises, perhaps a visit to the physiotherapist, and a visit to the podiatrist who may prescribe orthotics if foot posture and mechanics are contributing factors. If foot motion is incorrect, this can result in the muscles of the leg working harder to control the poorly functioning feet and hence put more strain on the knee.

Have you noticed that you or your child’s feet are flat?

Flat feet are often an indication that the foot’s architecture and hence function are not correct.

Just as engineers construct bridges and buildings with arch structures incorporated in the design to support weight, your feet have anatomical arches to perform the same task, seeing as your entire body weight rests and is supported by your feet. 

When your arches are collapsed, your foot becomes flat and unable to perform its task efficiently. The bone, tendon and ligament structures that compose this natural arch fatigue and you can subsequently get pain and discomfort in your feet. 

These symptoms can also be experienced in the ankles, legs, knees, hips and lower back as they are all structures that lie above the foundation being your feet.

Treatment for this problem often involves a comprehensive assessment of your individual biomechanical structure and function. There are a range of modalities that may be used to assist in the process, for example, a computerised gait analysis system. 

Joints that are more flexible than normal or that move in excess of a normal range of motion are considered hypermobile. When generalized, hypermobility is called hypermobility syndrome or joint hypermobility syndrome. Rarely, children may have a more widespread connective tissue disorder associated with their hypermobility such as Marfan or Ehlers-Danlos syndrome.

Treatment for hypermobility is individualized, depending on the severity of symptoms and impact on your child’s daily activities. If mild with few symptoms, your child may not need any treatment.

When treatment is needed, Podiatrists can provide strengthening exercises, to better protect the joints and avoiding extreme range of motion. Orthotics are also a successful method of reducing fatigue and soreness on the lower limbs in correspondences with strengthening exercises.