Foot and Ankle Pain/Injury & Surgery

I see many patients with Ankle or Achilles tendon injuries in my clinic for Physiotherapy in Glasgow.

The foot is a complex biomechanical structure that cannot be reproduced by modern technology! It consists of about 30 different joints, some as small as having a few millimetres of contact area. The ankle joint is the largest joint here but even this is quite small compared to its larger counterparts like the hip and knee joints in the lower limb. However, the ankle transmits exactly the same amount of load that a hip or knee does taking a much larger share of the load per unit surface area. Whereas hip and knee joints frequently become arthritic with advancing age, the ankle remains to function well for a longer duration unless it is damaged by injury or infection.

A number of conditions seen in Physiotherapy clinics affect the foot and ankle, many of them related to trauma. For example, ankle sprain is one of the most common reasons patients seek emergency treatment at A+E or at the GP.

Ankle injuries may need assessment by qualified practitioners to exclude fracture or ligament rupture. Physiotherapy is often effective in the early stages of the injury process and continuing with your Physiotherapy exercises is important to get a lasting benefit.