The answer is yes! Osteopaths are trained to provide a thorough assessment and treatment of your feet and ankles. We often find an increase in foot and lower limb presentations over summer as incorrect footwear, such as thongs or sandals, or walking bare feet, can cause pain in some people. This may be if you regularly wear orthotics or have certain conditions that require support through the arch of the foot. Something we assess for which most people have heard of is ‘flat feet’.  Pronation of the foot is an essential movement for walking and running, however, overpronation, or ‘flat feet‘, can lead to problems at the foot such as bunions, plantar heel pain and metatarsalgia. The way we strike the ground determines how the rest of our lower limb will follow, and overpronation may also lead to issues at the ankle, knee, hip and low back.  On the flip side if you have increased supination or a high arch, this can also cause issues not only at the foot such as plantar heel pain and stress fractures, but further up the limb as well.

The potential influence of your foot posture on your pain can be determined through a thorough assessment during your Osteopathic consult. If your Osteopath thinks altering your footwear may be required, they can provide advice on general arch-support inserts from the local chemist; remind you to wear your orthotics at home and when going to the beach, or guide you in buying appropriate footwear. We also work closely with some great local podiatrists so will also refer on when necessary. So if you’ve been getting any foot, lower limb or back pain, and think your footwear may be contributing please call us on 5977 0466  or book online to make an appointment with our Osteopaths to assess your foot posture and discuss footwear.

Just a reminder we currently have Archies Footwear in stock, which are a great range of thongs with an orthotic support and raised heel to encourage optimal foot posture and aid whole body alignment.