| I had an email last week from a relatively | | | | |
| new runner asking who they should see for | | | | How? Your feet affect your postural control. |
| their knee pain. I asked if they twisted, | | | | Postural control is the ability to maintain |
| fell, or jammed their knee or if it was just | | | | the body's center of mass over the supportive |
| a wear and tear injury? They confided that as | | | | foot, a.k.a. being able to keep your balance. |
| they increased their mileage and distance, | | | | Often, balance or proprioception is lost in |
| their knee pain started to increase. New | | | | patients with chronic foot and ankle |
| shoes helped, but didn't fix their nagging | | | | instability from an underlying congenital |
| pain. Sounds like a biomechanical problem to | | | | foot type. This leads to lack of postural |
| me! But it could still be a traumatic injury | | | | control which leads to knee, hip and back |
| they can't remember...especially if they were | | | | pain a.k.a. postural symptoms. Many studies |
| out dancing on tables on a Friday night ... | | | | have concluded that a functional orthotic |
| Just kidding! | | | | reduces postural sway and improves stability, |
| | | | therefore reduces further injury in patients |
| Seriously, mechanically induced knee pain is | | | | with congenital or acquired foot and ankle |
| extremely common in runners. A good analogy | | | | instability. |
| is that if you need a tire realignment on | | | | |
| your car, the struts can wear out. In fact, | | | | How is biomechanical knee pain treated? A |
| you may have no acute foot and ankle problems | | | | complete biomechancial exam can help to |
| at all and they can still be the cause of | | | | assess how to realign your feet and lower |
| your symptoms. | | | | extremities. Functional orthotics can be made |
| | | | to precisely fix your foot deformities and |
| The best way to assess a runner's knee | | | | functional abnormalities. |
| problem is to start with a sports medicine | | | | |
| orthopedist who can rule-out a primary knee | | | | Bottom line, if your knee pain is chronic and |
| problem, like a tear in the meniscus | | | | you have ruled out a primary knee problem, |
| (cartilage), ligaments or tendons. If a | | | | look to your support structures known as your |
| primary knee problem is ruled-out, but you | | | | feet. |
| just keep having this nagging pain; or if | | | | |
| your tendonitis keeps recurring in spite of | | | | Pain slowing down your run? Dr Marybeth Crane |
| being compliant with physical therapy and | | | | is a board certified foot and ankle surgeon |
| rest; it's time to look elsewhere for the | | | | and a veteran marathon running podiatrist. |
| cause. | | | | For a copy of her FREE BOOK or more |
| | | | information on running injuries, she can be |
| Your feet affect the function of all their | | | | reached at her website or peruse her musing |
| contiguous structures or in English, | | | | on her blog! She also offer doctor-approved |
| everything they are connected to. Yes, your | | | | foot care products for your health! |
| feet can even cause back and neck pain! | | | | |