Primitive Therapy
22691 Lambert St #520
Lake Forest, CA, 92630
949-310-4276(phone)
888-391-4236 (fax)
info@primitivetherapy.com
22691 Lambert St #520
Lake Forest, CA, 92630
949-310-4276(phone)
888-391-4236 (fax)
info@primitivetherapy.com
How Can We Help?
Neck Pain
Shoulder Pain
Elbow Pain
Low Back Pain
Hip/Pelvic Pain
Knee Pain
Foot and Ankle Pain
Neck Pain
Shoulder Pain
Elbow Pain
Low Back Pain
Hip/Pelvic Pain
Knee Pain
Foot and Ankle Pain
The Foot and Ankle Pain Solution
Learn how to solve your pain by following simple exercises. These exercises are design for people who want to self-manage their pain from home and for those who are currently getting treatment and want to get better and longer lasting results.
Click Here
Click Here
Click Here to Schedule an Appointment or Contact Us
The Foot and Ankle Pain Solution
Treating the Root Cause of Your Symptoms
The treatment for your symptoms will vary depending on the actual pain you are experiencing. But the treatment for the cause of your symptoms will be the same for each of these dysfunctions: learn how to move better. In almost every case of the common ankle and foot problems (plantar fasciitis, shin splints, chronic ankle sprains, etc) are caused by a combination of two things: tightness in the calf muscles and weakness of the posterior tibialis muscle. We use a combination of Functional Manual Therapy, proprioceptive neuromuscular facilitation (PNF), therapeutic exercises, and Functional Cryotherapy to treat your symptoms and enhance the mobility of your calf and increase the strength of your posterior tibialis.
Proper Motion, Orthotics, and Shoes
Your feet, unencumbered by high-tech, expensive, poorly designed, and harmful shoes are designed wonderfully to function naturally on the ground. In your daily life, please ignore the marketing messages trying to convince you that you must wear shoes and other footwear. Go barefoot whenever physically safe and socially acceptable. When going barefoot is not an option, wear flat, unsupported footwear. Arch supports, orthotics, shoe inserts, etc can be very harmful (unless you have a true bony deformity) and can lead to, among other things, ankle sprains, knee arthritis, low back pain, shoulder pain, and neck pain.
If your feet are 'pronated' (as many people have been told their feet are), that does not necessarily mean you need supportive footwear or orthotics. Pronation is a natural and necessary motion for the foot to make. When you take a step and your foot hits the ground your foot must pronate to absorb the shock of hitting the ground. Then your foot must go in the opposite direction (supinate) to create stability. The problem arises when your foot pronates but then doesn't supinate to create stability. This places excessive stress on many structures in the foot and ankle: the shin muscles (creating shin splints), the plantar fascia (plantar fasciitis), the knees, hips, and low back. But the solution isn't put your foot in an orthotic to stop you from pronating. You HAVE to pronate to absorb shock. If you stop yourself from pronating then the shock of hitting the ground will go somewhere (creating damage to many areas of your body: ankle, knee, hip, or low back arthritis). The answer is not an orthotic or expensive supported shoes, but getting strengthening your posterior tibialis muscle. This muscle goes from the inside of your lower leg, wraps around the inside of the bottom of your foot, and creates and supports the arch of your foot. With a strong and properly functioning posterior tibialis muscle, your arch can function correctly: allowing your foot to pronate when it needs to and supinate when it needs.
If your feet are 'pronated' (as many people have been told their feet are), that does not necessarily mean you need supportive footwear or orthotics. Pronation is a natural and necessary motion for the foot to make. When you take a step and your foot hits the ground your foot must pronate to absorb the shock of hitting the ground. Then your foot must go in the opposite direction (supinate) to create stability. The problem arises when your foot pronates but then doesn't supinate to create stability. This places excessive stress on many structures in the foot and ankle: the shin muscles (creating shin splints), the plantar fascia (plantar fasciitis), the knees, hips, and low back. But the solution isn't put your foot in an orthotic to stop you from pronating. You HAVE to pronate to absorb shock. If you stop yourself from pronating then the shock of hitting the ground will go somewhere (creating damage to many areas of your body: ankle, knee, hip, or low back arthritis). The answer is not an orthotic or expensive supported shoes, but getting strengthening your posterior tibialis muscle. This muscle goes from the inside of your lower leg, wraps around the inside of the bottom of your foot, and creates and supports the arch of your foot. With a strong and properly functioning posterior tibialis muscle, your arch can function correctly: allowing your foot to pronate when it needs to and supinate when it needs.
Achilles Tendinitis and Tears/Ruptures
Achilles problems are very common for middle-age men, especially those known as 'Weekend Warriors' (those who are very active a few days a week but not daily - such as long-distance running on the weekends, long hikes once every couple of months, playing in a volleyball tournament once a year, suddenly deciding to play tag football with the kids, etc). Usually the calf muscle (which attaches to the Achilles) is very tight in these individuals and extreme amounts of stretch are placed on the Achilles during activities. The tendon becomes chronically stretched and then one day... POP! - and it rips. The only way to prevent this problem is through consistent work to keep the calf flexible, reduce any knots in it, and be active daily (instead of being extremely active is short bursts).
Ankle Sprains
Ankle sprains are very much related to all the things we've discussed so far, but have a number of unique characteristics worthy of their own brief discussion. Please refer to our Ankle Sprain (Chronic Ankle Sprains) page for more details on our treatment approach to this common problem.
You Must Be Actively Involved
The only way you will ever get better is if you are actively involved in your treatment. Although our magic hands can change your body, improve your movement, and reduce your pain, you are the only one who can learn to move better, change the way you treat your body, and keep up with your exercises. We are very successful and get excellent results for our patients, but that is only because our patients know they are more than 50% responsible for their recovery. We are not into failure, and neither should you be!
