An ankle sprain is a common ankle injury that usually involves over-stretching and damage to one or more of the ligaments on the outside of your ankle. The ankle is a complex joint held together by a system of ligaments essential for transmitting movement and weight between your foot and the rest of your body. Ankle sprains happen if the ligaments around the ankle joint are damaged. Ligament damage is often graded as mild when a ligament is stretched; moderate when there is a partial tear and severe when a ligament is severed.

Symptoms of over-stretching or damage to the ligaments will include immediate pain and swelling. For more severe sprains, weight bearing may be difficult for a while and you may experience knee pain caused by the ankle sprain. Nerve damage after a severe sprain may occur if long-term swelling compresses the nerves around the ankle.

We will carefully assess your condition and will prescribe a suitable range of measures to aid your recovery, which may include one or a combination of stretches and exercises, Foot Manipulation Therapy and orthotics.

When the joints in your foot do not work in unison or if they are placed under excessive stress, it may lead to inflammation, pain and swelling of the joints (arthritis). During normal daily activity your ankle does a tremendous amount of work. It is the key joint allowing you to pivot over your foot. Misaligned joint function or excessive stress from flat feet, high arches or even knee or hip problems can cause the ankle to ‘wear out’ and become arthritic. If your ankle is not working properly you will have to get the ‘pivot’ from somewhere else, making your foot, knees, hips or back work harder.

Pain and stiffness in the joint is a common symptom of an arthritic ankle which can make walking and activities difficult. Stretches and exercises, acupuncture, Foot Manipulation Therapy and orthotics can all bring relief to an arthritic ankle. At Norfolk's BxClinic we will discuss the best therapies for you and offer support and advice to help you manage your pain and help you continue your daily activities.

A bony enlargement on the big toe joint that forms when the bone leading up to your big toe (metatarsal) moves away from the others creating an uneven pull between muscles in the foot and big toe. Over time, this action causes your big toe to pull towards your other toes eventually causing wear and tear to the joints, pain and arthritis. Poor lower body biomechanics will cause bunions to form, but those who run a lot or wear ill-fitting shoes are also at risk.

Hallux rigidus (bony restriction of the big toe functions) or limitus (soft tissue restriction) is often mistaken for a bunion because it causes a bony enlargement on the top of your big toe joint. It’s extremely painful in the foot and even into your shin as your body tries to make up for the missing big toe joint function.

Surgery for removal of a bunion is often only undertaken in the most severe cases; it cannot guarantee you will be pain-free with a perfectly aligned foot and it can permanently reduce the flexibility of the foot. At Norfolk’s BxClinic, we will discuss with you some options that can greatly reduce your pain and discomfort without the need for surgery. Our client-specific stretches and exercises, Foot Manipulation Therapy and orthotics have repeatedly shown to provide great pain relief from painful bunions.

The formation of a callus on the bottom of your foot is your skin’s response to pressure and friction, resulting from poor biomechanics. If the stress is not removed, it becomes a painful corn. Removing the callus and corn can provide a temporary remedy and reduce the pain. However, without permanently removing the cause of the pressure or friction the pain will come back every time, often very quickly. Foot Manipulation Therapy and orthotics can adjust the imbalance in your lower body biomechanics and bring long lasting pain relief.

Cuboid problems occur when the cuboid bone (a square-shaped bone just in front of the heel bone) is out of place. A vague pain on the outside of your foot running down to your two outside toes is a classic symptom of a problem with the cuboid bone. A displace cuboid bone is sometimes found to be the cause of lingering pain after an ankle sprain. Foot Manipulation Therapy and precision made orthotics can alleviate the problem.

A true flat foot is when the bones of your arch touch the ground when walking and standing, normally as a result of over-pronation.

Pronation is a normal movement occurring around your ankle characterised by the rolling inwards of your ankle and the rolling outwards of your heel bone and is your body’s natural shock absorption. People with flat feet simply pronate too much which can cause symptoms of heel pain, back pain and knee pain.

Flat feet can affect both adults and children and in both cases our precision made orthotics (inserts custom made to fit perfectly and comfortably into your shoes) will support your flat foot and the way you walk, reducing your discomfort. If you enjoy running we can make bespoke running orthotics. We can also prescribe stretches and exercises and Foot Manipulation Therapy, which are extremely beneficial.

High Arches occur when you are unable to ‘pronate’ enough (the rolling inwards of your ankle and outwards of your heel bone). Supination (the reverse of pronation) is a normal movement occurring around the ankle joint, it is essentially the opposite of pronation and allows you to stabilise your foot and have a solid platform to spring off. Problems arise when you cannot lower your arch enough, which gives you ‘high arches’ and leaves you with less shock absorption, which adds stress to the heel and ball of the foot and even your hip and back. With high arches the shock of the heel striking the floor in the normal walking cycle causes foot pain and transfers pain into the hips, ankles, knees and lower back.

Our precision made orthotics (shoe insoles) will support your symptoms and give your high arched feet room to move in a more helpful way, reducing the shock impact and taking away your discomfort. If you find running difficult because of your high arches we can design precision orthotics (inserts) for you that will greatly increase your comfort when you run. Foot Manipulation Therapy and stretches and exercises are also very effective in helping the symptoms of high arches.

Persistent inflammation (neuritis) occurs when the nerves that run between your metatarsals to your toes (the 3rd and 4th toe) are damaged due to excessive compression leading to symptoms of numbness or a burning sensation in the ball of the foot or toes. If the inflammation continues the cells around your nerve that help the nerve signal transmission become enlarged and less effective (Morton’s Neuroma).

Ill-fitting shoes are often a primary cause of compressing the nerve along with foot deformities like bunions and flat feet and repetitive irritation through sports such as running and court sports. At BxClinic, we will frequently advise a treatment course that will involve either Foot Manipulation Therapy, orthotics or acupuncture (or a combination) to help your recovery and provide you with pain relief.

True plantar fasciitis is caused by damage and stress to the thick band of tissue called fascia that runs under your foot connecting the heel bone to the toes. The fascia also helps to support your arch as you push off the ground and takes multiple times your body weight through your step.

There are over 40 different heel pains that are commonly mistaken for plantar fasciitis. To get the right result for your heel you must understand which of these conditions you have. For more information about which heel pain you have and how to treat it head to our Plantar fasciitis and heel pain page.

Plantar fasciitis is damage and stress to the fascia that can cause inflammation and pain in the heel or bottom of the foot when standing or walking. To find out what is causing your plantar fasciitis pain we have to assess what has caused the excessive stress. Common causes can include a sudden increase in intense exercise particularly running, being overweight, constantly being required to stand for long periods, flat feet or high arches, tight Achilles, and ill-fitting shoes.

Our precision made orthotics often provide the ideal remedy for plantar fasciitis; the custom designed insole will fit into your shoe or boot and provide arch support. We are likely to recommend a combination of stretches and exercises, acupuncture and Foot Manipulation Therapy to help cure your pain and bring long-term relief to sore feet and heels.

Plantar Fasciitis is also a common ‘umbrella’ term used to describe heel pain in general. Classic symptoms of ‘heel pain syndrome’ include pain in the heel when rising which then passes, only to return again later in the day.

For more discussion on treatment options for Plantar fasciitis check out our Blog

There are two ‘floating’ bones under the ball of your big toe. These bones move as your big toe propels you off the ground taking several hundred times your body weight with each step. If they become stuck or crushed, they cause intense ‘pin-point’ pain under the ball of your big toe.

At Norfolk's BxClinic will we carry out a detailed analysis of your foot which will show us if the bones are getting stuck or getting crushed. Once we have established this, we will get them moving for you if they are stuck or we will give them the freedom to move if they are getting crushed. We achieve this through effective use of Foot Manipulation Therapy, acupuncture and bespoke orthotics (individually created shoe insoles). These therapies should leave you pain-free without needing to undertake MRI scans or consider surgery.

Sever’s Disease syndrome is a condition unique to growing children, particularly active ones. As a child grows, the heel bone is one of the first to reach full adult size. When the tendons, muscles and ligaments don’t grow as fast as the heel bone, they are stretched too tight causing the child to feel pain at the Achilles. Children who are involved in sports that involve a lot of running and jumping like football, gymnastics, dancing and basketball often experience Sever’s Disease.

Acupuncture, bespoke orthotics (custom-made shoe inserts), stretches and exercises and Foot Manipulation Therapy are all extremely effective in bringing relief and cure from Sever’s Disease and following assessment Norfolk's BxClinic will prescribe one of a combination of these to help your child.

If your foot is unstable or your muscles weak, the function of your toes will be impaired and over time become fixed and possibly arthritic. The muscles that control your toes are divided into those that originate in the calf and the lower leg and those that originate in the foot. Lesser toe deformities such as claw toes and hammertoes are commonly caused by these muscles being used in the wrong way (poor biomechanics).

If your foot, ankle or general gait biomechanics are not working properly, the controlling toe muscles that originate in your lower leg can be recruited to help which pulls the toes out of position. The earlier this can be identified and treated the better, left untreated the toe joints become fixed which can be painful and harder to treat. Toe deformation also makes it very difficult to find shoes that fit and are comfortable. At Norfolk's BxClinic, we will assess the cause of your toe deformity and recommend a combination of Foot Manipulation Therapy, stretches and exercises, orthotics and acupuncture, all of which offer excellent pain management.

Ehlers–Danlos syndrome (EDS) describes a group of (13) connective tissue disorders affecting everything from skin to scar formation.

Your feet and ankles can be particularly affected by a variety of EDS known as hypermobile Ehlers-Danlos syndrome (hEDS) or Type 3 EDS.

hEDS will make your feet more vulnerable to pretty much every condition on this page.

Not all Hypermobility is hEDS. You can have only a few or even one hypermobile joint causing that specific region to be more vulnerable to conditions like muscle, fascia (plantar fasciitis) and ligament injuries.

Hypermobile joints are more prone to becoming arthritic as they tend to be regularly put through a higher range of motion than they are designed to take.

hEDS and hypermobility can be treated using a combination of strengthening exercises and orthotic insoles.

EDS and hypermobility are one of the only times we advise orthotic insoles may be preventative of injury occuring.

Rheumatoid arthritis is an auto-immune disease (meaning your body’s defenses are attacking themselves) that primarily affects the small joints.

Your feet have over 25 small joints so can be particularly affected by Rheumatoid arthritis.

Rheumatoid arthritis makes you more vulnerable to pretty much every condition you see on this page.

Rheumatoid arthritis of the feet can be treated using a combination of orthotic insoles to stabilise the small joints of the foot, and strengthening exercises to improve joint function.

Rheumatoid arthritis is one of the few conditions where we advice the use of orthotic insoles may be protective of your feet suffering other injuries.

Posterior tibial tendon dysfunction (PTTD) also known as Posterior tibial tendonitis, or posterior tibial tendon insufficiency, is a condition where one of the main tendons supporting the function of your foot and ankles becomes injured.

Acute or early stage PTTD will cause your foot to flatten more and put more stress on your foot and ankle muscles and may lead to conditions like plantar fasciitis or Achilles tendonitis.

If left untreated PTTD will progress and your foot will become more flat against the ground and you will have a reduced ability to roll your ankle out (supinate your foot)

Posterior Tibial tendinitis can be treated with strengthening exercises and orthotic insoles in the early stages.

Posterior Tibial tendon dysfunction that has progressed further can be treated with Ankle Foot Orthoses along with strengthening exercises.

Foot drop is a condition where the muscles in your shin are not able to hold your foot up while you walk.

Foot drop often causes you to drag your foot scraping your toes along the ground. This change to your gait greatly increases your risk of tripping and falling.

Foot drop can be as a result of muscle changes but is most commonly due to changes in the way your nerves function causing the muscles to have no power to pull your foot upwards.

Foot drop can be treated using a combination of strengthening exercises and ankle foot orthoses to aid the function of your foot and help your toes clear the ground when you walk.