I had the opportunity to provide chiropractic care to the participants at the Cherry Creek Sneak today, and in the process met some fabulous people. Besides the typical back and neck pain that can perhaps occur with running that I typically treat at an event like this, a small handful of people came to me wanting advice and help with foot and lower leg pain.

One risk that comes with running is to develop repetitive strain injuries or problems occurring due to faulty biomechanic and gait problems. A close inspection of the foot and how it interacts with the ground is crucial to understand any faulty biomechanics that might be occuring and contributing to the present foot and lower leg pain.

The foot has three arches; a medial arch, lateral arch, and transverse arch. If any of the three arches fail, the foot, leg, hip, back, and neck could potentially develop problems leading to pain. It can be misleading for a patient to present with pain in one area, but realize the true problem is in another area.

This is the case with the foot that overpronates, basically the arches that support the foot collapse and lead to a dysfunctional musculoskeletal system. The dysfunction will show up as pain in either of the areas previously mentioned.

I personally wear custom orthotics made by footlevelers, at my clinic I have a sophisticated scanner that analyzes the arches. The analysis made by the scanner is digitally sent to footlevelers where they make a custom orthotic that re-establishes normal biomechanics.

When I go without my orthotic, I develop sharp pain on the inside of my knee and develop anterior shin splints. Faulty foot mechanics predispose the person to host of conditions such as shin splints, achilles tendinitis / tendinosis, plantar fasciitis, mortons neuroma, tarsal tunnel syndrome, and several other named conditions along the kinetic chain.

Many stores sell orthotics off the shelf that many people buy, including myself (before my chiropractic education), but unresolved the issues. Closer inspection of the multitude of over the counter orthotics reveals that they lack heel posts, lack transverse arch support, lack lateral arch support. They all usually have medial arch support, but one arch support will not regain the proper mechanics needed.

To Your Health,

Dr. Trent Artichoker MS, DC

Denver Chiropractic, LLC
3890 Federal Blvd Unit 1
Denver, CO 80211

303-455-2225