Are you stepping your way to knee pain?
Your gait cycle, the bio mechanics of the way you walk, ultimately affects the knee, hips, pelvis and the spine. That is the why the movement of ankle and foot is crucial to protecting your knees. This is particularly important for people who participate in sports that involve running.
There are three main parts of the gait cycle:
1. Heel Strike- the way the heel of the foot hits the floor
2. Mid Stance-the part of the gait when the entire foot is flat on the ground
3. Toe-off- the push of the fore foot and toes that lifts the heel
A perfect gait cycle is difficult and rare to find. Most of us whether it be due to loss of arches in the foot or problems in the hips will not walk heel to toe which will results in knee problems. For example, many of my patients who present with knee pain and back pain, will have a gait cycle where the foot will flare out to the side or in which causes over-stretches the middle or lateral capsule of the knee. Over time, this stretch can cause a strain and weakness in the knee causing pain, swelling and even problems with the hips and spine.
If your gait is causing knee problems, many solutions are available! Getting your gait analyzed would be the first step. Alignment of the bones in the foot and ankle along with a custom made orthotic can also help in these problems. In addition to alignment and orthotics, rehabiliation of the muscles of the ankle, foot and knee is what is usually preformed with patients in my office.
If you are suffering with knee pain, get your knee and gait cycle evaluated so that the proper treatment protocol is administered. This is usually safer and smarter than covering up the pain with pain killers.
