07/06/2024
The talus bone. Have you heard of it?
This small bone can affect the whole body.
When you have hip or knee pain does your doctor look at how your ankles move? They should.
The lower leg bones-the tibia and fibula sit on this bone.
Landing wrong, stepping on an uneven surface, slipping, changing direction suddenly, injury can all easily cause the talus to shift and not sit properly. This can prevent proper flexion of the ankle and can change the position of the lower leg bones- which then can affect your gait, your foot, ankle, knee, hip, your low back and on up. This can also cause your ankle to roll in or out and can also lead to ankle sprains, knee and foot issues.
When someone comes in to me with hip, knee, or ankle pain- I always look at ankle flexion. I feel how your ankle and foot move. I check how each individual joint moves. Because, not just the talus, but other bones can get stuck in the wrong position as well.
All joints should have a spring to them. When a joint is locked or cannot move in a direction then something else has to. Possibly something that was not meant to move that way.
But the body is amazing and finds a way to keep moving. It may not even hurt to walk differently- you may not even notice.
At first.
The body copes until it can’t. Then all of a sudden you hurt and don’t know why.
And sadly you may have been told there’s nothing wrong. There’s nothing more we can do for you. Or have found no treatment that helps- then you need to come see me- before it gets any worse.
