Our podiatrists understand how important our feet are in our “kinetic chain”.

Our feet are the foundation on which our ankles, knees, hips, and pelvis not only stand but also walk, run and jump. The importance our feet play in this daily locomotion, cannot be underestimated.  The action and reaction between the feet and the ground and the concurrent effects that impact other areas of the body (stress, strain, moments, pressure, rotation) are of special interest to our podiatrists.

When we stand or walk our structures such as muscles, joints, ligaments, and tendons may function in an abnormal or compromised manner. Over time the structures may become inflamed or injured.

Our podiatry team use their skills to evaluate your lower limb problems in conjunction with your foot and lower limb function – looking closely for abnormalities and compensations. We can look closely into the underlying possible causes of heel pain, knee pain and even back pain.  They use techniques such as gait analysis, biomechanical assessment, pressure mapping and other tools. Our Podiatrists will often take various specific measurements. Our Podiatrists may video you walking (or running) on a treadmill so we can understand what is happening during gait – this is called ‘video gait analysis’.

Once we have assessed your feet and your other lower limb problems with you, we can develop a tailor-made treatment plan to treat, resolve or improve your symptoms. This may involve one or more of the following:

• Exercises to stretch or strengthen muscles.
• Orthoses – specially made shoe insert devices for you to wear inside your shoe to control, realign or cushion the abnormalities.
• Footwear advice
• Referral on to other members of the healthcare team if further specialist advice is needed.

What are orthoses (sometimes called “orthotics”)?

An ‘orthosis’ is a medical term which describes a device that supports, realigns or assists in the function of the musculo-skeletal system. In podiatry we use foot orthoses not only to help treat foot conditions, but also to help manage other lower limb conditions such as:

• Knee pain, including patellofemoral dysfunction.
• Hip pain, including bursitis.
• Pelvic pain, including pubis symphysis dysfunction.
• Lower back pain, including pain in the lumbar region.

Being far more than an “arch support”, the prescription of an orthosis is based on sound biomechanical and anatomical science but often utilises the experience and skills of our podiatric team if you have complex problems.

We are proudly serving the communities of Weybridge, Addlestone, Chertsey, Hersham, West Byfleet, Shepperton.