Leg and foot pain can be far more debilitating than it sounds. Pain, discomfort or injury in the lower limbs can restrict movement, interrupt training and disrupt normal daily routines.
This page is the starting point for the leg, knee, ankle and foot with lots of helpful live links to detailed guides on each specific condition and its symptoms.
The legs, knees, ankles and feet take the full load of everything we do, so it is usually only when injury strikes that people realise how limiting and debilitating these conditions can be.
A large proportion of what I see stems from sporting injuries. Shin splints are familiar to most runners and walkers and can be very painful. Soft tissue injuries are common and the muscles of the thigh and lower leg can suffer strains, including tendinopathy, along with ligament and cartilage injuries, knee injuries and bursitis.
Then there are foot and ankle problems caused by injury or by a change or a bad choice in footwear. Plantar fasciitis is a notoriously stubborn source of heel pain and ankle sprains, knee arthritis and ligament injuries are among the most common problems that I see. Pain felt in the foot does not always start in the foot and some of these complaints come with pins and needles or numbness, which can point to a nerve being involved rather than the muscle or joint alone.
Pain in the leg or foot is not always a localised problem. Sciatica, for example, is felt in the leg but originates in the lower back, where an irritated nerve refers pain, tingling or weakness all the way down the limb. Working out where the pain is actually coming from is my first job at your assessment, because treating the site of the symptom rather than the source will not cure it.
Tendon pain does not behave in the same way as joint pain and it helps to know which one you are dealing with. A tendon is the cord that anchors muscle to bone and when it is loaded more than it has been prepared for it can become painful, thickened and stiff. The older word was tendonitis, which suggested inflammation. Tendinopathy is the term generally used now, because in most long-standing cases the tissue itself has changed rather than simply become inflamed.
In the lower limb I see it most often in the Achilles, I see it around the kneecap, on the outside of the hip and along the tendons that run behind the ankle bones. It typically feels stiff first thing in the morning, eases as you warm up, then complains again a few hours afterwards.
Chiropractic care may help with many of these mechanical leg, ankle and foot complaints, typically through hands-on treatment of the affected joints and soft tissues combined with specific rehabilitation exercises and practical advice on managing your activity levels. Every plan is built around your individual problem. Where a problem sits in the structure of the foot itself, a podiatrist is often the better person to see and I will tell you if that is so. Your first appointment starts with a full history and examination, our FAQ page covers the common questions, and I have written on how many sessions it usually takes and an article on the fact that it is safe to see a chiropractor. You can also easliy see the side area my chiropractic practice covers.
Leg, knee, ankle or foot pain: the main guide (you are here)
Heel, ankle and foot
Knee, thigh and calf
Related guides
When leg pain starts in the back
When leg pain starts in the hip or pelvis
Staying active
“Pain can sometimes present years after the original injury and knees are a particular culprit. Old football injuries, or heavy sporting loads in younger years, can resurface later in life and cause problems. I usually begin a course of treatment by suggesting a thorough investigation and I will refer on for scans where a clearer picture of the joint is needed before deciding on treatment. I would always rather know exactly what we are dealing with in detail, I realise it is the same for patients and I have a FAQ’s page which should be useful too.”
The guides above cover types and locations of leg, knee, ankle and foot pain, from the heel, ankle and foot through to the knee, thigh and calf. Each one is a full explanation of a single problem and condition and many people find what they need there without going any further.
If one of them describes your symptoms, click the link and follow it through. If two of them do or if none of them quite fit, that is common and not a failure of the list. Overlapping symptoms are a common occurrence and telling similar problems apart is a large part of what an examination is for.
A free 15 minute consultation is a short, no-obligation chat about what is going on, with no examination and no treatment. If you would rather go straight to a full history and examination, book a first appointment instead.
I have been in practice for 39 years and you will see the same chiropractor, me, at every visit. Where chiropractic care is a sensible option for leg, knee, ankle or foot pain I will tell you, and where your GP or another practitioner is the better fit, I will discuss that with you instead.
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Bournemouth Chiropractic
42 Branksome Hill Road, Bournemouth, BH4 9LE
Telephone: 01202 937568 · Mobile and WhatsApp: 07970 004497
Email: hello@bournemouth-chiropractic.co.uk
Monday to Friday 7.30am to 6pm · Saturday 7.30am to 3pm
Leslie Budzynski DC, Doctor of Chiropractic · Registered with the General Chiropractic Council (No. 00043) · British Chiropractic Association member (No. 0072) · Qualified 1987 · 39 years in practice · No GP referral needed
