Joint Mobilisation: An Overview

The complex structure of the foot and ankle play a vital role in our everyday lives, when it becomes damaged and movement is restricted the impact on our routines can be significant. The techniques employed by joint mobilisation have been in long use in other medical environments, but is a relatively new practice in the care of the foot.

The foot and ankle joints are intended to move with a free range of motion and in more than one direction at a time, injury or issues caused by wear and tear can reduce this range and result in stiffness and pain. By identifying these problems, joint mobilisation is applied to help loosen these joints and restore the normal range of movement.

This approach is suitable for a wide range of patients and conditions. In the older patient the restoration of mobility can not only result in more personal freedom, but also reduce the risk of trips and falls. Whereas for those operating in sporting environments the benefits can be seen in reduced injury times and improved performance through the restoration in joint freedom.

Joint Mobilisation: The Appointment

A typical foot and ankle joint mobilisation appointment lasts around 30 minutes and we ask that you attend in shorts or loose fitting trousers so that the lower limbs are easily accessible. A full medical history will be taken including the specific details regarding the pain or stiffness you are experiencing.

The foot and ankle will be moved into a number of gentle, painless positions in order to loosen stiffness and increase the range of motion offered by the joints as they settle back into more natural positions. Often an immediate relief is felt, though we tend to find that it take's 3-4 sessions before any lasting results are achieved.

We often pair this with a short soft tissue mobilisation session as typically the reduced performance in the joints results in secondary damage to the surrounding muscle tissue, so there is invariably some further attention required in areas leading away from the joint itself.

Joint Mobilisation: Book an Appointment

If you'd like to book a Joint Mobilisation appointment with Walk Right Podiatry just get in touch. Our location on Drake Street in Rochdale means we're easily accessible from the whole of the Greater Manchester area.  We can usually offer appointments within 24-48 hours and we'll always try to accommodate emergency appointments where possible.