Foot Injuries

Sprains refer to injuries to a ligament. Ligaments are connected to bones and stabilize the joint in between them.

1. Grade I sprain: A grade I (mild) sprain causes overstretching of the ligaments with no joint instability. A person with a mild sprain usually experiences minimal pain, swelling, and little or no loss of functional ability. Bruising is absent or slight, and the person is usually able to put weight on the affected joint.The average healing time is 2-4weeks.
2. Grade II Sprain: A grade II (moderate) sprain causes partial tearing of the ligament and is characterized by bruising, moderate pain, and swelling. A person with a moderate sprain usually has some difficulty putting weight on the affected joint and experiences some loss of function. An x-ray or MRI may be needed.The average healing time is 4-6 weeks.
3. Grade III Sprain: A grade III (severe) sprain results in a complete tear or rupture of a ligament. Pain, swelling, and bruising are usually severe, and the patient is unable to put weight on the joint. An x-ray is usually taken to rule out a broken bone. This type of a muscle sprain often requires immobilization and possibly surgery.The average healing time is 6-12 weeks.

Physiotherapy optimizes the healing process. Exercise therapy, incl. stretching-, strengthening- and stability exercises helps to restore full function of the foot and to avoid reoccurrence.

Plantar fasciitis is a painful condition affecting the bottom of the foot. The plantar fascia is a thick fibrous band of connective tissue originating on the bottom surface of the calcaneus (heel bone) and extending along the sole of the foot towards the toes. Pain is mostly felt under the heel and along the arch of the sole. Early symptoms usually occur with the first steps in the morning or after sports. Once the inflammation becomes more severe, pain can be felt during sports or even with every step. The most common causes are overstressing during sports, especially running, a heel spur, incorrect footwear, flat feet, and poor biomechanics during running.

About 90 percent of people with plantar fasciitis improve significantly within two months of initial treatment. Physiotherapy aims at reducing pain and inflammation, stretching and strengthening. At PhysioActive we offer shockwave therapy, which is an innovative, highly effective treatment for plantar fasciitis. We currently do not offer this in Indonesia, but contact us and we can refer you to our Singapore clinic. If flat feet is the cause of the problem your physiotherapist will refer you to our podiatrist to investigate if insoles are needed. Often poor biomechanics are contributing factors. In this case we recommend to do a biomechanical running analysis with our specialized physiotherapis.

Achilles tendonitis is one of the most common problems in the foot and refers to an inflammation of the Achilles tendon, which is part of the calf muscles. It is an overuse injury mostly seen in running or jumping activities. It may seem to happen suddenly, but in most cases it is the result of gradual wear and tear to the tendon from overuse or ageing over time. Contributing factors may be flat feet, muscle tightness or weakness, running on hard surface, poor biomechanics, wrong footwear, forefoot running and more.

Physiotherapy aims to reduce pain and inflammation signs including modalities, massage and stretching and strengthening exercises. At PhysioActive we offer shockwave therapy, which is an innovative, highly effective treatment for achilles tendonitis. We currently do not offer this in Indonesia, but contact us and we can refer you to our Singapore clinic. Depending on the cause of the problem the help of our podiatrist is needed. If running and poor biomechanics are the cause of the problem we recommend to do a biomechanical running analysis with our specialized physiotherapist.

Heel spurs are a common source of heel pain. A heel spur is a bony growth attached to your heel bone (calcaneus) and grow into your foot arch. This may irritate the surrounding tissue causing an inflammation. The most common symptom is plantar fasciitis (please see above for more information on plantar fasciitis). Treatment of heel spurs is similar to plantar fasciitis treatment. Your physiotherapist will select the most appropriate treatment modalities for you.