Dr. Young on Lower Extremity Foot-Ankle-Back Pain Relationship

Mark A. Young, MD, MBA, Chairman of the Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Maryland Rehabilitation Center, Baltimore, MD, describes the foot-ankle-back relationship and the role it plays in the management of lower extremity pain.

Dr. Young says how a person walks invariably and indisputably affects pain patterns in other locations in the body, whether it’s the knee, spine, neck, back, or head.
 
An average individual walks approximately 80 steps per minute. Dr. Young says that with each step a person takes, they exert pressure on the foot. That can send signals upward and cause pressure on critical structures.
 
Dr. Young says that what goes on at the level of the ankle and foot is the very beginning of a close kinetic chain that can cause pain in other parts of the body. Ankle and foot dynamics can exert a negative effect on other structures.