Foot pain from a neck and back injury

By Lauren Ray, DPT

A 13-year- old athlete came to Core PT with complaints of ongoing foot and heel pain that had persisted for  about three years.  The pain had been diagnosed as plantar fascial fibromatosis, and  there was no specific event or injury to the feet  that had caused the onset of pain. The patient  had attended PT sessions at two different traditional PT clinics with minimal success and only temporary relief. The patient noted that the pain had recently begun getting worse and was now preventing them from participating in lacrosse. 

Upon listening to the patient’s history, it was noted that they had a possible concussion about three years ago after running into a pole on the playground and a separate instance of falling directly on their tailbone and landing on ice. Both of these injuries predated the onset of the patient’s foot pain.

During examination, the patient presented with limitations and dysfunctional mobility in their neck, as well as abnormal posture and gait.

Using manual techniques, I was able to fix the patient's neck mobility. When they stood up, their feet were about 50% better. Next, I went to  the tailbone. After doing some gentle mobilization and myofascial release techniques, the patient was then able to stand 100% pain free. The patient could walk without pain and demonstrated a much more functional gait pattern. The patient was instructed to return to sports as normal and assess how their feet felt. 

At the second visit, the patient returned with complaints of only minor foot pain with significantly decreased intensity. They also noted that their coach commented on the improvement in running mechanics and speed while at practice that week. 

Within two more sessions, the patient has continued to be pain free and fully returned to lacrosse with no further complaints of foot or heel pain.

Treating the problem is no problem at Core PT!