Striding towards pain free mobility

What Does Hannah’s assessment involve?

Hannah is a biomechanical/Musculo-skeletal specialist Podiatrist and is a specialist in the foot and lower limb. She is holistic in her assessments and will not look at the foot in isolation with the lower limb function. She assesses bony alignment, strength and flexibility from the waist down and prides herself in this ‘top to bottom’, ‘bottom to top’ approach. As part of the assessment a gait analysis with slow motion video capture will be performed which will look at the way in which the foot interacts with the ground during walking and/or running and then consider the load that the foot and lower limb will have to contend with. If there are increased forces and loads in certain areas this could lead to pain and injury to the identified structure that is painful.

The aim of any session with Hannah is to identify a diagnosis and ascertain if the foot and lower limb mechanics are contributing to the pathology. The cause of the problem can then be addressed, and a treatment plan put in place. This may be through strength and conditioning and specific exercises, insoles for the shoes, footwear advise, gait/running re-education. Hannah works closely with an array of other health care professionals to achieve optimum results and will always refer on to the appropriate person if this is deemed the best course of action. Hannah is passionate about what she does and will always take the time to understand how her patient’s pain is affecting their quality of life and what her patients want from the assessment. She is also diligent at explaining and discussing in detail her findings from the assessment and the treatment options available to combat the problem.

Type of injuries and Conditions Hannah can help

The majority of problems seen tend to be more chronic long term problems to tendons, ligaments, bones, and joints.. Although a Podiatrist is a specialist in the foot and ankle, they can also help problems further up the leg such as Achillies, shin, knee, hip, and back pain. Back pain can often occur as a result of a leg length difference.

Hannah also has extensive experience at treating nasty trauma injuries to the foot and ankle with her work at DMRC Headley Court when treating injured personnel from recent conflicts. Neurological gait problems can also be helped by orthoses and special braces.

• Read more about conditions that Hannah will see in clinic
• Note that Hannah does not treat chiropody problems

What orthotics are and how they can help

It must be said that our orthotics are not for everyone but given for the right problems they can be life changing. Orthotics are specialist insoles that are put into shoes, and they aim to reduce force on an injured structure. There are different types of orthotics for different shoes. Ankle foot orthoses are specialist braces that can be issued for gait problems such as foot drop or more severe foot/ankle problems. Hannah has a wealth of experience of prescribing orthoses and prides herself in prescribing insoles that are firm enough to support the feet but are also have the cushioning qualities to give comfort under the foot. She rarely prescribes very hard/rigid insoles.

Hannah uses a mix of off the shelf insoles and bespoke devices (made from a plaster cast or 3D scanned mould) from a lab where they are made in Canada and will only prescribe them if there is a structural problem that can’t be addressed through specific exercises. Each prescription is unique to the individual’s needs.