Foot and ankle pain treatment in River Forest.

Usually not, and it’s rarely the first step. Imaging matters when your history or your exam points to something like a fracture, and if that’s the case we’ll help you get it. Otherwise a scan tends to show wear that has nothing to do with why your foot hurts today. We start with a hands-on evaluation to find what’s actually driving your symptoms, including whether the driver sits above the ankle. You don’t have to wait on a scan to start feeling better.

In most cases yes, in some form. Hurt doesn’t always mean harm, and going completely still tends to leave a foot stiffer and an ankle weaker, which sets up the next flare-up. The real question is how far, on what surface, and in what shoe. That’s exactly what a Doctor of Physical Therapy sorts out at your evaluation, then progresses as you improve.

It depends on what the evaluation finds and how long you’ve been walking on it, so you get an honest answer at visit one instead of a guess now. Your plan runs through all four phases, Pain, Prime, Perform, and Prevent. You’ll always know which phase you’re in and what’s left, because a plan with an endpoint beats an open-ended string of appointments.