Hips, Knees, and Ankles. Are they Connected?

The lower extremity is a complex system of levers that help you perform tasks like running, lifting, jumping, sitting and standing. An injury in the knee and effect the motion of the hip joint and the tension and flexibility of the muscles that cross that joint.

Why is this important?

• Everyone remembers stacking blocks to make a tower when you were a kid. The best towers were the ones with a sturdy base and solid pieces in the middle. The lower extremity works the same way. Think of the ankle as the base of your tower with the knee as the center block and the hips and pelvis as the top block. If there is a problem with the ankle, it can cause pain and dysfunction in the knees, hips and low back. Here at Tidewater we look at the area that is causing you pain, but we also look at the structures around that area to make sure we correct the cause of the pain and not just the symptoms.

“But I just rolled my ankle. Could it really cause pain in my low back?”

• It sure can! If you have a pain in your ankle and you have been limping or it has changed how you walk, it can definitely lead to some low back pain. Think of our tower example from above. If the base of the tower is unstable ( the ankle injury), then the top of the tower can also be wobbly (changes in gait that are causing low back pain).