Unless you happen to have studied the anatomy of the foot, you probably haven’t heard of the cuboid bone before. However, as experienced London podiatrists we’d encourage you to familiarise yourself with the cuboid’s role in foot function and why some people develop the painful condition known as cuboid syndrome and therefore require Foot Mobilisation Therapy.
This is especially important if you have a very active lifestyle and demand a lot from your feet, as the harder they work the more likely you are to suffer from cuboid syndrome at some stage. To give you a clearer idea of how common the condition is among individuals who train intensely and push their feet to their limits, Physiopedia points out that cuboid syndrome accounts for up to 17% of foot and ankle issues experienced by ballet dancers.
What the Cuboid Bone Does
The cuboid bone gets its name from the fact that it’s shaped rather like a cube. It’s one of the seven tarsals and is located on the outer side of the foot, sandwiched between the much larger heel bone and fourth and fifth metatarsals (which lead to the bones in the two smallest toes).
The cuboid bone has a few important tasks. It helps to support and stabilise the foot’s outer side. It must cope with and dissipate a great deal of force whenever you’re standing or moving around. Plus, it ‘functions as a pulley that helps point your foot downwards,’ as VeryWell Health explains, when one of your foot muscles – the tibialis posterior – pulls on it as you step forward.
Causes of Cuboid Syndrome
The cuboid bone can’t continue working properly if it gets wrenched out of its correct position by the tendon, ligaments or muscle it’s connected to and the joint it forms with the heel bone becomes partially dislocated. This is what cuboid syndrome means – the cuboid is no longer aligned properly with the heel due to trauma affecting the foot.
This foot condition has three main causes:
- A foot/ankle injury, such as a sprained ankle that occurs when the ankle twists inwards. Indeed, Medical News Today emphasises that as many as 40% of people with inversion ankle sprains develop cuboid syndrome.
- Overuse of the foot during vigorous and/or repetitive physical activities such as ballet
- Overpronation – some people’s feet roll inwards excessively when they walk/run, which impairs their ability to absorb shock
Risk Factors for Cuboid Syndrome
Major cuboid syndrome risk factors include not warming-up your feet before exercising, engaging in sports or other activities that involve rapid side-to-side movements (such as tennis or aerobics), and not giving your feet time to recover between intense periods of activity.
Exercising on uneven surfaces is risky too, as this puts the cuboid bone (which helps you to maintain a firm footing on irregular terrain) under extra pressure. Cuboid syndrome is also linked to wearing non-supportive, poorly cushioned shoes.
These are all important points for sportspeople, dancers or runners training for the London Marathon, say, to bear in mind. But they’re also relevant if you’re just hoping to improve your fitness as one of your New Year’s resolutions.
Cuboid Syndrome Symptoms
- Pain in the outer side of the foot, the middle of the foot or base of the two smallest toes. It may come on suddenly or gradually and feel sharp or dull. You may also experience referred pain in the outer side of the ankle.
- Limping or swaying and a reduced range of motion in the foot and ankle – you’re likely to have difficulty walking, while hopping will be particularly painful
- Swelling, tenderness, redness or bruising in the cuboid region
- Weakness in the two smallest toes
Cuboid Syndrome Treatments
You can relieve cuboid syndrome pain at home, to some extent, by using the RICE method. It involves resting your foot, icing it with an ice pack wrapped in a towel for 20 minutes at a time, compressing swelling with an elastic bandage, and elevating your foot above your heart.
However, at-home treatments don’t address the partial dislocation of the cuboid-heel joint. That’s where we come in – we provide London Foot Mobilisation Therapy, which involves carefully and expertly manipulating the foot. FMT techniques enable us to correctly reposition the cuboid bone in order to resolve cuboid syndrome issues.
We can also provide custom-made orthotics designed to support your feet and address abnormalities such as overpronation.
Overcome Cuboid Syndrome with Feet By Pody
If you suspect you may have cuboid syndrome, come and see our London podiatry team. We have the expertise to diagnose and treat this painful problem.
Stop cuboid syndrome pain – contact Feet By Pody today.