Why choose our Mobility team?
The physiotherapists at VoetPortaal look at your complaints in a different way than the regular physiotherapist. We pay special attention to the role of the foot on the position and functioning of the body and we combine physiotherapy with manual therapy and podiatry. The foot literally lies at the base of the body and plays an important role in causing complaints in the rest of the body. Where other physiotherapists usually fail to assess the foot, our specialty is to analyze how the foot affects the rest of the body and vice versa.
Our physiotherapists first approach the complaint from the skeletal system in which the posture and gait pattern are analyzed and improved. By combining knowledge of biomechanics with treatment techniques from podiatry (correction insoles) and manual therapy, we treat the cause instead of the symptoms. Subsequently, the treatment can be supplemented and completed by giving exercises to train the muscle system as well.
Rehabilitation programs after operations are often based on extensive exercise therapy. These are not the types of treatments that you can expect at VoetPortaal. However, we can do a lot for you before you decide to have an operation. We can regularly postpone or sometimes even prevent an operation for years. Think of a crooked big toe, a new knee or a new hip.
Our physiotherapists work closely with other (physical) therapists who – if necessary – can apply additional therapies such as “dry needling” or McKenzie. The needs of you as a patient are central. The combination of different visions / therapies provides a multidisciplinary view of your complaints and the treatment plan. With a faster and more sustainable effect as a result.
Treatment
The founder of VoetPortaal is René Somers. He is a podiatrist and physician in musculoskeletal medicine and an authority in these fields. His philosophy is that almost any complaint can be remedied if you know how to find the cause of a complaint with a multidisciplinary approach and treat it adequately.
Based on this philosophy, we at VoetPortaal adopt a distinctive approach that is characterized by 3 core elements:
1. A lot of attention to finding the underlying cause of the complaints.
We are convinced that musculoskeletal complaints cannot be viewed ‘separately’ from the functioning of the body as a whole. A foot complaint is usually not an isolated problem but the result of a problem that occurs elsewhere in the body.
With this insight we make an inventory of every complaint and try to gain insight into its origin. In doing so, we look beyond the symptoms alone. How can a knee, hip or pelvis affect a foot and vice versa?
A patient’s complaint description can regularly provide important clues about the cause of his / her complaint. Listening carefully is therefore an essential part of our treatment.
2. Treatment does not focus on symptom control but on removing the cause of the complaints.
The treatment of a foot complaint is for VoetPortaal Physiotherapists: identifying cause and effect, working together with (para) medical specialists (general practitioner, physiotherapist, pedicure or orthopedist), and applying the right techniques to ultimately be able to offer the best possible treatment . Aids such as correction insoles certainly play a role in this, but with the intention of reducing them again and allowing the body to do its work itself.
3. Manual therapy as an essential part of that treatment.
Our physiotherapists all receive a 2-year additional training as a manual therapist. This therapy is ideally suited to lift blockages if they impede the functioning of that foot in one or more areas in the foot. The stuck joint is “loosened” with a quick, short movement. This manipulation usually serves to support another therapy such as correction insoles or exercise therapy.
With this approach, the physiotherapists at VoetPortaal often know how to achieve a quick and good result even for the most difficult patients.
