Over the years I’ve learned that your feet can tell us a lot about what is going on in the rest of your body. Early on in my career, it became obvious to me that to successfully treat certain problems like back, hip, and knee pain, you needed to consider what was going on with someone’s feet. Your feet are the foundation of your body and any misalignments or imbalances can cause problems. These problems are seen not only in your feet but in other parts of your body as well. In this blog post, I’ll explain what your feet can tell you about the rest of your body, and what you can do to improve your foot health.
What your feet say about your posture
Your feet can give you clues about your posture. If your feet are turned outwards, this is often due to poor gluteal activity which could tilt your pelvis forwards and put strain on your hips, sacroiliac joint, and lower back. Similarly, if you have flat feet, you sometimes find people’s shoulders are rounded with their heads poking forward, which can cause upper back and neck pain. By assessing your foot posture, we can determine if you have any postural imbalances and create a plan to correct them.
What your feet tell us about your gait
Your gait is the way you walk or run. If your feet roll inwards or outwards when you walk, it can indicate problems with your gait. This can lead to a chain reaction of problems in other parts of your body, such as knee pain, hip pain, and back pain. A limp or uneven gait can indicate muscle weakness or an injury. If you notice that you’re putting more weight on one foot than the other, you may have an issue with your hip or knee. By analysing your gait and foot mechanics, we can create a plan to improve your gait and prevent pain and dysfunction.
What your feet tell us about muscle imbalance.
Your feet are made up of 26 bones and 33 joints, which are controlled by over 100 muscles, tendons, and ligaments. If they are not properly aligned and working together then it can affect the way you move and lead to imbalances in other parts of your body. For example, flat feet can be a sign of muscle imbalance in the feet but also around the hip. This commonly causes your knees to turn inwards (knee valgus) when you walk or run, which can lead to knee pain as well as impact your hip and back function. Improving strength and stability can help improve function and correct muscle imbalances.
Importance of good footwear
The shoes you wear can have a significant impact on your foot health. Wearing shoes that don’t fit well or provide adequate support can lead to foot pain, plantar fascia pain, Achilles tendinopathy, and many other problems. By assessing your footwear and providing recommendations for proper shoes or inserts, we can improve your foot health and prevent pain and dysfunction.
Conclusion
In conclusion, your feet can tell us a lot about the health of your body. By assessing your foot posture, gait, muscular imbalances, and footwear, we can create a plan to improve your foot health and prevent pain and dysfunction in other parts of your body. I cover all of this and more in my pain free BODY online course, Assess your feet for FREE, just click and go to the course, you will find it in the course contents, it takes just 10 minutes to complete.
Make a positive change and get started straight away, your body will thank you.
Take care, Helen
Helen Manders BSc (Hons) MCSP HCPC
