Those who experience pain in their backs, hips or knees while walking, running, working or exercising may find the cause of their discomfort resides much lower in their bodies – perhaps in their feet.
“It all starts with the feet – running, jumping, starting, stopping and balancing,” said Dr. Robert Weil, a sport podiatrist and medical writer from Naperville, IL. “Virtually all movement involves your feet and their ability to do some amazing things.
“Often taken for granted, the foot is a mechanical marvel designed to perform some specific functions during the so-called gait cycle.”
Made up of 26 bones, 33 joints and more than 100 muscles, tendons and ligaments, the feet are complex structures designed for shock absorption and propulsion. Any functional deficiencies within the feet can negatively affect muscles and joints up through the legs and into the back.
“Twenty-five percent of all the bones in the human body are in your feet,” states Foot.com, an online resource for foot health. “When these bones are out of alignment, so is the rest of your body.”
That means pain in the spine, hips and knees can often be caused by an abnormality in the feet or gait. Assessing how your body moves globally – starting with the feet and up through the entire kinetic chain – is often key in identifying the underlying causes of pain and dysfunction in other parts of the body.
Such assessments may find your feet to be the cause of these dysfunctions, or they may determine your feet are innocent bystanders (so to speak) in a more complex chain of movement-related deficiencies.
“Examination of the individual standing, walking or running can reveal specifics about … foot positions and mechanics,” said Dr. Weil. “Identifying weak links in alignment of the foot, ankle, knee and hip structures can be very valuable in preventing overuse injuries.”
Such weak links can, of course, be caused by wearing the wrong pair of shoes – a pair of shoes not specifically designed for your foot type. The world of foot types, says Laura Ramus, PT, of the Detroit Medical Center Sports Performance academy, is defined by normal feet, high-arched feet and flat feet.
“[People wearing improper shoes] can end up with plantar fasciitis, knee pain, Achilles problems, hip problems, all the way up the kinetic chain,” she said. “You have to match your foot type to the shoe.”
Fortunately, a physical therapist is an ideal guide for ensuring your feet optimally support the rest of your body, preventing discomfort, pain and injury. As a certified movement expert, a physical therapist is able to analyze a person’s foot type and gait, then suggest footwear specifically designed for the shape of one’s feet.
Physical therapists are also trained to identify deficiencies in strength, flexibility, balance and musculoskeletal makeup that may affect the feet – and, hence, the rest of the body.
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