Your feet are your foundation. They function to support body weight during stance and to propel the body forward during gait. There are 26 bones in each foot and 206 total bones in the human body. Thus, your feet account for 25% of the bones in your body! An average person takes between 5000 and 7000 steps per day and this increases for people who are more active.
You don’t need to have foot pain to have a foot problem. Typically, unaddressed mechanical problems of the feet exist for a period of time before causing symptoms. Sometimes mechanical issues only become apparent after a change or increase in one’s activity level or an increase in body weight (due to added stress and resulting pain). In addition, a mechanical or alignment problem at the feet can alter mechanics and position of joints higher up in the kinetic chain including ankles, knees, hips, the back and even the neck! Thus, foot posture is related to one’s whole body posture and a mechanical foot issue can cause or contribute to pain in other areas of the body. Uncorrected, postural imbalance and uneven joint wear can accelerate joint degeneration (arthritis).
1) Choose appropriate footwear:
The unfortunate trend is people choosing fashion over function, however, footwear with poor support and fit is frequently the cause or contributor of musculoskeletal foot disorders. Womens’ high heeled shoes are the worst culprit forcing excessive weight distribution at the ball of the foot and inward deviation of the toes. When choosing footwear…
a) choose flats or a slight heal over high heeled shoes
b) ensure correct fit
The toe box should not put excessive pressure on the sides, top or front of feet. A good tip when buying shoes is to take the insole out and place your foot on it – your footprint shouldn’t go over the edges of the insole for correct fit. Another tip is to shop for shoes at the end of the day as your footprint will be slightly larger from the day’s stresses.
c) for adequate motion control and support, shoes should pass 4 tests
- Dish Rag Test: if the shoe twists easily, it fails the test
- Pinch Test: if the heel counter is soft, it fails the test
- Fold Test: the shoe should bend easily where the toes naturally bend only
- Shelf Test: there shouldn’t be any drifting of the shelf relative to the heel when viewing shoes end on
2) Replace shoes every year:
Running shoes should be replaced at a minimum of yearly but even sooner (every 3-6 months) for runners or the overweight as shoe structure breaks down faster.
3) Weight loss if overweight:
Being overweight will result in more load on all joints of the body but especially the feet because they support the whole body. As a result, obese people tend to have flattened arches more often than the general public. Muscles must also work harder to support excessive weight. The added force of weight also exacerbates any mechanical or alignment problems.
4) Do exercises for feet and calves:
Appropriate stretching and strengthening of the lower extremity muscles can be greatly beneficial. Tight, shortened muscles should to stretched and weaker, lengthened muscles should be strengthened. By doing so, muscles become more balanced which adds mechanical balance to related joints. A chiropractor can give you more specifics related to your particular case. For example, stretching the the calves is particularly helpful for those with plantar fasciitis (a painful inflammation and scarring of the plantar fasciia which results in heel and arch pain that is worst with the first morning steps). Rolling your foot forward and back over a tennis ball is also great, massaging and improving circulation. There are also specific exercises for those with flat feet which help to strengthen and support the longitudinal arch of the foot.
