Orthotics

Orthotics

What Do My Feet Have To Do With It?

Your feet have a direct impact on the rest of your body. Like the foundation of your house,your feet support the weight of everything above them. When a small problem develops in your feet, the subtle change in the way you walk will cause a chain reaction of adjustments in your posture and walking mechanics.These changes can put stresson the joints higher up in the body, and lead to more serious problems.

For example: The Flat Foot. (Excessive Pronation)

     As the arch in the foot fails and flattens, there is an inward rotation of the entire limb. The increased rotational forces are transmitted to the pelvis and especially the sacroiliac joint. The infamous SI joint. The loss of arch height that occurs with pronation allows the pelvis to drop to the pronated side. The resulting pelvic tilt lowers the sacral base and drops the lowest freely moveable vertabra. A lateral curvature develops in response to a lack of solid support for the base of the spine. This "functional" scoliosis starts in the lumbar region, but can affect the entire spine. As patients age, the spine becomes less flexible, and functional curves become more fixed.

     Many chronic problems can begin with excessive pronation. The abnormaties created are often compensated by contracting the large stabilizing muscles of the spine. This results in habit patterns with detrimental effects on movement and eventual perpetuation of symptoms. Continual pain patterns can develop when gait abnormalities are allowed to continue. Posture, balance, coordination, and efficient musculoskeletal function all depend on the smooth functioning of the foot and ankle complex.

The bottom line is: Do you have any pain when you move?
Get your feet checked.

This office utilizes a state of the art computerized gait analysis system.
The Orthotics Group (TOG) Gaitscan.

How Would I Know If I Had A Foot Problem?

The symptoms of faulty foot mechanics can include any of the following:

1. Localized foot pain.

2. Bunions, hammer toes.

3. Arch / heel pain.

4. Leg / knee pain.

5. Hip or back pain - even neck pain.

Fascinating Foot Facts

1. 25% of the bones in your body are in your

feet.

2. The average person takes 8000 to 10,000

steps per day.

3. The average person will walk over 100,000

miles in their lifetime, or more than 4 trips

around the world.

4. Women have four times as many foot

problems as men, blame it on ill-fitting

fancy footwear.

5. More than 75% of people will experience

foot problems in their lifetime.

Southwest Family Chiropractic

Working To Bring You To Health, Naturally!