Chiropractic and Your Feet

By John R. Greensfelder, DC

In pain? Relief may be only two feet away. Even if your feet don’t hurt, they may be a major factor contributing to your physical health problems. Pain in various parts of your body can often be traced directly to your feet. A foot problem may be the cause of discomfort or pain in your leg/hip, back, arm/shoulder or even your neck.

Do you stand or walk on hard surfaces for more than four hours daily?
Do you participate regularly in any physical sport?
Are you age 40 or over?
Have you had a prior knee injury, back injury, or neck injury?
Do your shoes wear unevenly?
Do you have joint pain while standing, walking, or running?
Is one of your legs shorter?
Do you have knock knees or bow legs?
Do you have obvious foot problems?
Do your feet “toe out” when you’re walking?

If you said yes to any of the above, custom-made flexible orthotics may be part of the solution to your physical health problems.

Your feet support you when you stand, walk, or run. They help protect your spine, bones, and soft tissues from damaging stress as you move around. Your feet perform better when all their muscles, arches, and bones are in their ideal stable positions.

The foot is constructed with three arches, which, when properly maintained, give exceptional supportive strength. These three arches form a supporting vault that distributes the weight of the entire body. If there is compromise of one arch in the foot, the other arches must compensate and are subject to additional stresses.

The pain you feel in your neck could be caused by a misalignment in your spine caused by unbalanced positioning in your feet. Your chiropractor can adjust your hips, spine and neck but if the arches in your feet are compromised, your alignment will not hold for very long. Custom-made orthotics support all three arches, not just one like those bought in a drug store. They can help stabilize your pelvis making your chiropractic adjustments hold longer.

Your body is an interconnected system of specialized parts, and the support structure that holds everything together is made up of bones, muscles, tendons, and ligaments. Even if your feet don’t hurt, they may be contributing to your overall postural imbalance and pain.