I heard THE BEST saying from one of our FAANT “team” members today. She said “It’s amazing that something that far down can affect something that far up!!” No truer words have been spoken when it comes to feet and what I call “podiatry philosophy”!
I saw a patient recently who was wondering why his orthopedic spine specialist sent him to see me when they had been discussing surgical intervention for his back! This is not an uncommon occurrence for a podiatrist. In fact, I see patients who have back, knee and hip pain, at the request of their orthopedic specialist, while having NO pain in their feet!
Why is this??
Rather than get into the complicated world of biomechanics, I am going to use an analogy that I like to use quite often. Visualize if you will… Your body is your house and your feet are like the foundation of your house. Stay with me! When you build a house, you want to build it on the most stable foundation, right?! You would never build on sand or on mud. You would most likely build on a solid foundation. Your house will last longer that way. No sags, no cracks in the walls, floors or ceiling, no doors that won’t shut! The same is true for your body! When your feet are unstable, even though they may not hurt, the rest of your body has to compensate for the instability. Add those cute, but mega unstable shoes and sandals, and yikes, we start to break down! Over time, unstable feet and/or unstable shoes for umpteen years can strain and injure the “house”! A proper biomechanical exam can uncover misalignment. The good news is that, sometimes, by getting control of the instability of the foot, with proper shoes and functional orthotics, the pain “above” may be much less, if not gone!
Heed your specialist’s advice! The body works a one whole unit! Don’t let your feet become the limiting factor in your recovery!
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