How incredible is it that nearly one-fourth of your bones are found in your feet? With 26 bones, 33 joints, and over 100 muscles, ligaments, and tendons, your feet play a huge role in your body's overall well-being and performance. And—perhaps in ways you weren't even aware of.
The foot-body connection is undeniable. Your feet support your entire body, helping to maintain your balance, posture, and mobility. Here are five common ways your feet can affect your whole body health:
1. Joint pain
Your body is a fantastic machine made up of parts designed to work together, so you can do your daily activities. If one of those parts isn't functioning effectively, it can cause issues elsewhere. For example, if you have flat feet (little or no arch when standing), your body can't absorb shock and transfer forces well. This may cause joint pain in your knees, hip, or back.
2. Poor posture
Who knew slouching could be such a pain in the foot? Or maybe you're slouching because your feet are just not doing their job? It's more likely the latter, and a condition called plantar fasciitis may be the culprit.
Plantar fasciitis occurs when the tissue on the bottom of your foot is painfully irritated from being under strain and stress. It is often felt as stabbing, aching, and/or sharp heel pain. Symptoms are often worse first thing in the morning, or after sitting for a while.
If you're experiencing heel pain and find yourself shifting your weight to avoid it, you may be unwittingly causing poor posture. Taking care of your feet can actually take care of everything above connected to them.
3. Poor balance
How well you can balance on one foot is an excellent wellness indicator as it requires the muscle strength and function of your lower body, hips, and feet.
Poor balance due to weak foot and ankle muscles can be attributed to accidental falls and injuries. Your feet are your foundation. If your foundation is faulty, your overall stability may be challenging. The feet are a great place to start when restoring or improving balance.
4. Muscle pain
Reoccurring muscle pain can often be an indicator that there is an alignment issue with your feet.
Let's say you have been experiencing pain in your calf muscle while hiking, and it's getting worse. Resting it, taking anti-inflammatories, and putting ice on it all may have helped somewhat, but it keeps coming back. How annoying! Your family doctor may advise you to be assessed for orthotics and this is when you may discover that your foot alignment, or your foot misalignment, is contributing to your recurring calf injury.
5. Foot stories
The health of your feet can signal symptoms of other health conditions. For example, hairy toes are a good thing. The hair indicates that your toes have a good blood supply. On the other end, the presence of corns or calluses will tell you that excessive pressure is being placed on your foot.
Any numbness and tingling in your feet could indicate the possibility of diabetes mellitus. While excessive swelling could be related to a lymphatic disorder.
Since your feet play a role in your whole body's health, it's a good idea to check your feet regularly and note any signs of foot pain, foot injuries, infections or visible changes.
Your feet can influence your quality of life in a significant way. Having sore feet can prevent you from doing what you want, need, or love in your daily life.
This is where Paris everyBODY, Vancouver's go-to injury resource, comes in. With roots in foot health going back to 1907, their team of Canadian Certified Pedorthists genuinely care about solving your pain and finding a solution based on their WHOLE-istic personal assessment.
Paris everyBODY can equip you with custom foot orthotics as a solution for conditions such as flat feet, plantar fasciitis, and knee pain. The team wants to get you back to your favourite physical activities and pain-free daily living.
