If you suffer from foot pain, you’re not alone. Studies show that about 75% of Canadians will experience foot pain at some point in their lives. Are you one of them? One-quarter of all the bones in your body are in your feet. Crazy but true! The foot and ankle contain 26 bones, 33 joints and more that 100 muscles, tendons and ligaments that work together to support the weight of your body and act as a foundation for movement. That’s a big job with lots of moving parts.
Like the foundation of a house, your feet have a direct impact on the rest of your body. Any small misalignments or issues with your feet can cause a chain reaction of changes above which could result is excess wear and tear in your knees, hips, back or even in your neck. It’s all connected!
The most common symptom of poor foot mechanics is pain. It could be in your heel, arch or the whole foot. It could also show up as knee, hip, back or even neck pain. Pain is your body’s way of letting you know that something is wrong. Many people turn to pain relievers for their foot pain. This temporarily masks the pain but doesn’t fix the problem. Without getting to the cause, the pain will most likely return.
Fight Foot Pain!
Try some of these natural solutions for your foot pain:
• Get rolling! Use a small firm ball to roll out your feet. Start by placing one foot on the ball and then slowly roll the ball from heel to toes. You could also roll the ball from side to side across the foot. Spend several minutes on each side. Much like foam rolling for the rest of your body, this will help release any tension in your foot and get the joints, and soft tissue moving better.
• Rest up. Give your feet a break! Try to cut back on activities that seem to aggravate your foot pain. A short break will allow time for the irritation and inflammation to decrease.
• Ice, ice baby! Ice can help reduce pain, swelling, and inflammation. Ice the sore part of you foot for 10 minutes several times throughout the day.
• Stretch it out. Do gentle stretches for your feet and calves throughout the day.
• Reconsider your shoe habit. Poor fitting shoes can contribute to foot pain. Choose shoes with adequate support and cushioning.
Want to get to the bottom of your foot pain? Come see us at Santé Chiropractic and Wellness. We use a state of the art technology called Gaitscan™ to assess your foot mechanics and determine whether you would benefit form wearing custom made orthotics. The test is simple and can be done in a matter of minutes. Click here to book your appointment now.
What strategies will you use to kick your foot pain to the curb? Please share in the comments section below. We’d love to hear from you. As always, be sure to share this blog with your friends and family..