People often tend to overlook how important their feet are. How you use, or misuse, your feet actually affects your mobility, posture, and overall health. This is especially true when you are younger and do not often feel pain or discomfort in your lower extremities.
What you must understand is that first, 25% of the body’s bones are found in one’s feet. This means that even if you are not feeling any pain at the moment, you will likely experience some degree of foot health problems over time, because you constantly use them. Ill-fitting shoes as well will greatly factor in your feet’s health in the future.
How Important Are Your Feet To Your General Well-Being?
Each person takes an average of 8,000 to 10,000 steps on a daily basis, so you are putting your feet through a tremendous amount of strain which becomes greater if your shoes don’t fit well, or if you don’t have a proper stride. This strain manifests itself higher up the kinetic chain as pain or a feeling of discomfort in your ankles, knees, hips, and spine. Feet discomfort must not be simply regarded as a result of excessive walking, running, or bad posture. Your feet have direct impact on your body’s overall health, and vice versa. Recurring pain in the feet can be symptoms for illnesses such as diabetes or arthritis.
For these reasons and more, it is paramount to diagnose the biomechanics of one’s feet to determine if it is causing the body any discomfort or is a symptom for other underlying illnesses. Doing so will also prevent future pain by correcting one’s posture and form.
Protect, Perform, Recover… Better
A custom-made foot orthotic will insert into (almost) any shoe to alleviate foot discomfort and support foot function in those over 4 years of age. They can also assist in relieving discomfort of the knees, hips and back.
