What Do Feet Have to Do With It?

Clients who come in for issues besides foot pain, are often unaware of the issues in their feet which may be causing problems up the chain of joints.

Here are some common issues with feet caused by poor shoes:

Foot bones that are all glued together, usually in a suboptimal position.

• The lack of movement and poor position of the foot bones can put more strain on other joints as they must take more of the force of impact and may cause other joints to move more than they should with normal gait. This is sometimes due to injury but generally more often due to shoes that are inflexible and too tight in the toe box.
  
• When you take away the flexibility of the foot its like walking with blocks of wood instead of little trampolines under you. That's a lot more impact. Also toes that are crunched into a too short toe box can cause hammer toes that rub the shoe. Bunions can be caused or exacerbated by shoes that are too tight in the width of the toe box and are also further irritated by tight toe boxes. Feet that are stuck in overpronation or underpronation will make it more difficult to correct gait problems without first releasing the feet.
  
• You can release your feet to some extent, by rolling a hard ball like a lacrosse or golf ball under your foot. Find the tight spots as you roll from toes to heel or vice versa. When you've found a spot that's tender or immovable, roll in very small motions across the tight area across the narrow or width of your foot. Add some body weight for a greater release.

Overpronation and underpronation (or over supination) which are often accompanied by flat feet and high arches respectively.

• These issues can be caused by muscle imbalances and fascial restrictions in the foot, ankle, leg (especially the calf!) and hip, as well as the from of the the shoes you wear. Releasing the entire fascial chain that's affected by or the the cause of foot problems is very effective.
  
• Irregular pronation can cause also cause many joint problems including sprained ankles, knee pain, hip pain, SI joint pain, low back pain.

Wearing heeled shoes.

• Most shoes now have some heel. Unless you are looking hard for a minimal shoe or wear real moccasins or ballet shoes, it's not likely you are wearing "zero drop" heeled shoes. 
• Wearing any heel alters the front to back alignment of the body to adjust to essentially having a tilted platform for your feet, which affects all the horizontal junctures of the body, including knees, low back/pelvis, upper back, diaphragm, shoulders, neck and head. Unless you already have a posterior pelvic tilt, your body will zig-zag at your joints to adjust to this imbalance. Imagine a tree growing on a steep cliff.
• Taking the heels off sometimes is good, but can cause further disruption as your body tries to realign to a drastically different platform over and over. Try getting all your shoes to have a similar heel height and as little heel as you can tolerate. Further, heeled shoes do not allow calves to be stretched in movement which can cause leg pain, plantar fasciitis, achilles tendon issues and more.
  

Toes that are pressed together and can't spread out.

• Toes are essential for balance. That's why we have five separate toes. When these toes can spread, stability and balance increase drastically. But most shoes are too narrow in the toe box, particularly shoes until recently.  Even if you've been wearing wide shoes, your childhood shoes may have restricted your toes until they are released. Lack of balance can lead to sprained ankles, and all sorts of injuries, particularly in older people.
  
• Wear a wide toe box, have your feet releases, and for some people "Correct Toes" or Vibram five toed shoes can also help open your toes and give you back your stability so you don't sprain your ankle or become prone to accidentally fall.
  

Arch support and orthotics can help relieve pain but are sort of like crutches that you never take away.

• The arch is weakened or ridged and the foot can become dependent on very structured and ridged shoes that can cause other long term problems in the foot and elsewhere up the chain. The muscles of the calf and foot that support the arches are not able to naturally develop with arch support. The trampoline effect of flexible yet strong arches to protect the body against impact from running and jumping is lessened.
  
• Some people have difficulty adjusting to no arch because it takes time (and may be uncomfortable temporarily) or they have major foot issues. For older folks, orthotics may still be the best option. However, if you are not in a lot of pain and are younger, it may be better to try and take off the crutches unless you have a significant issue. The earlier in life, the less likely you'll have adjusted to the arch support in ways that cause other problems structurally or weakened arches.
  

Sprained ankles.

• They frequently occur in shoes that do not secure around your foot such as shoes that are too loose, clogs, flip-flops and also heels that add significant instability. Wearing boots that cover your ankles are thought to cause ankle weakness and therefore are more prone to actually sprain when not wearing the ankle protecting boots.
  
• Sprained ankles if moderate to severe will likely follow you for the rest of your life with problems up the chain of fascia unless you have them properly addresses through medical intervention (for complete tears), myofascial release and/or strengthening through physical therapy. Flip flops can also cause tight shins due to the repetitive strain of having to lift and secure the shoe without the help of the shoe itself.
  

Issues caused by poor shoes and unhealthy feet:

• Foot and arch pain
• Plantar fasciitis
• Achilles tendonitis
• Chronically rolled or sprained ankles
• Tight calves
• Shin splins
• Knee problems
• Tight hip flexors (and chronically tight hamstrings)
• Tight buttocks and hips
• Piriformis syndrome
• SI joint problems
• Sciatica
• Acute and chronic low back pain
• Herniated disks

Things to look for in "minimalist" or "barefoot" shoes, unless you already have major issues with your feet that are being addressed by podiatrist:

• Flexible, thin soles
• Wide toe box
• Little arch support unless your doctor said you need it
• Shoes that stay securely on your whole foot (not clogs, flip-flops, etc)
• No heel/zero drop (many work boots, hiking shoes, running shoes, dress shoes and really most shoes have way too much heel to be healthy)
• No stiff ankle coverage unless you are regularly at risk of injury as in a manual labor job - high boots make weak ankles
  

Consider getting your lower legs, feet and ankles released and realigned to have more functional foundation for your whole body.