Fabulous Feet

I always get a little smile (behind my mask) when a client asks me if I can help them with a foot issue. I love working on feet! That's not probably something you hear everyday, but it's true. I really enjoy helping your feet function and feel better. They are your foundation!

Did you know that there are 26 bones which make up 30 joints in your feet? Combine the bones with over 100 muscles, ligaments, and tendons, and you create an amazing structure that bends, flexes, and supports while it grips, runs, jumps, and climbs. Feet are amazing, yet the complexity of what makes them work properly is often overlooked.

You have your heel, ankle, and toes all which work to hold you up and balance your body. And then you have your arch...actually your 3 arches that work together to hold your foot in its ideal position. The main arch we think of is the medial arch on the inside of our foot. But there are two other arches, one of the outside of the foot and one just below your toes. They work together like a series of bridges in your foot to help absorb the shock energy from each step you take. They work to maintain proper foot structure and correct motion as your foot moves through the gait cycle from heel strike to toe push off. The arches help give a little bounce in your step as your muscles, bones, and joints coordinate and create motion.

When I look at your feet, I check your arches because they give me a lot of good information about how your body is working. They also give me insights into future health issues. Do you remember the song about "your head bones connected to your neck bone"? As arches fall, the foots has to compensate for different stress patterns. Plantar fasciitis becomes more common as the plantar fascia on the bottom of your foot becomes strained as the medial arch falls. Additionally, the achilles tendon bows because the whole foot falls inward. This inward motion can lead to knee issues as the angle of your lower leg bones changes and the stress in your knee increases. This can lead to the need for a knee replacement. With the lower leg bone angles changing, the knee angle falls inward which effects the upper leg bone angles thus changing where the femur sits in the hit socket. This can cause irregular wearing in the hip joint and lead to hip issues and hip replacements. The body may compensate and makes changes all the way up to the neck and TMJ. In doing so, the body is working to keep your head level and body in balance.

Your feet are your foundation and support everything above them. By addressing the plantar fascia, massaging specific muscles, using ultrasound, infrared and red light therapy, and electric stim when needed, and adjusting the joints that are not moving properly, I work to improve the overall function of your feet. I don't stop at your feet, I also look upstream to your knees, hips, back, neck and TMJ to address minor issues before a more serious problem develops. It amazes me how different people feel after having their feet worked on. It is a joy I'd love to share with you. And to support the work that I do, I give specific stretches, exercises, and home care techniques so that you can decrease tightness, increase strength and balance, improve your arches and continue to live life to the fullest because Life is a Sport and we should all feel great living it!

Thanks for reading and have a lovely day ~ Karen Borman DC LifeSport Chiropractic