Improper foot care plays a vital role in the causes of knee pain, reasons for lower back pain, and overall hip pain. Our feet and its arches are the foundations that our entire body relies on to keep us moving and standing.
Our feet are designed to provide us with flexibility, absorb shock, distribute the weight of the body, and help us adapt to our environment when walking, running, climbing, etc. They allow us to move where we want to go, balance us when we stand – yet, we neglect the necessity for proper foot care!
Poorly fitted shoes, old worn out shoes, and jobs that require more time seated than standing are the culprit of foot problems. As a result, it may be the initiating factor to what causes hip problems, lower back pain, and knee pain.
Like any part of the body, our feet needs exercise too.
Strong foot muscles help hold the bones of the feet and ankles in alignment and assist in maintaining our arches. If the muscles aren’t working properly to keep this alignment, there’s a pretty good chance that nothing stacked above is aligned correctly either.
Here are two very simple exercises you can do on a daily to get your feet healthy and working for you:
- Place a towel flat on the floor and use your foot to bring the towel towards you.
- Drop pens, pencils, marbles or whatever you have at home and pick them up using your foot and toes and place them in a bucket.
A lot of shoes and foot orthotics are now designed to do the work. While the extra support can be a benefit and a saving grace from pain, we may be relying on them too much and forgetting that we already have the proper equipment.
Since you already have your feet, train them and use them. They are the best pair of shoes you’ll ever have! Relying on orthotics and shoes is like putting on a strap-on. Why use something when you’ve already got the goods?
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