If all a person did was paid more attention to their feet many other issues would subside. It is of no secret that we at ChiroMovement Muscle & Joint Clinic check the foot and ankle on our patients. We see walking patterns and muscle tightness up in the legs and even low back pain be correlated to how well the feet and ankles move and function.
As a health care practitioner of musculoskeletal conditions the assessment of a person involves assessing the foot and ankle. We observe for abhorrent motion or lack of joint movement. We assess for radicular symptoms from above in the legs or even the spine. If biomechanics were the only thing we focused on, we would start with the feet.
Perhaps the biggest topic for another day would be the types of shoes that are out there and which may be best for you. Here is one thing that you can be certain of, using absolute statements such as “i was told by a doctor to never be out of my shoes” will not be used in our office. Our feet need to be freed from tight shoes or heavy shoes. We focus on improving you in a non-surgical manner. We focus on the function of the body and the improvement of movement. That starts from the ground up. We are a bipedal people, we are meant to walk and have contact with the ground and learn how to use the ground to create a force from it. A runner uses the earth to move forward, a golfer will use the ground to build rotational power. Understanding a better contact with the ground only improves how we move from the ground up.
As we work with you we watch how you move through space. Our main goal is to improve how you live through improving how you move.
For more information about how to start improving your foot and ankle mobility check out one of our youtube videos on this subject.
For any questions please reach out to us. We are here to help.
Dr. Steven Bird
(barefoot while writing this)