Are Your Feet Flip Flop Ready?

Did you know your foot contains 26 bones, 33 joints and more than one hundred muscles, tendons and ligaments? That is a lot going on! The articulations of all of these can change forces above and alter pain throughout your body.

Sensory Feedback from the Soles of Your Feet

Your brain is a predictor. It wants to be able to predict what is about to happen in order to feel safe and in turn not create a pain response. It relies on your feet heavily to make its predictions through sensory feedback from the sole of the foot, especially in tasks such as walking. The better the quality of feedback the more fluid your motion, the more safety the brain and body feel. If the sensory reports to the brain are spot on it also means you’re better prepared for when the unpredictable happens.

Mechanical Forces Through Your Feet 

Your feet can manipulate everything upward; your knee alignment, pelvic position and spinal movement can all be compromised by your foot mechanics. If you load your feet repetitively in the exact same manner for 10,000 steps per day, you will stress the same ligaments, tendons and joints over and over. This will lead to overuse and eventually pain.

High arches, low arches, overpronation or over supination are usually blamed as culprits but they’re not the issue in isolation. Lack of variety of motion is key. If your foot doesn’t move well in all possible ranges then the knee won’t move well in all ranges of movement and nor will the hip. Sometimes orthotics can solve one problem to create another. Locking down entire foot motions which were designed for our body to have and own is not recommended.

When are Your Feet Worth Investigating? 

• If you have struggled with long term pain anywhere in your body that gets worse when walking and you have a history of ankle sprains, knee issues, broken bones or nerve damage down the leg.
• If you feel you have exhausted all options at the region of pain itself but don’t have a history of the above, then your feet are as good a place to start working on as any.

My Favourite Foot Exercise

Almost everyone I work with who has a foot issue I will recommend to do general foot mobilisation drills, a few of which are demonstrated in the video linked below.

Easy Mobilization for your Feet – YouTube

Do the exercises to mobilise your feet then go for a walk and see how you feel 😊

If you don’t feel improvements but feel you need to unlock the fantastic power of your feet, get in touch.

Ben

Call – 07745 039 485

Email – Ben@BenFedrickInjuryTherapy.co.uk

Disclaimer – This is not advice or a diagnosis and is intended for general education. This blog should not be used to self-diagnose or self-treat any health, medical or physical condition. Always consult with your healthcare professional before doing any exercises outlined in this blog. Use of the exercises outlined in this email are at your sole risk and Ben Fedrick Injury Therapy bares no responsibility for any losses, injuries or damages that arise from your use or misuse of the video above.