I
magine a house on a hill. Over time, rain and snow erodes the ground surrounding the house. Eventually, the foundation develops cracks, and then shifts, causing problems with the house’s structure, such as cracks in the walls or slanting floors.
Your feet are like the foundation of a house. They support your entire body. And like a house, if your feet experience any problems, this can affect your body’s structure.
For example, 80% of people overpronate when they walk. Overpronation causes your feet’s arches to collapse, and your ankles to roll in when you walk. Because your feet and ankles are no longer in balance, your body has to make adjustments in order to help you keep your balance and not fall down. So your posture changes – your legs rotate inward, your hips rotate forward, and your upper body and head rotates and moves forward.
While this “corrected” posture is meant to reduce the stress and strain on your spine, it actually results in your muscles, from your feet to your neck, becoming imbalanced, too. This causes your muscles to stay tense all the time. Over time, this overcompensation can cause your posture to deteriorate further, leading to even more muscle strain and pain.
Your posture also affects the health of your weight-bearing joints, such as ankles, knees, hips, back and neck. When your posture changes to compensate for foot problems, your joints become misaligned as well. You can develop chronic joint inflammation which can lead to pain throughout your body.
Since your bones and muscles hold your organs in place within your body, your posture determines whether your organs are in their correct position to function efficiently. If your posture changes, your organs may become compressed into smaller spaces that inhibit their function. Eventually, you also may develop soft tissue damage which can lead to pain and discomfort.
So, as you can see, your feet really do provide the support for your entire body. Once the biomechanics of your feet change, it impacts how your bones, joints, muscles and organs function as well. Therefore, foot pain and discomfort can lead to pain and discomfort throughout your entire body.
Support Your Feet with ezWalker® Performance Insoles
If you are experiencing foot conditions, such as bunions, hammertoe, plantar fasciitis or arch or heel pain, that may be affecting the way you walk and carry your body, your foundation may need some help. You should first have your feet and gait evaluated by a certified professional. Then, you may want to consider wearing a custom orthotic device, like ezWalker® Performance Insoles. These custom performance orthotic insoles are designed to strategically raise the medial, lateral, and trans-metatarsal arches of your feet – providing you with proper biomechanical alignment and support. This is like placing the support beam for a room in the correct place to keep the ceiling from collapsing. Your feet will be guided to walk from lateral heel to medial forefoot. And since your feet will be better biomechanically aligned, each step will be controlled throughout the gait cycle, reducing the stress and strain on your feet, knees, hips, and/or lower back. And you will have better overall posture. ezWalker® Performance Insoles will help you maintain balance, stability, and proper posture as well as your body’s good health.
For more information on how ezWalker® Performance Insoles can improve your foot mechanics, contact us today. To order your pair of performance insoles, visit our online shop.
Because … when your feet feel good, you feel good. And your whole body feels good.
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