According to a medical study, 86.3% of adult Americans will be overweight or obese by 2030. When you’re overweight or obese, this extra weight increases your risk of strains, sprains, dislocations and fractures in your lower extremities as well as increasing the potential severity of your injury per an article in Lower Extremity Review.
To determine if you’re classified as overweight or obese, you need to measure your body mass index (BMI). To do this, you divide your weight in pounds by the square of your height in inches. Then you multiply that number by 703. (Click here for a simple tool to help your calculate your BMI.)
If your BMI is:
- 25.0 – 29.9: You’re considered overweight.
- 30.0 and above: You’re considered obese.
There are several reasons why someone who is overweight or obese may have a greater risk of injury, including:
- Limited mobility.
- Greater muscle weakness.
- Altered gait due to flat feet or overpronation.
- Decreased balance.
- Low bone mineral density compared to body weight.
- Increased stress or load on the muscles, tendons, joints and bones.
- Increased torque on the lower extremities; for example, increased force on the ankle which causes it to rotate, leading to a strain or sprain or dislocation.
Additionally, research shows that individuals who are overweight or obese are more likely to:
- Fall or stumble.
- Have degenerative joint disease.
- Dislocate a knee.
- Need total knee replacement surgery.
- Break an ankle.
- Suffer a hip fracture.
Excess Weight Can Also Lead to Foot Pain
Excess body weight can affect the arches of your feet. If you are overweight or obese, your body’s extra weight causes the muscles, tendons and ligaments of the foot’s arches to stretch and become weaker. Over time, these structures will give, causing the bones and joints of the feet to shift and collapse, flattening the arches. This can lead to pain in the feet, ankles, knees, hips and lower back.
Additionally, if the arches are not protected from becoming flat, or they’re already flat and left untreated, you may develop arch pain, plantar fasciitis, heel spurs, or posterior tibial tendonitis (pain in the tendon that runs along the inside of the ankle and the foot).
Custom orthotics, like the ezWalker® Custom Performance Orthotic, are biomechanically designed to properly support the medial, lateral, and trans-metatarsal arches of your feet by redistributing your body weight evenly over both feet and bringing your whole body into correct alignment. Additionally, by supporting your arches, these custom orthotics reduce the shock forces your feet experience every day, providing you with pain relief and comfort for the entire body.
The WalkEzStore.com uses a unique, 7-step, biomechanical, non-weight-bearing, custom-impression process to create a functional orthotic that controls the hind foot and allows proper function of the first metatarsal joint – creating a better step with each step you take.
The ezWalker® Custom Orthotic is ultra thin and ¾ length, so it can transfer easily from shoe to shoe. Plus, it can be worn with almost any type of footwear. So order your ezWalker® Custom Orthotics today!
Because … when your feet feel good, you feel good.®
