Or perhaps your shoes wear more on one side, you have a high arch, Achilles tendonitis or plantar fasciitis?
All of these (and more) tell us as Chiropractors about how your feet do (or don’t work) and gives great insight into why you may be experiencing the knee of lower back pain- and you guessed it- it’s not always starting at the knee or lower back!
As the seasons change, so does our footwear. I am not sorry that the days of UGG boots are now a thing of the past and closely followed by ballet style pumps. You will recall the rolling in of these shoes so that people walked on the leather rather than the actual sole of the shoe which was just awful to see but really indicated about that individuals foot health.
The thing about flat feet is the lack of arch in the foot, namely the ‘longitudinal arch’ which can cause a lot of pain in the foot when it is not appropriately supported. Likewise, plantar fasciitis and Achilles tendonitis can also be exasperated with incorrect footwear and a high arch with support can again just lead to unnecessary pain.
So when we move from boots with firm support around the heel and ankles and of course, a firmer sole, to lighter weight plimsoles and then flip flops, this affects our gait (the way that we walk). In our, changes in the mechanics of the foot will not only affect the foot itself but also put pressure up through the leg into the knee, hip and lower back. These pressures have an affect in our kinematic (movement) chain which can lead to further, secondary and tertiary problems like upper back and shoulder pains or even neck pain and headaches. I am sure you remember the song- ‘the hip bone is connected to the leg bone…’ and so on? Well, it is true!
When we see patients in clinic with poorly supporting footwear or knee issues, we always check the feet. Sometimes we start immediately by checking the soles of the shoes and work our way up! The problem can be ascending (from the bottom up) or descending (from the top down) and it is important for your Chiropractor to decipher this for the best long term outcomes. Merely fixing the low back pain when the feet are flat or high will just mean that the problem will come back again and again.
When you come to Clinic, you can partly expect that we will ask about your footwear, so don’t be surprised! We even recommend that you bring your old worn down shoes in so we can see exactly how you are walking.
