Foot Pain

The issue of foot pain is a factor that not many clinicians want to deal with. To most, the feet are merely appendages that are hidden in the shoes. In other words, dealing with the feet is not very exciting and yet, the feet are the stable platform for the body. When this platform is unbalanced, the rest of the body is unbalanced. As an example, when the foot arches are pronated, the jaw, which hangs on two joints, is also out of balance and that affects the function of the shoulders and the neck.

When I was in the army, there was a fellow in our platoon that could not keep up with us on our long marches. He constantly was complaining about leg and foot pain, leg heaviness and being so exhausted. He was finally discharged from service. I had the opportunity of looking at his feet on one occasion and I remember how flat the arches were and how pronated they looked. No wonder, he couldn't keep up with us and was constantly fatigued. His platform was out of balance, which strained his entire body. He was exhausted.

Pronation and flat arches are the biggest problems. Basically, this is when the calcaneus bone is not lined up with the achilles tendon. When this occurs, the foot is under a lot of strain and the tendons and connective tissue break down, causing a flat foot. It also creates undue strain in the hips, pelvis, low back muscles and spine. Over a period of time, this condition allows unsual wear and strain to occur. There are some exercises for this problem, but usually orthotics are needed in order to really make a change.

Over the years, I have seen many poorly designed orthotics, which are usually made in an office. The usual technique is to have the person sit on a table and plaster is applied to the hanging foot and the orthotic is made from that cast. That is the first mistake. The foot is dynamic and has twenty bones that move and work. When the cast is not a weight bearing impression, how can the bones move? They can't and therefore, there is foot pain. The second mistake is that the casting and subsequent orthotic are hard and not flexible. The orthotic must be a soft, allowing the bones of the foot to work. There are other parameters that are built into the orthotic, but these two issues are usually ignored.

The company that I use is Foot Levelers in Roanoke, Virginia. They have been in existence for many years and are the preeminent researcher of foot problems. They understand the importance of taking the proper impression and then building the orthotic from that impression.

I hope that this short narrative helps you understand how important your feet are to your overall health. If you have any questions, call me and I can direct you to the proper sources or send to you the appropriate information.

Bud Golden
Physical therapist
Certified nutritionist and fitness consultant