FOOT SYMPTOMS CAN BE AN INDICATOR OF POSTURAL PROBLEMS

Certainly, foot pain is enough to make you irritable. But did you know that foot symptoms are an indicator that you could be suffering from a postural problem? If you're like 80% of the population, you suffer from regular or occasional hip, back, and neck pain, most of which can be traced to a malfunction in the feet.

A recent medical study shows that 4 out of 5 people in the United States have a foot problem that is significant enough to cause symptoms at some time in their lives. Factors such as occupation, recreational activities, and environmental stressors cause your body to compensate for deficiencies and abnormalities in the functioning of the foot.

HOW YOUR FEET WORK

Your foot is made-up of 26 bones that function first as a mobile adapter, and then as a shock absorber for the rest of your body. During the mobile adapter phase of walking and running the foot is a loose bag of bones that can be placed on any surface and still help maintain the equilibrium of your leg and body above. As adaptable as your foot structure may be, it must be capable of locking itself into a rigid structure to act as a lever, first to stabilize and lift your body's weight and then propel it forward.

THE TIMING OF YOUR GAIT

When timing is off, the body's weight and stress enter the foot when it's not prepared to receive it. This results in an unstable foot with bones moving in an abnormal direction through an abnormal range of motion.

YOUR FEET WILL ADAPT

Over the years, if your foot function is poor, your feet will adapt. Therefore, when the foot care specialist examines you, knowledge of biomechanics must be applied to reconstruct the feet as to how they appeared and worked before the alterations caused by years of activity and environmental stressors.

Unaware of these slow adaptations that occur over the years, most people tend to ignore their feet until there is pain. Only then will people seek the advice of a medical specialist to relieve symptoms and correct their condition.

To schedule your comprehensive biomechanical evaluation and gait analysis visit www.drleecohen.com or call our Sports Medicine Podiatry Center and book an appointment at our Cherry Hill, N.J. Sports Medicine Facility or Ridley Park, P.A. Office location with one of our podiatric sports medicine specialists today at (610) 522-9200.