HEALTHY WEIGHT = HEALTHIER FEET

January is National Healthy Weight Awareness Month, which makes it a good time to reflect on how body weight affects our feet and lower body health, ultimately influencing our overall well-being.

Did you know that for every pound you add to your weight, your feet endure an additional six pounds of pressure? Therefore, even a small amount of weight loss can significantly improve your foot health.

Carrying extra weight can strain our joints, leading to discomfort and stiffness over time. However, by shedding those extra pounds, we can significantly lighten the load on our joints, enhancing their function, especially in the feet, ankles, knees, and hips. This positive change not only promotes better mobility but also helps reduce the risk of joint-related issues and injury.   

An imbalance, or even the slightest biomechanical shift, can change your posture, affect your entire body, and cause you to feel pain in multiple areas along the kinetic chain.

Added weight can affect the way you walk and make you more susceptible to additional painful conditions of the feet as well as secondary conditions of the ankles, knees, legs, hips, and lower back.

In addition to causing imbalances, joint strain, pain, and increased risk of injury, being overweight can cause many conditions that affect the feet and body (including but not limited to):

·         Flatfeet

·         Plantar fasciitis

·         Nerve Pain

·         Diabetes

·         Corns & Callouses

·         Bunions & Hammertoes

Custom Orthotics can help to correct imbalances that result from many of the painful conditions mentioned above by supporting and gently repositioning the heel, arch, muscles, ligaments, tendons, and bones in the feet.

Committing to a regular exercise routine, which includes stretching, and replacing unhealthy food choices with healthier options are effective ways to reduce your weight. This, in turn, helps to decrease the pressure on your feet. Your feet—and your entire body—will thank you for it.

To learn about how custom orthotics can help you reach and exceed your goals and improve your activity so that you can do more of what you love with more confidence and less pain and to schedule your comprehensive biomechanical evaluation visit 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.