70%

Foundation Concept; Foot shape variations; Can you benefit from Functional Orthotic Therapy?

When someone suggests that around 70% of the population have some degree of abnormal foot function, you're not quite sure whether it's them or you who's missed something truly fundamental about the human body.

After all, if it is true, then surely someone would have already noticed it? If it is this sudden revelation, then how can we tell who has abnormal foot function and who hasn't? What causes it? Is it simply part of natural variation, or there something we've done to create this problem? Is poor posture really the culprit or is it simply the body's way of adjusting and adapting to abnormal foot function that has been present since birth?

To those who know what the signs are, time spent "people watching" in a public place soon reveals that 70% may even be a conservative figure. Uneven walking patterns, shuffling walks, bent-over posture, bunions, swollen ankles, knock-knees, unlevel hips, twisted backs, unlevel shoulders, heads tilted to one side and uneven arm swings are just a few symptoms of abnormal foot function that we can see to some degree in the vast majority of the population.

On average, such symptoms become more noticeable with age, so older people often show a greater severity of problems than younger people. Signs of abnormal foot function are present in many children, teenagers and twenty-somethings, they are just usually more difficult to spot because they have not had as many years to develop.

It's now becoming clear that abnormal foot function does not develop as a result of poor posture, but that poor posture develops to accomodate faulty foot function. This turns most methods and techniques of treating the resultant chronic muscular pain and joint problems on their head. Repeated symptomatic relief of the pain caused by poor posture when it is the body's only way of attempting to deal with faulty foot function serves only to weaken the structure over time.

Think about it. How many physiotherapy, chiropractic or oestoepathic visits have you had for the same or similar recurring problems over the last 10 years? Ever wondered why the recurring problems don't go away? How many of you have had your foot function assessed as part of your treatment plan?

Is it worth worrying about?

So, the likelihood is you have some degree of abnormal foot function. Is it anything to worry about? Well yes, it might be, especially if you currently or previously have experienced muscular pain and discomfort for which no cause has been found. Abnormal foot function is the most likely cause for otherwise unexplainable muscular and joint problems and pain, particularly those commonly thought of as wear and tear or age-related problems. Symptoms can be present at any age, and can develop anywhere in the body.

A common misconception is that abnormal foot function only causes pain in the foot or lower leg. Whilst pain or discomfort may be present in this area, because foot function controls the co-ordinated movement of the entire body with every step we take, pain most commonly occurs elsewhere throughout the body. It is not uncommon for sufferers of chronic tension headaches or migraines caused by faulty foot function to have no other painful symptoms, even in their feet or lower legs. The same principle applies to many sufferers of chronic back pain, hip pain and shoulder/neck pain.

Foundation Concept; Foot shape variations; Can you benefit from Functional Orthotic Therapy?