Common Problems - Bones

What effect does abnormal foot function and poor posture have on our bones and joints?

Keywords: Oesteoarthritis; Degenerative disc or joint disease; spondylosis (where found in the spine); Chondromalacia patellae (mild form found in the knee)

Oesteoarthritis is the most common joint problem in the world. Oesteoarthritis, or "wear and tear" arthritis is the breakdown of the joints, most commonly the knee and hip joints. It is the cause for cracking and creaking joints, can develop at any age but is more common in those aged 40+ and occurs more frequently in women than men.

So, if it is the most common joint problem in the world, surely we know what causes it? Nope - in fact we don't really have a clue. Or at least, we don't when we don't understand the role of foot shape, foot function and poor posture.

A natural varus foot shape forces the foot to roll inward and downward, or hyperpronate when we stand and walk around, and this disrupts foot function throughout the entire gait cycle. With every step we take, hyperpronation of the sub-talar joint complex causes excessive internal rotation of the lower limbs, stressing the knees, hips and spine.

This excessive and prolonged internal rotation forces the weightbearing joints to work outside of their normal alignment - even if only slightly. It is this repeated misalignment of the joints with every single step that, over time, wears down the cartiledge and sometimes also the bones.

As if to add insult to injury, the degree and nature of hyperpronation in each foot is also invariably different, which creates an asymmetry in the problems. This explains why one bunion is bigger than the other, one knee hurts more than the other, one hip is freer than the other and it is easier to bend or twist the spine one way than the other.