Did you know that your feet can cause back pain?
Your feet are the foundation of your whole skeleton. They are supposed to have arches (like little bridges) to support the rest of your structure. But some feet don’t.
Flat arches will cause the rest of the structure–your body–to collapse inward and forward. This places a lot of strain on your muscles and joints and causes back pain. It also causes poor posture. And poor posture causes more pain.
What’s the solution? Arch supports.
Whoa! That was simple, wasn’t it.
Walking is an excellent way to get rid of back pain but first you need to give your feet what your body needs: arches. If you don’t have them naturally, a good arch support (or orthotic) that fits into your shoe will fill the bill.
Running shoe stores generally carry good orthotics (arch supports) and they will help you get the right size. At first they may feel as though you are walking with boulders in your shoes but there are simple ways to help your feet adjust.
You want a firm support rather than something soft. It’s about support.
http://simplepainrelief.com/2009/04/08/does-poor-posture-cause-pain-how-do-arch-supports-help/ (<– click here for another article about arch supports.)
Too many people let pain get in the way of walking but walking is an excellent natural back muscle therapy…if you do it correctly. 🙂
Kathryn,
I really enjoy reading your posts. They are full of very practical advice. If you’ll take a minute and try this exercise It may get you re-think the arch support/no arch support debate. Take a walk around (barefoot) before and after the movements. Did your foot strike change?
The exercises will have the same effect on your footstrike as they do your balance. Please let me know what you find. Thanks for helping
Hi Shawn, The link that you sent didn’t take me to the article with the exercise for the arch. Would you please send it again? I’m interesting in reading it.
Thank you,
Kathryn
The Pain Relief Coach