Foot Health

Contributed by: Marquette Physical Therapy

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I can guarantee that you know at least one friend with either plantar fasciitis, bunions, neuroma, and/or foot pain. Why is that?

Modern-day shoes are just not made for us! Especially women’s shoes. The human foot should have spacing in between each toe with the widest part of the foot being the end of the toes. That’s right. Take off your shoes and socks. Look at your feet. Is the widest part of your foot at the base of your toes or the end of your toes? The great (big) toe should technically point out away from the foot towards mid-line. Most people’s big toe does not even point straightforward, but towards the other toes, squished into a bunion. If you look at a child’s foot, you will see what the human foot should look like. Shoe wear has changed us over time.

Changes in our foot structure can cause pain and dysfunction. Muscles become inhibited and nonfunctional. Nerves get pinched on, injured, and then scarred (neuroma). The entire structure becomes weak and does not support the rest of the body, leading to other injuries. Fun fact: the function of our feet directly relates to the function of our pelvic floor and hips.

Now that was a lot of doom-and-gloom. Is there any hope? Can I ever wear my cute pointy-toed shoes? Can we reverse these changes? YES!

Technically, preventing dysfunction from happening is easier than reversing orthopedic changes later on; however, with gentle consistency, you’d be surprised at the gains you can achieve. Here’s my advice:

1. Self soft tissue mobilization: work on your own feet with massage and range of motion techniques

2. Activation / strengthening exercises for foot health

3. Toe spacers: Wear these around the house, while watching TV, reading in bed, cooking a meal. You can try to sleep in them but this might be uncomfortable depending on your spacing.

4. Wearing good shoes most of the time. Look for tennis shoes or sandals that have a wide toe box. Save your cute heels for special occasions.

I’ll end with one of my favorite quotes from Leonardo da Vinci, “The human foot is a masterpiece of engineering and a work of art”. Yes, it’s a complicated structure, but you can take control of it to make it work in advantage for your body!

Dealing with pain or injury? Need help returning to activities you love? You do NOT need a physician’s prescription to see a physical therapist in the state of Kansas and yes, insurance still applies (check if your state has a similar practice law - in some states you still need a physician's prescription to see a PT). Marquette Physical Therapy has two locations - Leawood & De Soto, KS. We treat one-on-one with a focus on manual therapies with specialties in Graston Technique™, Dry Needling, Pelvic Floor, Vestibular/Concussion, golf, and diagnostic ultrasound.

Marquette Physical Therapy Contact Information:

• Find us at: www.marquettept.com

• Call us at 913-484-7632.

• Follow along on Instagram for more info and exercise ideas: https://www.instagram.com/marquettephysicaltherapy/