Health problems can occur in the feet and in the rest of the body because of the inability of the feet to move freely and naturally.

If you are experiencing any or all of the following you are probably wearing the incorrect size/style shoe:

• —Extremely tired feet and legs.
• Aching and cramping muscles under the arch.
• Pain and cramps in any of the toes.
• Hallux Valgus (“bunions”).
• Painful calluses at the ball(s) of your foot.
• Fungal nails.
• Pain in the heels (“bone spurs”).
• Burning sensations and numbness (Morton’s neuroma).
• Weak and sore ankles (chronic foot sprains).
•  Aching and cramping of leg muscles (hairline fractures).
• Stiff and painful knees.
• Pains in thighs, hips and back.
• Difficulty keeping one’s balance when walking on rough surfaces.
• General fatigue, headaches, irritability and nervous exhaustion.

The good news is–all of the symptoms listed above can be avoided and certainly remedied with a little common sense and knowledge about foot function and shoes.

“It seems so simple! Why didn’t anyone tell me this before?” is the reply I often get when speaking about how one can improve the health and vitality of their feet and body.  IT IS SIMPLE.  There are no pills to take, no surgeries, and no injections.  Orthotics would just serve as a band-aid and their long term use may cause further damage to the feet.  The danger in opting for pills, cutting, injections, or props is that none of these options necessarily correct the problem. Often the signal of pain on the foot is a symptom of a problem brewing elsewhere in the foot and does not reveal where the problem started in the first place.  Also, most of these options will not preserve the integrity of the foot, nor do they provide answers to the question of why the feet are reacting this way.

We all want relief from painful symptoms-especially when it comes to the feet.  One way to do this is first, check out the shoes you are wearing as the contributing factor to your ills. The majority of people are wearing the wrong size shoe– and for women, it is mostly the style of shoe that interferes with foot function.  Getting a bigger shoe or a style that fits your feet may not be enough to release the binding effect caused by the previous shoes you wore.  In order to acclimate to the new shoe size and to make sense of this change, it would be ideal to work with a qualified therapist to help you work out the built-up tension in the muscles that have been struggling to move feet in shoes that don’t fit.

What you also need to know is sturdy arch supports that are built into shoes are basically an orthotic shoe.  Many people go so far as to add an orthotic insert into the rigid shoe–a double whammy for the foot and spine.  As mentioned in my previous blog (Tips to Preventing Foot Pain,) the arch of the foot is your body’s spring board for movement as it sends a continuous wave-like motion up the body, massaging the spine and brain. If anything interrupts the arch from it’s ability to spring and shock absorb, the curves of the vertebral spine (especially the low-back and neck) will react with compression in response to the abruptness against the arch’s normal function.   What’s more, the normal wave of movement initiated by the arch of the foot is invigorating and allows the spinal chord to deliver and transmit signals to the organs and glands of the body more efficiently.  Compression against the arch of the foot will yield the same to the curves of the spine, interrupting the neural pathways for effective communication, and leaving one more vulnerable to a degenerating spine.

Give it some thought the next time you take a walk and–let your feet do the talking!  If this is a new concept, please take care of yourself during this transition and lean into this new way of being, gently.

Thank you for reading!