Custom foot orthotics are often required to correct postural imbalances or ‘twists’ (in some cases referred to as “scoliosis”). When the arches of one or both feet are either collapsed (“pronation”) or too high and rigid (“supination”) the resulting difference in height and mobility between the arches of the feet can cause problems all the way up through our body.
A low or collapsed arch of the foot will cause an inward twist at the knee joint, and a forward and down twist of the pelvis on the same side, thereby producing a twist up the spine that compensates back and forth all the way up to the skull.
Conversely, a high rigid foot arch will cause an outward twist at the knee joint, and a backward and upward twist of the pelvis on the same side, producing a twist up the spine in the opposite direction that also compensates back and forth all the way up to the skull.
A twist up through the body caused by a foot arch that is either lower or higher than the other foot often causes huge problems for the body in many ways. Firstly, since the legs, pelvis and spine twist in response, all of the muscles, tendons and ligaments that attach to these bones are at different lengths than the same muscle, tendon or ligament on the other side of the body – because they are attached to a frame that is not going ‘right up the middle’.
Secondly, any twist of our frame produces uneven tension throughout the connective tissue (or “fascia”) that is attached to it. All of our organs and tissues are suspended by this fascia. Recent research shows that improper tension levels in any region cause the cells in that region to function improperly, including the cells of our organs.
As uneven foot arches can cause twisting and pain in our feet, knees, pelvis and virtually anywhere up our backs and necks, simply treating the site of pain in these cases is really just putting a ‘band-aid’ on the problem. Once a person gets off the treatment table and back on their uneven arches, it is really just a matter of a short period of time before the same pain is back in the same place again. This is because the same twisting caused by the uneven foot arches causes the force and pain to be focused on the same spot. To use an analogy, if a house is built upon an uneven concrete foundation, the resulting twist in the wooden framing resting on the foundation will cause the wallboard to keep producing cracks in the same places, regardless of how many times they are ‘patched’ over. Only by levelling the foundation can the framing become level and untwisted, thereby stopping the recurrence of the same ‘cracks’ in the walls. The balance of any frame depends firstly upon the ‘levelness’ of the foundation upon which it rests.
The orthotics we provide for our patients are 100% custom, made from plaster casting in the neutral, non-weight bearing position.
Foot Facts:
- Your Feet have 25% of all the bones in your body.
- An average person takes 7000 steps per day, 192 million steps per lifetime.
- You will walk about 3/4 of the way around the world in your lifetime.
- your foot length approximately 1/7 of your height.
- An average person will put 100 tons of force through their feet every day!