Are My Feet at the root of my knee and back pain?
If you are having problems with back pain, shin splints, knees, or hips, there is a possibility that it is coming from your feet. Although these ailments might seem totally unrelated to one another, they are often linked to the feet.
The foot is the foundation of the body. When you walk, you put the force of as much as five times your body weight on each foot. If the foot doesn’t absorb that shock or redistribute it properly, you can develop problems elsewhere. The most common site of pain with flat feet is the knee.
This most often occurs in people who have hyperpronated feet, also called “flat feet,” because the arch appears to be flattened and closer to the ground. If you have flat feet, your feet tend to roll inward when you walk or run. That extra motion creates secondary stresses farther up in your legs because of the excessive foot motion, the muscles on the inside of your leg must work harder to pull your foot up. When you use these muscles excessively, particularly in running, shin splints can occur.
Flat feet can lead to tendinitis in your Achilles tendon, which runs down the back of your leg, because that tendon has to compensate when you push off with your feet.
Poor foot architecture can also stress the medial collateral ligaments of your knee. And although flat feet don’t cause you to be knock-kneed, people who are knock-kneed sometimes have flat feet; their feet rotate inward to compensate for the misalignment of the knees.
What can be done for flat feet?
How can you tell if your aches and pains are caused by your feet? You’ll need a physical examination and a history of activities. This should be performed by a qualified doctor. If you have children, try standing behind them and watch as they stand or walk. If the feet collapse inward, it is probably that they have a flat foot.
Custom made foot orthotics is the standard of care, and first line of defiance for flat feet. Foot orthotics often provide almost immediate relief form knee pain caused by flat feet, as well as curing a number of other related problems in the foot, back or hip.
If you are having foot problems, you might need to change your footwear. It is possible to find a shoe model built for your type of foot. Some athletic shoes are designed for people with flat feet and have higher arches to provide better support; Nike in Vietnam provides a wide variety of shoes for different kinds of feet, including a flat or pronated feet.
For other foot problems, you might need custom – made arch supports for your shoes. You may need to talk with your health care provider if you are experiencing problems with your feet.
