When evaluating low back pain, we always include a study of the arches in the feet. The arches are the foundation for the structure of the body. If they break down, they create a domino effect that leads to problems in other joints and contribute to early deterioration. In nearly all the low back pain cases we have success with at Solutions, orthotic arch supports are an important aspect of the treatment outcome. Custom arch supports are not just helpful for spinal problems, they also play a crucial role in our treatment of knees, hips and even shoulders. Read more about how caring for the arches in your feet can have a positive effect on the whole body, improves balance and helps prevent joint degeneration here.
When the arches in the foot fall, this extremely common condition is called over pronation. At Solutions, we perform posture and foot scans on every single patient and find normal arches to be extremely rare. When the feet lose their arch, it causes two problems….
- Increased impact on the skeleton
The arches in the feet act like a shock absorber to reduce the impact of every step on the rest of the body. When the arches are gone, the ankles, knees, hips, spine and even shoulders will have greater cumulative compressive loads causing them to wear out faster.
- Imbalanced foundation
When the arches fall because of over pronation, they don’t do so evenly from one side to the other. This causes one foot to put more pressure on the ground than the other, creating a weight imbalance. As one arch may be more dropped than the other, the leg length deficiency also gives the spine an unlevel base. These issues create wedged discs, scoliosis, spinal instabilities and ultimately faster deterioration in the spine and all the weight bearing joints (feet, ankles, knees and hips).
When you have a back problem, suffer from chronic joint pain or facing joint replacement surgery, coming to Solutions is your best bet. Our approach is extremely thorough as we study all our cases from the ground up, starting with a foot and posture scan. This helps determine if your arches are lacking and if a custom orthotic may help. The scan only take a few minutes and gives us valuable information about how your feet may be affecting the rest of your body and might even be a main cause of your pain! Contact us to make an appointment for a FREE Foot Scan today.
