Starting out on the wrong foot

Starting off on the wrong foot.

Feet are both your best friend and your worst nightmare. On one hand, they carry your body weight, help you travel from place to place, and keep your body from falling over when you stand. However, on the other hand, they can hold tension and pain, and well, if something is wrong with your feet, then it will most likely affect the rest of your body.

When working with my clients, one of the first areas I will start with is their feet. ( Yes I touch feet for a living. And love it!) Using the same idea we discussed with knees, we can see that gait (the way you walk) and resting stances changes depending on the positioning of the feet. I challenge you to find a way to change the position of your feet without moving any other part of your body. Knees, hips, shoulders, and even neck. These areas will all move to compensate for the lack of balance that occurs when you change your foot positions. 

The positioning of the feet can be defined by one of four actions. 

Pronation, imagine standing on the inside of your foot. 

Supination, like standing on the outside of your foot.

Dorsiflexion, pulling your toes towards you face.

Plantar flexion, or toes into the ground.

Each of these actions has different implications on the rest of the body. If your feet are positioned incorrectly, it is very common for you to have back pain, hip pain, knee pain, shoulder pain, neck pain, and well, just a lot of pain.  Luckily for you, we can help. Plus, the only side effect is better sleep and less discomfort!

Tip #1: Insoles!
Just like with the knees, the first thing you need to do is bring your body back to an equilibrium. I always recommend going and getting insoles. If you can't go to your podiatrist, or if like most people, you don't know one, go to your local big box store and use their Dr.Scholls insole machine. All you have to do is stand on it, and it will tell you where you put most of your weight, and it will recommend the correct insole for you! It only takes about 5 minutes, and it is worth the investment! Your feet will thank you!

Tip #2: Massage those feet!

Home massage for feet is very easy, and doesn't take that long. If you can massage your feet for 5 minutes every night, you will  be able to relieve some of the tension that is holding your feet in the wrong position. If you don't want to touch you feet, or if you don't think you can do it yourself, see your massage therapist. I know it's weird, but we love feet!! Here is a quick video for at home foot massage!

Tip #3: Check your shoes!

Your shoes are very important to foot health! You want to make sure that they are not too tight, but that they also provide support to your feet and ankles! Make sure you have room to wiggle your toes around as well. Lastly, make sure to get new shoes at least every 6 months. If you wear the same shoes every day, they become worn down, and will not provide as much support as they used to after about 6 months.

Feel free to comment below, and let me know any other problem areas you are having so I can address them in my next blog!

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This shoulder is so frozen...

This shoulder is so frozen, it's singing Let It Go!

Frozen shoulder, also know as adhesive capsulitis is mainly characterized as stiffness or pain in the shoulder joint. This is most often caused by a shoulder injury, tissue scarring, and shrinkage of the shoulder capsule. An old teacher of mine used to say," The body is very smart, however, the body is very dumb." This dysfunction is the perfect example of that statement. 

When you experience a shoulder injury, or any injury really, you body goes into a protection mode. It brings the injured part of your body towards your center, to provide protection from it getting hurt again. Notice, all the players below are pulling their arms, or legs in close to their chest. 

However, the normal response once it is healed is to let that body part return to normal positioning. Your body is also dumb though, and much like an over protective parent, it tries to keep that body part from getting hurt by holding it close to their body. This can cause stiffness and immobility in the joint. Over long periods of time, this becomes the arms natural position. The bad part about this is the shoulder loses the ability to move as it is built to.The shoulder capsule then becomes less of a joint, and more of a cast meant to hold the arm in place.


All hope is not yet lost though, as there are ways to make your body act like it's smart self again! Here are some of my favorite tips for frozen shoulder!

Tip 1: Keep it moving!
The biggest part about recovery from frozen shoulder is to keep the shoulder moving. In the late stages of frozen shoulder, it is hard to move at all, but small stretching movements can slowly loosen up the shoulder capsule. The stretches and exercises below are ones that I use on many clients as a daily routine. Always remember, don't push it too far. The trick is slowly stretching, not forced dislocation!


Tip 2: Massage
Massage therapy can help frozen shoulder by facilitating stretching and movement in deeper muscles that can't always be stretched by yourself. It also helps your muscles relax and let go, which will help loosen up the shoulder capsule.

Tip 3: Don't baby it!
If you ever find yourself holding your arm to your chest for no reason, make sure to consciously let it fall back to it's natural position. It is important that you retrain your body where your arm is supposed to go.

Feel free to comment below about subjects you would like to hear about!

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