This weeks question
How should my feet feel when I stand?
My answer
This is a great question, and to someone who has no lower body injuries or balance issues, likely something they have never thought about. They may say, what do you mean? Just stand on them!
But for some of us, it's a bit more complex than that. Our "normal" or "relaxed" standing posture may give us foot pain, knee pain, hip pain or even back pain.
When working on foot posture when standing, there are 2 aspects I usually focus on. As always, this can vary from person to person but the 2 most common issues I see are:
- A dropped arch, or "flat feet". Many times this can be due to lack of strength or connection in the muscles that hold the arch up and is absolutely something that could be trained. While an orthotic can also help lift arches, wouldn't it be better to have muscles inside you that you can always use, never forget and fit in any shoes your foot does? Try this exercise to get started working your arch muscles.
-Not having equal pressure through all toes. I call the correct way of doing this "tripod foot contact" meaning thinking of your foot like a tripod with the 3 prongs being your heel, your big toe and your pinky toe. Just like a camera tripod, all three need to have even pressure to attain proper balance.
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