Foot Care in Daily Health News
Jan 25, 2010
8 Comments
Feet are everywhere, so why wouldn’t they be in the news! This just out in today’s Daily Health News this morning – a little article that I was interviewed for gives some tips on foot care. Enjoy!
And for those of you calling and emailing the Institute that would like to know where you can get the exercises mentioned in the article, the entire foot health program is available on DVD.
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What a great, informative article!
Thanks for that easy-to-understand info. The Daily Health News is a nice site. They are lucky to have you onboard!
Va
You said about MBT shoes, “the shape of the sole creates an unnatural gait pattern that can harm the feet, knees, hips and spine”. What evidence do you have for that statement? Does “can” mean for “does” for most people who wear them or for a small percentage?
Good question.
I think that all shoes have some positive qualities and all shoes have some unnatural qualities – because shoes aren’t part of how we function as a human machine.
When it comes to gait patterns, there are researched, natural human walking patterns of which ANY footwear can alter.
With MBTs, the center of mass of the wearer’s body rests in the middle of the foot – just like a rocking chair rests toward the middle of the bottom rocker part. In a natural gait pattern, your resting weight should be in the back of the foot over the heel. Also, just like a rocking chair, the wearer will experience the momentum generated by the rocker bottom. Positives: If you have a hard time moving due to pain, the momentum of a rocker bottom can provide great relief – which is why they are near to so many heart! In the long run though, it’s best to evaluate footwear by the long-term effects to the skeleton from a mechanical perspective. The closer you can get to an optimal gait pattern the better it is for all of your joints.
And, I’d also like to add this for everyone to “hear”. There is no shoe choice that replaces the movements the foot requires to stay healthy. Wear the shoes you prefer, but make sure you take the same care (or maybe even better) to exercise the muscles in your feet as you do the muscles in the rest of the body
Dear Katy
Congratulation to your great article in Daily Health News.Foot health is my passion, I am the designer of My Happy Feet socks. Thank you for talking to the public and directing them how to live healthy,foot pain free life.
Together we can turn achy feet into happy feet.
Sincerely
Eva Nemcik
Hi, I am curious to what your recommendations for plantar facsitious would be. (I may have spelled incorrectly) This has caused much pain, and I have to wear supports?
Kimberly,
For plantar fasciitis, I recommend a program of daily foot, calf, and leg stretching and strengthening (find a great program in this DVD) and a slow progression of changing footwear from an elevated to a flat or negative heeled shoe. Good luck!