If you have lower back pain, you’re not alone! Millions of people deal with acute lower back pain every single day, and unfortunately, it often becomes chronic for 20% of sufferers. When it comes to back pain, there’s one cause that’s often overlooked: your feet.
There doesn’t seem like there would be a connection between lower back pain and your feet, but foot pain can in fact be related to your back! Likewise, If your lower back has been hurting, and you haven’t done anything unusual to it, the source of your pain could be your feet!
Our bodies are like a chain, where each link (bone) connects (at a joint) to another link (bone). Knowing this, let’s think about what would happen if the first “link in the chain” was out of position!
That is what happens when we have foot pain: if our normal way of walking becomes painful, we instinctively will change our walking pattern to try to ease the pain. When we change our gait, we are actually changing the mechanics of our ankle joint, and eventually this can cause ankle pain. ‘If you have lower back pain, you’re not alone! Millions of people deal with acute lower back pain every single day, and unfortunately, it often becomes chronic for 20% of sufferers. When it comes to back pain, there’s one cause that’s often overlooked: your feet.
There doesn’t seem like there would be a connection between lower back pain and your feet, but foot pain can in fact be related to your back! Likewise, If your lower back has been hurting, and you haven’t done anything unusual to it, the source of your pain could be your feet!
Our bodies are like a chain, where each link (bone) connects (at a joint) to another link (bone). Knowing this, let’s think about what would happen if the first “link in the chain” was out of position!
That is what happens when we have foot pain: if our normal way of walking becomes painful, we instinctively will change our walking pattern to try to ease the pain. When we change our gait, we are actually changing the mechanics of our ankle joint, and eventually this can cause ankle pain.
This change in our walking pattern can also affect the whole chain of the lower body – from the ankle, to the knee, to the hip and to the lower back! Cartilage in the joints eventually wear down, ligaments and tendons become stressed beyond their normal range and this is when arthritis begins to set in.
If you have flat feet, it will cause your thighs and knees to rotate inward, which causes there to be an exaggerated curvature of your lower back. Over time, this posture will put more pressure on your hips and knees and can lead to back pain.
Two other common issues that can contribute to lower back pain are underpronation and overpronation. Overpronation is when your feet turn inward. If this is the case for you, you may find the inside of your soles flattened from wear. Underpronation (which is also called supination) is the opposite. This is where your feet turn outward when you run or walk. Both over and under-pronation can cause your spine and hips to become out of alignment, which can result in lower back pain.
Call us today to schedule your complimentary orthotic scan when you come in for your next adjustment!