When our feet or ankles become sore, we are quick to purchase a generic or major store brand arch support insert. This arch support inserts works for a bit because it only offers support for one of three foot arches.
The 3 foot arches include the Medial Longitudinal, Lateral Longitudinal and Transverse arches. Each arch assists the foot with standing and movements such as jumping, running and normal day to day walking. When the arch becomes sore, people tend to adjust their gait (or their walk) to accommodate the sore area.
In some instances, people do not have soreness in their feet, but start to have achy ankles, knees and hips. This achiness becomes more severe and they notice they are walking differently due to the soreness in their joints. Most people are shocked when they are told that their feet and improper foot rotation could be the culprit.
Most often people will complain of aches and pains in their thighs, medial or in-between the knees, ankles and sometimes even the toes, especially the largest and smallest toe. This pain is caused by an improper rotation of the foot. These rotations are called a Supination and Pronation.
A supination rotation means that the back of the foot is not rotating inward enough to absorb the complete impact of a step. This can cause conditions such as Plantar Fasciitis, Hammertoes, pain in the Achilles tendon, pain in knee and hip joints and ankle sprains.
A Pronation rotation is when the foot rolls inward and it can look like a person has flat feet when standing still because of how their feet rolls inward. Extreme pronation can cause conditions such as Plantar Fasciitis, shin splints, and Achilles tendon pain.
In some cases, a person can supinate and pronate in the same step. This can cause pain in the foot, calf and knee with excessive exercise if there is not proper support to prevent the rotation.
Any irregular rotation can lead to hip and back pain as well as misalignment of the pelvis and spine. All of these misalignments can cause pain that can be connected back to the feet.
Proper foot support allows the foot to rotate properly with each step and provides extra support in areas that are lacking. Proper arch support keeps the rest of the leg joints in alignment while walking. Remember that childhood song, “the foot is connected to the ankle bone and the ankle is connected to the knee bone” and so on? This holds true with the body’s posture. When the arches have proper support, the ankles rest in the correct position. This keeps the knees and hips in alignment and helps with proper posture.
There are many reasons why some ones posture is off, and often the issue starts with the foundation… the feet.
ASFCA uses 3 different styles of orthotics to find the right type for your feet. Foot Levelers ® custom orthotics is our top of the line-up. Foot Levelers ® support and stabilize the 3 foot arches which create a chain reaction of support from the arches of the feet to the pelvis and hips.