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About Your Feet
Our feet are designed to move across uneven, earthy surfaces. The hard, inflexible surfaces that we regularly walk on today, such as concrete, tile or wood, leave our feet to absorb the shock of walking and running. The Importance Of Alignment On Your Feet And Body There are 28 bones in your foot and all of them work to balance your entire body. When these bones are in alignment you are able to absorb the shock of each step and still maintain proper balance and alignment in the rest of your body. As the foundation of your body, if your feet are not in alignment your entire skeletal structure becomes misaligned. This forces your body to try to compensate for the lack of balance which can lead to fatigue or foot, knee, hip or back pain. Foot Efx Arch Supports give your feet crucial stability for any activity or sport and offer a solution to many common foot problems. The Most Common Foot Problems
 Achilles Tendonitis This is caused by muscle strain to the Achilles tendon in the heel of the foot. Symptoms of Achilles Tendonitis - Pain when putting pressure on the foot after being inactive for awhile - Shooting pain or burning sensation in the heel - Pain can also occur above the heel - Inflammation and degeneration of the Achilles Tendon itself Signs to Look For - The outer heel of shoes worn - Pain in or above the heel when pushing off or jumping during exercise - Inability to stand up straight Possible Causes of Achilles Tendonitis - Stiffness of tendons, which become more rigid as you age - Overpronation - Abrupt changes in shoes or footwear - Changes in exercise regimes or schedules - Failure to stretch or warm-up before exercise Back to top Arthritis Arthritis is thinning and damage to the cartilage, reducing its ability to provide shock absorbency and reduce friction in knees, hips, and other weight-bearing joints. Symptoms of Arthritis - Inflammation and discomfort around joints (e.g., toes, ankles, etc.) - Stiffness and pain when walking or even at rest - Reduced mobility of joints Signs to Look For - Loss of movement - Stiffness and swelling in the joints - Snapping of the joints Possible Causes of Arthritis - Natural wear and tear of joints - Overuse or injury through accidents and sports - Poor posture - Degeneration of cartilage Back to top Bunions Enlargement of the joint behind the big toe, calcium build-up and inflammation around the joint. Symptoms of Bunions - Pain surrounding the joint - Irritated, sensitive skin surrounding the area - Stiffness and cramping of the big toe - Callus formation on underside of joint at big toe Signs to Look For - Recurring pain and swelling of joint - Appearance of joint growing in size Back to top Calluses A concentrated thick skin located on the underside of the foot, caused by a combination of collapsed metatarsal arch and foot instability. Creates abnormal weight distribution and wearing of underlying bones. Symptoms of Calluses - Recurring hard, thick skin build-up and pain surrounding the callus Signs to Look For - White/yellowish thick, dry skin in a specific area under front foot Possible Causes of Calluses - Walking style (pronation or supination) - Ill-fitting or worn-out shoes, sole of shoes too soft - High heeled shoes Back to top Flat Foot Flat feet occur when both longitudinal and metatarsal arches have collapsed and are no longer visible, causing the ankle and knee to fall inward. Symptoms of Flat Foot - General foot fatigue - Ankle, knee and lower back pain - Calluses under big toe/bunions - Shoulder falls forward/slouching - More energy required to run or stand for long periods of time Signs to Look For - Inner walls of shoes are stretched and worn - Foot appears abnormally wide - Ankle and cuboid bone protruding inward - No arch is visible Possible Causes of Flat Foot - Heredity - Poor quality of shoes (sole of shoe too soft) - Walking style - Injury - Wearing ill-fitting shoes Back to top Hard Corns Heloma durams (hard corns) are hard, circular, thickened areas of skin that form on the tops and tips of the toes and along the sides of the feet. Symptoms of Hard Corns - Painful or inflamed area of skin on tops and sides of toes - Toes feel too tight within shoes, and rub when walking Signs to Look For - Hard and circular areas of skin, with a polished or translucent center - Toes pressing against the top and sides of the shoe at the toe joints - Toes curling under and pressing against the sole of the shoe Possible Causes of Hard Corns - Improper-fitting shoes - Toe deformities Back to top Soft Corns Heloma moles (soft corns) are hard, circular thickened areas of skin that typically form between the fourth and fifth toes when one of the toe bones (phalanges) is slightly too wide. Symptoms of Soft Corns - Painful or inflamed area of skin between toes - Toes feel too tight within shoes, and rub when walking Signs to Look For - Hard and circular areas of skin, with a polished or translucent center - Toes pressing against each other at the toe joints, causing ulcerations Possible Causes of Soft Corns - Toe deformities - Wearing high heeled shoes Back to top Hammer Toes A muscle imbalance in the front of the foot causing the toes to contract (toes curl under and point downward). Symptoms of Hammer Toes - Hard skin (corns) develop on top of joints of toes - Calluses develop on the underside of downward pointing toes - General front foot fatigue and pain Signs to Look For - Toes bunching together - Toes contracting and pointing downward Back to top High Arch The longitudinal arch contracts due to muscle, tendon and ligament imbalance, affecting normal weight distribution. Symptoms of High Arch - Pain in mid-foot (longitudinal arch) - Front foot pain/bunion - Calf muscle/knee/lower back pain Signs to Look For - The middle part of the foot makes no contact with the floor Back to top Heel Spur Syndrome (Plantar Fasciitis) Pain on the underside of the heel caused by the tendon-like tissue partially pulling away from the heel bone. Over time, a calcium formation develops in the injured area, often taking the shape of a sharp protrusion. Symptoms of Spur Heel Syndrome (Plantar Fasciitis) - Heel pain during first steps in the morning - Heel pain after walking or standing - Swelling and inflammation under the heel bone Signs to Look For - Heel pain experienced immediately after sitting - Heel pain after resting on standing feet Possible Causes of Heel Spur Syndrome - Pronation of foot - Poor quality, ill-fitting, worn-out shoes - Injury - Flat foot Back to top Morton's Neuroma A nerve compressed between two bones in the front foot causing a piercing and disabling pain at the base of the third and fourth toes. This generally afflicts women of middle age wearing tight-fitting, high heeled shoes. Symptoms of Morton's Neuroma - Immediate sharp pain in the area while standing or walking - Burning and irritation in the area - Numbness in front foot at the base of the third and fourth toes Signs to Look For - Many people claim they are able to relieve the pain by removing the shoe and squeezing or manipulating the front of the foot and toes. Back to top Pronation A foot condition causing the ankle to rotate inward, and the heel bone and front foot (big toe) to point outward. Symptoms of Pronation - Calluses developing on underside of big toe - General foot fatigue - Ankle pain - Achilles tendinitos/calf muscle pain - Medial knee pain/lower back pain Signs to Look For - The outer heel of shoes worn Possible Causes of Pronation - Poor fitting shoes - Walking style - Shoes without a firm base, worn-out - Injury Back to top Sciatic Nerve Pain develops when a nerve is compressed in the hip. Generally caused by a body and/or foot imbalance. Symptoms of Sciatic Nerve - Shooting (throbbing) pains extending from the back (passing the center of the buttocks) travelling downward to the heel of the foot Signs to Look For - Pain extending down the back of the leg after long-term standing or after resting Back to top Supination Supination is an extreme raised arch of the foot, causing the foot and ankle to appear to lean or tip to the outside. Over rotation of the foot can cause instability when walking. Symptoms of Supination - Knee, hip, lower back and neck pain - Ankle instability or roll over - Achilles tedonitis, plantar fasciitis and strain on lateral collateral ligaments - One or more spinal vertebrae out of alignment Signs to Look For - Calluses along the outer edge of the foot - A bump in the back of your heel - Bunion of the 5th toe (Tailor's Bunions) Possible Causes of Supination - High arches or Cavus foot - Inverted lower extremity (e.g. bow leggedness) - Foot has lost some of its natural shock absorbing quality Back to top Where to find Foot Efx >>> |
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