Have Lower Back Pain? The Problem (and Solution) Could Involve Your Feet

Why Your Feet May Be Responsible For Your Back Pain

Imagine a building that is resting on top of a crumbling or tilting foundation.

There may be nothing wrong whatsoever with the quality of the walls, ceilings, doors or windows. But if the foundation is bad, cracks will start to develop in otherwise strong materials. Doors and windows will start to stick or jam. The whole house may start to fall apart!

The simple fact is these other parts of the house are built to withstand “normal” stresses, and a poor foundation forces them to deal with increased loads and pressures which they are not designed to handle. Eventually, through no fault of their own, they start to fail.

You can think of your feet and body in very much the same way. The feet are your body’s foundation, and they have been designed to operate in a certain way to dampen impact forces before they reach the muscles, bones, and joints higher up the kinetic chain.

If you are dealing with a biomechanics flaw in your feet—say flat feet, high arches, severe overpronation, a significant discrepancy in the length of the legs, etc.—it forces the rest of the body to work harder to compensate for the lack of support from the feet. Poor foot alignment directly leads to poor alignment in the legs and spine.  The end result, quite often, is pain that starts in the feet but can easily affect the legs and back as well.

Foot Biomechanics Problems Often Have a (Relatively) Simple Fix

If the foundation of your home requires major repairs, you might be out tens of thousands of dollars—or you might decide to change houses entirely.

You can’t switch your body, but the good news is the vast majority of foot biomechanics issues can be addressed with either a carefully selected medical-grade support or a custom-made set of orthotics. These devices fit into your shoes, giving your feet and ankles the support, stability, and repositioning they need to do their jobs correctly—and that means the tension throughout your legs and back can be relieved as well.

However, this does not mean you can just go down to the pharmacy and choose a pair of “orthotics” off the shelf. Just like glasses with the wrong prescription won’t help your vision, the wrong set of orthotics won’t fix your foot, leg, or back pain. You need the right pair, and that means you need a specialist who truly understands foot and ankle biomechanics and how they contribute to pain throughout the body.

Dr. Bobrowski at InStride Crystal Coast Podiatry specializes in biomechanics and can help ensure your feet get exactly the support they need.

For some people, that may mean over-the-counter inserts are sufficient. If so, we not only carry a selection of high-quality prefabricated medical-grade supports that are better than what you can typically find at a store, but we also have the tools, materials, and experience to modify those inserts in-office to fine-tune the fit. (You certainly will not get this level of expertise and service in just any podiatry clinic.)

For others—particularly those with a severe foot deformity or extremely flexible flatfoot—a set of custom orthotics may be required to properly alleviate symptoms. As the name suggests, these devices are made from scratch to fit an individual set of feet. At our office, we take great care in getting the best possible impression of your feet, in a neutral, non-weight bearing position, so that precise measurements can be taken to ensure your orthotics support and balance your feet as optimally as possible.