Walking should not hurt! After being a therapist for 22 years one thing has become clear to me, those patients who walk regularly seem to be the happiest and fittest people I see. Walking requires no expensive equipment, gym membership or financial commitment. Yet when I walk or drive around Cumberland, Ridgeley, or Wiley Ford I see few people out there. Why is that? I guess we could say sitting in front of the TV is a temptation we all fall into for sure. The couch is soft, the house is warm, and there are goodies in the fridge. Motivation and desire to move and get out can be lacking these days! But what about those who are in pain? What about those who are afraid of falling or feel unsteady? Getting around for most people should not have to be an ordeal nor should it have to hurt. What happens? Why do feet, ankles, knees, hips, and backs hurt? And what can be or should be done about it? Well, from a biomechanical point of view few people are well trained to assess let alone correct these problems properly. Most family physicians, internists, physician assistants, and nurse practitioners are not trained to correct these problems. Often anti-inflammatories are given to reduce pain symptoms but few attempt to understand or treat the cause. Many just trust us to figure it out and do something to help fix the problem. What I have learned is much depends on your feet! If you have collapsed arches (which many people are unaware of) then your legs rotate as do your feet. You many become knock-kneed and suffer pain on the inside part of the knee. When you walk this produces excessive motion that travels up the chain. The hip and back muscles must work extra hard and back joints and hips move excessively as the extra motion travels up the leg (see illustration). Or you may have the opposite problem, high arches that are hard and rigid. These are poor shock absorbers and the shock travels up the legs to the knee, hip and back as well. Discs in the low back degenerate and fail to absorb the extra shock. You may be somewhat bow-legged (see illustration). It’s best if you catch these problems early and prevent pain, deformity and loss of mobility. However, even if your problem is advanced and painful it can be corrected with proper orthotics and make walking easier. If you have flat feet with too much motion as you walk your arch collapses with each step. This motion can be controlled by using a comfortable material that supports the rear foot and forefoot with a small wedge on the inside part of the foot. Your weight and activity level dictate how soft or hard the material needs to be. This can help eliminate knee, hip, and back pain, by eliminating excessive motion that got them irritated in the first place. For those with high arches we try to use softer shock absorbing materials if possible to reduce the shock that travels up the legs to the hips and back. Please call us at 301-759-4263 and get your problem handled and get walking again, a key to good health. The number is 301-759-4263. If not now when do you plan to solve this problem? Call today. Who knows, maybe you can become a regular walker too! |
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