Everyone Needs Good Support and Balance

Our center’s mission is to promote superior health through natural therapy. And it’s amazing how powerful natural therapies can be… with the right knowledge backing it up.

Many of my clients have serious complaints that can be corrected rather quickly. In many cases our clients need to rely on our professional expertise to solve the problem. Sometimes it’s a matter of a series of adjustments or trigger point massage therapy. Sometimes it involves a course of laser therapy.

In other cases it’s just a matter of making changes to their lifestyle. This could involve tweaking an exercise program and eliminating harmful exercises. It could mean getting more sleep. It could mean learning how to activate the core muscles (which we teach in our center). It may involve learning how to better manage stress.

In the cases involving complaints in the lower extremities (the feet, ankles, knees, and/or hips), many times the solution can be found in proper support and balance.

I’ve found that excessive pronation is one of the most common problems that’s at the core of many lower extremity complaints. Excessive pronation is a condition where the medial arch of the foot is not doing it’s job in supporting the foot. It begins to drop too far upon weight bearing.

This means that every time you step down, the medial arch drops too far. This causes a cascade of problems working their way up the chain of joints. Foot problems have been shown to cause problems all the way into the spine and up even to the jaw.

Excessive pronation, poor support, and disturbed balance can cause these common problems:

• foot pain
• plantar fasciitis
• bunions
• hammer toes
• ankle pain or instability
• shin splints
• sciatica and piriformis syndrome
• knee pain
• hip or sacroiliac pain
• poor posture
• back pain

If you have any of the previous problems, please schedule an evaluation to have your feet checked by me or someone at our office. It only takes about 5 minutes to do a thorough evaluation, which could possibly uncover a problem that has an easy fix.

This small investment of your time could save you incredible amounts of pain and suffering. And if your lower extremity problem is interfering with your activities, we may be able to help you get back to enjoying an active lifestyle again.

In cases of excessive pronation or instability, I will almost always recommend these two things:

1. Start using custom-fit arch support

The ones you can buy at the neighborhood pharmacy, can add a little padding but don’t support the arches properly. We fit people for the custom-fit arch supports right in the office. I use a specific balance test during the fitting process to make sure it’s the perfect fit for your specific arch size. The arch support I prescribe is an excellent product by a company called Symmetry. It provides support for all three of the arches of the foot, while remaining flexible to allow the foot to move normally. The style of arch support is determined by the use. For example, athletic shoes and dress shoes require different styles. They even make a style that accommodates sensitive feet. I’ve been using Symmetry arch supports for around 7 years now. I’ve found them to be inexpensive, very durable and comfortable… and they do the job very well.

2. Start wearing a good motion control shoe

The motion control shoe I recommend is the 1123 by New Balance. You can check them out online. It’s an excellent shoe that provides motion control, stability and cushioning. It’s a bit expensive, but it is very durable. I’ve heard that it can last twice as long as the typical running shoe. I just bought my first pair this week, so I don’t know first hand yet.

Focusing on body support and balance is a wise investment of your time and money and could save you a great deal of pain and suffering. Taking care of your problem now may enable you to get back to enjoying an active lifestyle again. Even if you don’t have any substantial pain, you may have a significant problem developing. If you suspect that you have a problem with support or body balance, give us a call today.

It is always easier to stay well than to get well.