What do you recommend for a sensible shoe but yet still some height to the heel? From Katie of Crystal Lake.

May 02
2010
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Hi Katie.

Well there is a lot of controversy about high healed shoes. Although, if one were to look only at the emergency room visits regarding injuries with shoes, flip-flops would be the worst. However, high healed shoes pose a longer term consequence. Why do you ask? Well it comes down to what is happening when wearing high healed shoes. So here is an experiment, first stand on your tip toes as high as you can. Do you feel that you may be leaning forward slightly? Yes you are. So what does that mean? Your pelvis is rotating forward, your calves and hamstrings are tightening up and the anterior tibial muscle is becoming weak along with the quads. In addition, the muscle that raises your leg up shortens which causes increased lordosis of the low back and shortening of the long muscles of the back. That’s right…sway back begins to form. That is why high healed shoes don’t have as many emergency room visits as flip-flops because it takes more time to create injury. So what does this all mean? You are beginning to lose stability of the spine and become useable to injury. This all from a high healed shoe. Well you would never run a marathon in a high healed shoe. That is because you would injure yourself just like you can injure yourself when wearing high healed shoes.
So what is acceptable? Basically 1 to 1.5 inches of lift in the heal is OK if you don’t wear everyday and all day. Give yourself a break once in a while. Secondly, no stiletto heals. You can’t walk with proper biomechanics and increase incidence of heal sprains. I would not recommend lifted shoes because normal walking biomechanics cannot be maintained and that’s right, more injuries.
So what is the good news? I have very sophisticated equipment that will reestablish spinal stability, normalize leg muscle tone and contraction strength and place the proper dynamic movement pattern in the pelvis. I also have a comprehensive evaluation of your foot and ankle so that I can determine if orthotics would benefit you.
In fact, I have a very good success rate with treating all types of instability with our rehabilitation department as well.

Thanks,
 
Dr Bob
Expert Health and Rehabilitation
Goaskdrbob.com

Written by Mmallory in: Feet |

How common is flat feet? And are you most likely to have a bad back if you have flat feet? From Anita in Crystal Lake.

May 01
2010
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Hi Anita.

Great question. So here goes. Flat feet is a condition that is also known as pronation. This means that your foot is falling into the arch and you are now placing a great amount of force on the medial aspect of your foot. This causes problems of foot mechanics while you are standing, walking and running. But lets not forget what happens to the ankle, knee, pelvis and spine when the foot pronates. As the foot pronates, the ankle drops, the let rotates inward, the pelvis drops and the spine moves laterally and rotates slightly. This is the reason that people with flat feet have so much back problems. Of course the spine is an organ that functions in its entirety. This means that the spine is really an organ that is self regulating and is affected by other organs and itself affects other organs. Just as organs function in their entirety (example of the heart pumps using the whole heart not just half) the spine is fully functioning as well. So what does that mean? If there is a change in the lower spine because of a pronated foot, there will be changes in the whole spine so there actually can be head aches due to flat feet. That is why I evaluate a patient’s entire structural profile. Only looking at the spine will miss causative factors such as flat feet. In fact, I cast orthotics for many of my patients that have pronation problems. I know that sticking your feet in the casting material feels weird, but I can then have a proper orthotic make that will give years of foot correction that supports proper ankle, knee, hip and spine mechanics.
You can go to our web site anytime or just call for a fee consultation. That way you can feel comfortable and get the best care available.

Remember to step correctly so you can have a lifetime of getting around without pain.

Thanks,
 
Dr Bob
Expert Health and Rehabilitation
Goaskdrbob.com

Written by Mmallory in: Back Pain, Feet |