Editor’s Note:
This article originally appeared on www.radroller.com. It provides some excellent insights as to why our feet deserve our full and constant attention. If you’re looking for products that are effective, well-built and easy to use in the comfort of your home, RAD Roller products are some of the best on the market. Don’t let your feet hold you back this season!
1. Overuse and Repetitive Stress:
Many people strive for at least 10,000 steps per day which is a lot of work. We wake up, cram our feet into shoes and navigate our way around with our feet repetitively pushing off against the hard ground. The feet and ankles are responsible for the reception of forces and research indicates that we absorb 100% of our body weight in single leg stance, 120% in walking, 200% in running and 500% in jumping. That is a huge demand! Imagine if you shrugged your shoulders up and down 10,000 times, your upper traps and neck would be absolutely rocked. We often don’t feel that our feet are tight, rigid and beat up because we are so used to the stimulus that our brain doesn’t elicit the pain response unless it is absolutely necessary.
2. Ascending Dysfunction:
Many joint impairments in the foot present as biomechanical dysfunctions further up the body in sites such as the calves, knees, hips and back. In the words of world renowned physical therapist Diane Lee, ‘it’s the victims who cry out, not the criminals’ which means we often experience pain in a region that is compensating for dysfunction somewhere else as opposed to. For example, a painful knee or hip may simply be due to compensation for a locked joint in the foot that is not allowing a certain movement, which leads to excessive movement further up the chain. Many people have longstanding anatomical compensations or injuries such as high or fallen arches, rolled ankles, broken toes, compactions, plantar fasciitis or bunions that may not be symptomatic but it’s likely only a matter of time before they create chaos at some point. Think of the feet as the first domino to fall in many instances of injury.
3. They play an important role!
The feet are a relatively small part of the body with an incredibly large and diverse array of structures. In one foot, we have 26 bones, 20 physiological joints and thousands of sensory receptors used for readjustment of posture and balance. The sole of the foot is one third of our balance mechanism along with the eyes and inner ear. When bones are not free to move when we stand or walk there can be dire consequences. The better the quality of your foot movement, the better the quality of your entire body’s movement. The muscles, ligaments, tendons and fascia in our feet will thank you if you use give them some TLC on a regular basis.
FOR A TUTORIAL ON HOW TO RELEASE THE FEET AND LOWER LEGS CHECK OUT THIS VIDEO PRODUCED BY THE FOLKS AT RAD ROLLER
