While having flat feet doesn’t sound like a big deal, they are actually throwing the entire body out of alignment, which affects our ability to stand, walk, run, and exercise.
Think of the wheel alignment on a car—when the alignment is correct, the wheels provide a sound foundation for the car. However, if the wheels are out of alignment, you feel abnormal vibrations throughout the car and a “pull” on the steering wheel as the car slides in the direction emphasized by the misalignment. Your body works in a similar fashion.
When your feet are correctly aligned, so is the rest of your body. However, if your feet are flat, or misaligned, it creates a chain reaction of misalignment up the rest your body. This results in abnormal strain and pressure acting not only on your feet, but on your ankles, knees, hips and back, which leads to a variety of seemingly unrelated symptoms including:
- bunions
- heel pain (plantar fasciitis)
- hammertoe
- growing pains
- back pain
- knee pain
- hip pain
- shin splints
