Feet are like the foundation of a building, subtle changes to the structure and mechanisms of the foot can have local and far reaching effects throughout the body. Low back pain, hip pain, knee pain can all be symptoms of ‘unsound’ foot mechanics. Bunions, high heels, flip flops, arthritis, plantar fasciitis, in growing toenails, heel pain, high heels, gout even verruca’s and blisters all potentially upset the normal mechanisms in the foot and can lead to pain elsewhere in the body.
I can almost guarantee this affects us all. Everything we do in life is in front of us, we round our shoulders to operate various objects, lift things etc. Gravity, and the weight of our body pulls us downwards. Inevitably the body starts to develop tightness and restrictions that lead to pain. Given this daily occurrence, most of us will develop, in varying degrees, a forward head carriage.
As an Osteopath, I speak to many people regarding stretching. The general view is that stretching at best is an after thought. Whereas I believe it should be at the forefront of everybody’s mind! What we can all hopefully agree on is that for the body to maintain its injury free youthfulness, we must strive to maintain the suppleness and range of movement we had as a child.
RULE #1. DRINK LOTS OF WATER
We often confuse thirst with hunger, leading to loading our body with unnecessary calories, when what we really need is a glass of water. If you prefer, drink tea with fruit flavour but no sugar. It is a simple and healthy trick that will help you a lot in your weight loss efforts. Recommended Daily allowance is roughly 2 litres depending on the amount of activity you do, 2.5 litres in the summer.
This is a very common problem for many of us, often brought about by an awkward or heavy lifting activity or extreme or sustained spinal flexion. These forces inflict a great deal of stress and strain on many structures around the spine i.e ligaments, tendons, discs, nerve roots. If these forces are beyond the physiological limit of a structure, then injury will occur with subsequent inflammation and pain.
Have you noticed that everything in life’s daily chores pulls us forward and over?? Whether it be from gravity, poor posture, working position, seating position or from only training the muscles you can see in the mirror i.e. abs, chest, biceps, many people spend most of their time, overworking their front.
Do you suffer with acid reflux? Do you feel like there’s something stuck in your throat? Do you sometimes feel the need to vomit or regurgitate? Do you feel like you need to continually swallow?
Is your diaphragm to blame????
Normally, the oesophagus or food pipe passes down through the chest, crosses the diaphragm, and enters the abdomen through a hole in the diaphragm (large domed muscle that controls breathing) called the oesophageal hiatus. Just below the diaphragm, the oesophagus joins the stomach. In individuals with hiatus hernia, the opening of the oesophageal hiatus (hiatal opening) is larger than normal, and a portion of the upper stomach slips up or passes (herniates) through the hiatus and into the chest.
It goes without saying that oxygen is essential for life. Our lungs act as the delivery system of the wondrous element. Efficiency of that delivery system, depends on many factors. The fundamental factor we are talking about today, are the mechanical structures, such as the lungs, diaphragm muscle, intercostal muscles, ribs etc. These need to be strong and in good condition.