Feet: Part 1

     Feet. Let's talk about feet.  As a massage therapist I am constantly telling people pay good money for good shoes and a good pillow.  These two things can greatly affect how our bodies work.
    Let's start out with some fun facts about feet.
   -Your feet have 1/4 all the bones in your body-52 bones
   -There are approximately 250,000 sweat glands in a pair of feet and they excrete as much as half a pint of moisture each day.  (Yuck)
   - It is not normal for your feet to hurt.
   -There are times when you're walking that the pressure on your feet exceeds your body weight, and when you're running, it can be three or four times your weight.
    -Your feet mirror your general health. Such conditions as arthritis, diabetes, nerve and circulatory disorders can show their initial symptoms in the feet -- so foot ailments can be your first sign of more serious medical problems.
     The overall health and wellbeing of your body starts on the bottom of your feet.  Here, there are millions of touch receptors, which are stimulated each time they make contact with the ground (by standing or walking).  These touch receptors form different patterns, depending on what part of your foot is touching the ground.

   These patterns of stimulation send a signal (message) to the brain as to the position of your body (posture) in space. The brain, acting on these signals, makes continuous micro-adjustments in the position of your body in order to maintain balance and prevent you from falling down. 

     Now imagine your body making these tiny micro adjustments to correct improper feet positions while running and putting 3 or 4 times your weight on them.  Over time this would really affect the proper use of your joints and in turn the proper use of your muscles.            

     When we wear improper shoes, shoes that are too wide, too narrow, not enough arch support, too much arch support and especially high heels our body has to make too many adjustments. 

   Next week we will discuss different types of feet and different foot arches and how to find the correct shoes.  I just ordered these from Amazon yoga sandal  to hopefully correct some minor foot imbalances and hopefully help elevate some knee and hip problems I've been having.