Last week's blog talked about health issues that can arise from foot pain. You can go read that here. This week I am going to help you learn what issues you can have with other muscles and joints all because of some foot pain. What caused the foot pain is not the major issue here. The major issue is the changes it makes to you and how you move, thus causing issues in other body parts.
Why Foot Pain Causes Other Joints and Muscles to Hurt
Most of you, myself included, will move different if you have foot pain. You will probably move less as well. Sometimes you may not notice the difference, but most of the time you will.
You may walk different, stand different, or even sit differently. This can be moved to more vigorous forms of exercise as well (weights, running, hiking, etc.).
You have spent at least a few years moving the way you do and your body is used to that. For some of you, you may have even worked hard on optimizing your movements. Well an injury in the foot will cause that to change.
If you want to test this out, put on your shoes, but put a rock in the middle of one shoe. See how much your movement changes.
This change in your movement will change the stresses at each of the joints above your foot. This means you may have issues in your ankle, knee, hip, low back, mid back, or neck due to your foot pain.
Don't worry too much!
This only occurs when you let your foot pain exist for too long without being treated or addressed.
Common Muscles and Joints Affected by Foot Pain
This is not a comprehensive list, but it what I tend to see most often with people that have had foot issues for a long time:
Knee - The most common knee issue from foot pain is an MCL strain (this ligament is on the inside part of your knee. Other knee issues are meniscus, knee cap, quad muscles
Low Back - Due to the change in your gait pattern, small strains may occur in your low back
Hip - Increased tightness in hip flexors and the piriformis muscle can result from changes in your typical biomechanics
What to Do About It?
I strongly recommend resolving foot issues sooner as opposed to later. That way you can prevent some fo the other joint issues from even happening.
We can't always do that though. So when it is farther along in the game, seek some help.
A general rule for all body aches and pains is to seek assistance if it isn't getting better in 1-2 days.
If you want to just talk, email me at info@bodyfixpt.com
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