Did you know that our feet have a far greater effect on  the health of the rest of our body than we might think?

Our feet are complex structures comprising 26 bones (1/4 of all the body’s bones), 33 joints, and more than 100 muscles, tendons and ligaments. We rely on our feet each day to help us with a number of  important functions.  They support our weight, are our sources of locomotion to propel us forward, they act as shock absorbers, and they help us to maintain dynamic balance.

Our feet were at their most flexible when we were babies.  The can and should be still be now.

One of the most important functions of the ankle and foot is that they transmit information, through a process called proprioception, about how our bodies are positioned in space so that we can sense the surface we are on for safer standing and walking.

Not surprising then that so many people live with foot pain each day. Some common foot ailments are:

• Bunions which is a displacement of the bone under the first toe causing the first toe to move towards the smaller toes and causing a bony prominence on the side of the foot.
• Plantar fasciitis or inflammation of the band of connective tissue (fascia) that runs along the bottom (plantar) surface of the foot. It causes pain in the heel and under the surface of the foot. Unfortunately, this condition is common among runners and also results from inadequate support of the arch.
• Pain while walking can result from undiagnosed stress fractures
• Excess or over pronation is when the arch “falls” in which can result in “flat feet”, in the knee turning inward and uneven wear of the heels of the shoes.

Fortunately, we can learn to support ourselves without pain.

Foot pain relief

Here is an exercise you can do to help you learn how to move your feet in new ways and provide some foot pain relief:

• Place one hand lightly on a chair or counter top at your side
• Stand in bare feet, hips width apart and parallel to each other. Maintain alignment between your feet, ankles and shins throughout the exercise.
• Slowly raise up on to the balls of your feet as high as you can. Do not flex at the ankles.
• Hold position for a few seconds. Keep toes flat, not curled.
• Slowly descend returning to standing position.
• Repeat 6-8 times.

If it is easier for you to do one foot at a time make sure you put your weight on that foot.

In our upcoming healthy, ache free feet workshop we will learn how we can strengthen our feet as well as increasing their suppleness and flexibility so that we can avoid foot pain and learn how to “tread lightly” on our feet.

We will do several Feldenkrais movement lessons that will help us:

• Better understand the role of the feet in daily and leisure activities
• Understand the connections from the feet through the whole body
• Rediscover suppleness and strength in the feet to aid us when standing, walking, running or dancing and in our daily lives.

And we will learn more lesser-known important facts about our feet!