You may think orthotic insoles are all about correcting foot pain, but did you know that the orthotics in your shoes can also relieve back pain and improve your overall health?
One of the main ways orthotics can impact your overall health is by improving your posture. The reality is that poor posture can cause any number of health issues, ranging from heartburn, slowed digestion, and incontinence to back pain and headaches.
So how can a pair of orthotic insoles help you address your posture concerns and relieve pain? Let’s dive deeper:
How Orthotic Insoles Affect Your Posture
A stable posture begins with the soles of your feet. In fact, the function of the human foot is pretty amazing, involving many processes including:
- Supporting the body,
- Distributing plantar pressure,
- Absorbing impact,
- Adjustments to maintain an upright standing posture.
The way our feet interact with the ground has a lot to do with posture and alignment. How does this work? We all have exteroceptors and proprioceptors in our feet that affect postural control. The proprioceptors impact your body’s awareness of where it is in space. Your feet take in information about the ground beneath them and adjust your posture accordingly.
Orthotics can improve your overall posture as you move by impacting your body’s lower kinetic chain to stay in better alignment. This begins with the tips of your toes and works its way up through your spine.
Orthotic Insoles for Back Pain
Mechanical problems in the feet can impact the way you walk or stand, which can ultimately lead to back pain. When your feet interact with the ground in the wrong way, your body does its best to compensate – sometimes in ways that pull it out of alignment. This puts excess pressure on other parts of your body, causing undue stress, pain, and inflammation.
Many common foot issues can cause an irregular posture or walking pattern creating pain points throughout the body. Some of these foot issues include:
- Plantar fasciitis,
- Numbness in the foot or nerve pain,
- Bunions (on the inside of the foot) or bunionettes (on the outside of the foot),
- Over-supination or over-pronation.
Orthotics can make a major difference in your body’s alignment. Insoles that are designed to manage a particular foot issue can help to achieve a healthy posture and gait. This, in turn, can take the pressure off other areas of the body that work hard to compensate for a poor posture or gait, giving time for the soft tissue to heal, which can reduce pain.
Schedule an Appointment Today
If you have poor posture and back pain, then orthotic insoles may be your answer to pain relief. Schedule your appointment with Cianci Chiropractic today.