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Foot diseases can cause headaches – says Dr. n.med. Joanna Stodolna – Tukendorf. The physiotherapist explains why the shoes with a tapered front do more harm than a high heel.
Halina Pilonis, MedTvoiLokony: Can the bad work of our feet really be responsible for the headache?
Joanna Stodolna – Tukendorf, physiotherapist: Yes. This is the result of the fact that our entire body is wrapped in a fascia, which is divided into the so-called anatomical tapes. Fascia is a structure that holds individual muscle groups together from head to toe. With asymmetrical footwork, tensions accumulate and cause various pains, e.g. in the knees or spine, as well as tension headaches, surrounding, half-pressure or pressure headaches, and even those with a migraine-like aura. Asymmetric foot work is most often the result of congenital or developmental defects. If, for example, the second toe is longer than the big toe, we have the so-called Greek foot, Morton’s foot. It is a congenital defect that disrupts the mechanics of the limb. Asymmetry may also be the result of injuries, scars or deformations acquired, for example, by wearing shoes used by someone else.
And completely new shoes can disrupt the mechanics of the foot’s work?
Inadequate shoes cause many foot disorders. Tapered toes hurt us more than high heels. The human foot has a narrower heel and a wider forefoot. The toe muscle, whose task is to lead it away from the rest of the fingers, has no chance of working in too narrow shoes. Meanwhile, when unused, it loses its strength and fades away. As a result, the toe deforms towards the others and forms the so-called bunion.
So you can wear 10 cm high heels, as long as the front of the shoe is wide?
A heel of up to 5 cm is safe for our feet. When we stand on a flat sole, 43 percent. body weight falls on the forefoot, and 57 percent. tense. On a five-centimeter heel the opposite is true. The forefoot lifts 57 percent and the heel 43 percent. our weight. However, if the heel is 7 or 8 cm, as much as 99 percent. body weight rests on the forefoot, while only 1% on the heel. Meanwhile, the heel is a compact bone that is more resistant to loading. The forefoot consists of five small bones, for which several dozen kilograms are a great challenge. Under such a load, the musculoskeletal system of the foot is subjected to pressure, the transverse arch of the foot lowers and gradually deforms.
Proponents of high heels say they feel pain when they wear flat shoes …
It is possible. All because of the calf triceps, which I call the psychopathic muscle, because it obsessively contracts. Whenever it can, it shortens its length. Meanwhile, his contracture causes transverse flat feet.
If a woman wears high-heeled shoes a lot, this muscle is constantly contracting. And when the owner of high heels tries to put on flat shoes, she feels pain from stretching this muscle.
That’s why I recommend stretching it as often as possible to everyone. It is best to do it when we go up the stairs. Place one whole foot on the step, the other only halfway, so that the heel protrudes beyond the step. Holding the handrails with your hands, shift the entire weight of your body onto the leg that extends beyond the step, until you feel a pull in the calf. It is best then to count to thirty and change the leg.
Are clogs and flip-flops friendly to our feet?
Clogs are best burned in a stove, because they have a hard, inelastic and non-shock-absorbing sole, which prevents the foot from working properly. Hawaiianas flip-flops with non-adjustable straps are also a misfortune. Man has an innate reflex that if something gets stuck between his toes, he squeezes them. Meanwhile, tightening the strap between the fingers causes unnecessary muscle tension. The toe adductor is stronger by nature and works harder than the toe adductor. Strengthened by the hard work of holding the flip-flop, it becomes so strong that the abductor is unable to balance it and the toe becomes distorted. Flip-flops with close-fitting, almost heel-long stripes on cork soles are healthier.
- The doctor warns you what happens if you wear these shoes frequently
So what should be the perfect shoes?
At the front, wider than at the back, with a flexible sole and a heel up to 5 cm maximum, which do not need to be held with the muscles of the fingers.
Is it worth using five-finger flexible shoes for running and other sports?
Five-finger shoes with a vibram sole are not a bad solution. People who start using them report that they feel the muscles working that they had no idea existed. The foot is then as if exercised, with leaven. We can put on such shoes if we run not only on asphalt, but at least part of the route on a soft surface and it is not 40 km. Anyway, running marathons on the road in any shoes is not good for the feet, nor for the knees, hips and spine. The effects may appear after many years in the form of degenerative changes. This is a real Eldorado for physiotherapists. In principle, man is not adapted to long-distance running in evolutionary terms. Our species has started to run to get away or catch. And these were short distances on unasphalted roads. People practicing sports should have their feet checked by an orthopedist, orthopathologist or physiotherapist, because their defects increase the risk of any injuries.
Do the feet get sick often?
Interestingly, the highest number of dermatological, neurological and orthopedic diseases occurs on the foot. It is an important organ because they are our foundation. We stand and move on our feet. Two together constitute 1/5 of the human skeleton. They consist of 26 bones, 107 ligaments and 21 muscles. And since they usually start teasing us late, between the ages of 40 and 50, we don’t care about them before.
Should we?
Children should undergo checkups of their feet to prevent the development of many of their diseases. Adults, on the other hand, should seek the help of an orthopedic podiatrist if pain occurs, the so-called bunions or calluses that are removed again and again.
If you want to take care of tired feet, you can try the Foot Massager with a water-heating function, which will relieve sore feet. You can find it on Medonet Market. Also try the regenerating Sylveco foot cream, which will protect your heels from cracking.
How to take care of the proper development of a child’s foot?
Children should not wear musical notes before they start walking. Even when they take their first steps, they should be barefoot. We buy shoes when the toddler is already walking. Then we also allow barefoot walking, but on a natural, soft ground. This causes a very intense stimulation of the foot receptors. Children must wear shoes with flexible soles for walking. If nature wanted the foot to be stiff, we would have skull-like bones in that place. Meanwhile, sometimes the soles of children’s shoes are so stiff that Pudzianowski himself would not be able to bend them. Vibram flexible soles are the best. It is good if the shoes have a stiff heel that gives the right direction of the foot’s work, when the toddler is perfecting the art of independent movement.
What about permanent changes? Orthopedists can help us when we are already adults?
There are many treatments. You can make inserts that relieve the point pressure on the foot and position it at the correct angle, eliminate valgus or varus. You can prepare special sets of exercises to strengthen the appropriate muscles of the foot. Kinesiotaping, i.e. covering feet with special tapes, also brings good results. Many athletes use this method, which can be observed during various competitions or games. Stuck in the right places and with the right tension, the tapes act as the therapist’s hand. In the case of bunions, they support the toe abductor muscle.
It is not necessary to operate on the bunions then?
There are as many as 100 techniques for hallux surgery, but all have a risk of recurrence. This is because they eliminate the symptoms, not the cause of the disease. It is worth choosing surgery when the pain becomes unbearable anymore. Before that, however, you need to diagnose the cause of the problem. A valgus toe is a symptom of a foot malfunction. And that needs to be corrected.
This may interest you:
- What do feet say about us?
- Five diseases that can be seen on the feet
- What Can Heel Pain Mean?