Are Your Summer Sandals Wreaking Havoc??

Flip flops are ALL the rage this year and now even have fun saying and bottle openers on the bottom for an added layer of fun. Flats and slip on sandals seem like a necessity when the humidity and temperature soars like it is today with the 105 heat index... yes that's right 105!!!

But did you know the these types of footwear choices wreck havoc on your feet, your knees, and your low back? Repetitive usage of these shoes can even lead to health problems such as foot cramping, shin splits, knee injuries, plantar fasciitis, bunions, and even bone spurs!!

These types of shoes cause overuse of the muscles and ligaments of the feet from no support in addition to using muscle out of normal gait pattern sequences. Even if you're not experiencing foot pain, you may still be negatively contributing to your foot and joint health by training muscles to work improperly.

Tips for Better Summer Footwear:

1. Get strappy. When you're looking for a summer shoe you want to make sure it stays on your foot without having to use your toes to grip. I'd recommend strappy sandals especially ones who have a strap around your ankle to keep them tethered on!
2. Avoid wedges or rockers on your footwear. Sandals and shoes with rocker bottoms are worse than flip flops because they transfer the weight of your body to the forefoot which are NOT supposed to bear weight. This can lead to premature arthritis in the foot and cause unsightly bunions and hammer toes.
3. Get supportive. Some brands are adding more arch support or padding to help reduce pressure on the joints of the feet. While this may be comfortable, don't be fooled into thinking its doing a perfect job. Due to our sedentary lifestyle, the muscles of our feet tire quickly and cause flat feet and arch collapse. The extra padding may only lessen a small portion of that collapse rather than preventing it altogether. So if you're still having pain in the feet, legs, or lower back after getting more supportive shoes you may need MORE help from a custom orthotic. We offer free foot screenings and can even provide a report showing you how much your arch drops, how much extra pressure this puts on your joints, and even how much energy your body is wasting muscles for that extra arch drop. 

Watch the video below for more information.

Don't be afraid to call my office to setup a free consultation at 309-689-6200 or go online to chiropractorpeoria.org to schedule an appointment.

Are Your Feet the SOURCE of Your Pain?

Your feet are the foundation of your body, your spine, and your gait. They act as shock absorbers and

levers to propel you forward while walking, running, and jumping. However when there is a breakdown in structure of your foot, like flat feet or ankle collapse, it can contribute to a number of different issues including arthritis, plantar fasciitis, shin splints, knee pain, hip or groin pain, and even low back pain.

Check out the picture to the right, this shows the left ankle and foot collapsing inward, this motion is known as pronation or hyperpronatin in this case. This pronation of the foot and ankle can cause twisting of the bones that make up the knee to lead to arthritis, cartilage wearing, and increased stress on the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) and medial collateral ligament (MCL) in the knee. Repetitive pronation especially when under high forces of running or sudden movements while playing sports can actually weaken those ligaments until they tear completely which is an immediate need for surgery!

In addition, the loss of shock absorbing power in the foot due to this pronation can also increase the shock that the knee, hip, and spine have to absorb which can lead to degeneration in the spine and lower extremity.

How do you know if you have an issue?

1) You may have an issue if you have a history of health conditions such as plantar fasciitis, achilles tendonitis, shin splints, bunions, hammer toes, knee or ankle pain or injury, degeneration or arthritis in the spine or legs, or a history of disc herniation or degenerative disc disease.

2) Stand on your feet and have someone look at your feet and ankles. Do they bow inward or does the achilles tendon bow rather than staying straight up and down? (Reference the picture above for what bowing looks like.)

3) Perform a navicular drop test at home. To do this you'll need an index card and a pen. Sit down and use the pen to draw a dot on the hard bone on the middle of your foot. Place the index card on the inside of your foot and draw a line on the card next to the dot you made on the foot. Stand up and then draw another line where the dot has dropped. If the lines are more than 8mm apart, you have an issue. (check the picture below for what this should look like.)

If you do have an issue, there are a number of great options to help correct pronation and help to reduce your risk of injury or arthritis. In many cases a home exercise and stretching program can strengthen and balance muscles to get rid of pronation all together, however some folks will need additional help with an orthotic to support their arch. Depending on your daily activities and how your body responds to the exercise program, you may need additional support from a custom fitted orthotic that is designed specifically for you. In my office, we have many styles available including orthotics that can be worn in high heels or dress shoes and heavy duty orthotics for those that are on their feet or support additional weight from work equipment (such as firemen or police officers) or from lifting.

If you'd like more information or would like to setup a free consultation, please call my office at 309-689-6200 today.

Top 4 Causes of Shin Splints

Do you have shin splints now or have you had them in the past? Then you know all about the pain and disability they create. Runners and athletes frequently will suffer needlessly with them for months or even years before they go away and some may have to give up a sport or running hobby to allow their injury to heal. Teenage athletes seem to be the most frequent in my office and this may be due in part to the fact that their bodies are still developing and they are still in a state of growth which can also contribute.

So what are shin splints? Shin splints are miniature fractures of the bone that occur along a muscle attachment site in the lower leg and can repeatedly be injured and even cause bone disfigurement when healed over numerous times. There are many different muscles that attach in the lower leg as you can see from the picture below.

There are 4 Main Causes of Shin Splints
1.  Excessive use of improper footwear
2.  Chronic tight leg muscles
3.  Magnesium deficiency
4.  Joint misalignment of the lower leg and pelvis

When it comes to wearing shoes, many of us choose the wrong type in the name of fashion, convenience, or because they are the latest technology to make our legs and butts look tighter. Am I right? Don't deny it because I know it's true! The key thing to remember when it comes to footwear is that we need to make correct choices most of the time and when wearing shoes that aren't anatomically correct we need to stretch and do specific exercises to reverse the damage we've caused while wearing these shoes. As a general rule, I DO NOT recommend shoes that have a heel or ones that are restrictive for your toes to move sideways. These shoes not only weaken muscles in the feet but they also cause increased degenerative rates of the bones in the foot that can lead to bunions and disfigurement and can even cause altered posture and gait that can lead to shin, knee, hip, or low back pain and increased degenerative rates that can lead to injuries including disc herniations and spinal fractures.

Chronic tightness of the posterior leg muscles can also cause significant posture changes that can alter your pelvic posture and pull or tighten muscles that attach directly on the shin. These tight muscles can become unbalanced around the joint itself and may lead to shin splints. I recommend a daily stretching routine to address the muscles in the low back and legs to help neutralize any muscle tension that can contribute to injury. If you're already doing a stretching routine and noticing that the muscles seem tighter on one side or if you're feeling a stretch in other places further up or down the leg on one side, chances are you have a muscle imbalance that might be contributing to a future injury.

Magnesium deficiency is a huge factor in the world today. Magnesium is mostly found in dark green leafy vegetables and sea vegetables and since most of us eat iceberg lettuce and don't eat seaweed on a weekly basis, about 80% of the population is in fact deficient in magnesium. Magnesium is the body's key nutrient that is used to relax muscles including those in the walls of your blood vessels, so if you're deficient you may feel tightness and stiffness in your muscles and you may have a slightly elevated blood pressure as well. Magnesium is also one of the nutrients your body needs to harden bones, so if you're getting mini fractures from shin splints and don't have enough magnesium, chances are that you're not healing fully. This can predispose you to future injuries and even lead to shin splints that become worse or spread over a larger area.

The last and most important cause of shin splints is joint misalignment! If your posture or muscles are weak or unbalanced due to footwear choices and chronic muscle tightness then your body may try to adapt itself. This adaptation can include tipping the pelvic forward or backward, rotation of the bones in the leg, and even loss of foot arch due to muscle weakness or rotation of the bones in the foot due to compensation. Adaptation is a necessary means of survival short term, however if you're dealing with these types of adaptation over a period of time it can lead to permanent changes and increase rates of degeneration or arthritis in the spine, hips, knees, ankles, and even feet.

If you or a loved one is suffering from shin splints or any of the other conditions I've mentioned that can be directly linked as a contribution to shin splints, I'd highly recommend they get evaluated by a clinician who is trained to recognize joint misalignment and correct it. 

For those of you in the Peoria area, I am extending 5 spots for a free consultation and examination to check for joint misalignment, muscle imbalance, and magnesium deficiency that can contribute to shin splints or other low back, knee, and foot conditions. This comprehensive evaluation normally costs upwards of $150 due to the time required but for the first five that call I am offering this examination and consultation free of charge!* Please call my office 309-689-6200 today to reserve your spot. For those of you outside of the Peoria area, AlignLife offices are expanding across the US so check our website for the clinic closest to you or talk to your chiropractor about joint alignment issues that can contribute to shin splints.

* State funded insurance members including Medicare and Medicaid are not eligible.

Changing your Shoes Decreases Knee Pain

If you're suffering from knee pain or osteoarthritis then you need to rethink your wardrobe and how it is affecting your foot health. If you haven't been paying attention to how your choice in shoe can affect how much torsion and pressure is put on your knees, then you are doing your body a severe injustice.

When you wear shoes with a "positive" heel you are doing the equivalent of wearing a heel. (Yes, that is correct. Even if you are a man you could be wearing a heel!) Positive heeled shoes have a large wedge underneath the heel and cause our weight to be shifted forward over the pads of the foot and the toes which aren't meant to be the load bearing structures in the feet. This can lead to foot pain, plantar fasciitis, bunions, and some pretty gnarly looking feet! (Yes, I said gnarly and no I don't want to show you pictures of some of the feet I've seen walking into my office.) In addition, the weight shifting on the front of the foot can cause excessive loading over the arch in the foot and lead to fallen arches due to weaken muscles that have spent their lifetime encased in restrictive footwear with no where to stretch and no use for them to move. But the real reason you stopped in today was to learn about how shoes can affect your knees, so I'll get back on track.

When you wear these positive heeled shoes they can also increase the amount of pressure put on the joints in your knees and lead to premature degeneration, pain, muscle imbalances, and even osteoarthritis. All of which are not fun by the way. So you need to lay off the positive heeled shoes and switch to either negative heeled shoes or flats. I personally love and highly recommend Earth Shoes because they have incorporated this negative heel technology of 3.7 degrees of a heel in the front of the shoe to keep your weight back on your heel. I have four different pair in different colors and styles to compliment my wardrobe and go with almost any outfit. I also find them very comfortable because not only do they put my weight over the load bearing ankle (where it should be) but they also have a large toe box (the width of the shoe where your toes go) to minimize pressure and rubbing that can also disfigure your feet. I've also had much experience with the fact that wearing these shoes all day long does NOT cause foot pain or knee pain while the gazillion other shoes I have in my closet do. There's also a few other more sporty brands that I'd recommend including Vibrams, Zemgear, Sockwa, and I've even seen that Nike and New Balance have come out with some as well.

Recent research from the University of Sao Paulo has found that wearing minimalist shoes which are shoes that lack supportive structure, arches, and thick heel padding can also decrease the loads on the knee in patients with osteoarthritis. In addition, their newest research has shown that these minimalist shoes also decreased the load on the knee even when climbing up and down stairs, which is usually the worst issue for osteoarthritis patients. Want more info on the study? 

So what can you do to decrease your knee pain?

1) Switch to a negative heeled shoe or a flat shoe.
2) Let your tootsies out of their shoe cages at least 2 hours or more a day. Make sure that you spend this time walking so you can move those joints and stretch out the muscles associated for happier feet.
3) Strengthen the supportive muscles of the knee joint to make sure that you lessen the load on the joint. If you're not sure what kind of exercises to do or not sure which muscles are weak, please make appointment with your biomechanically inclined doctor to get some advice and guidance. If you need a hint on this one think chiropractor, physical therapist, or orthopedist.
4) Get your feet adjusted by a chiropractor! I've had quite a few patients come into my office with knee pain and are amazed by the fact that an adjustment can correct the mechanics of the foot and leg and even decrease low back pain. If you need a chiropractor, I just happen to know a local one that fills the qualifications for #3 and #4 on this list.