If you’re one of many Australians that can’t wait to get home after a long day, whip your shoes off and breathe a long sigh of relief as you rest your tired, aching legs – then you’re definitely not alone. So many of us work shifts or a job where we seem to always be on our feet – even if we have a desk! But why, then, do some of us struggle with end of day tiredness and achiness while others don’t? It all comes down to the forces going through our feet and the way we (without knowing it) respond to them. Let us explain!

 

Every force has an equal and opposite reaction force

This may take you back to high school Physics, to Newton’s third law. Simply put, whenever we take a step, the force with which we do it creates an equal and opposite reaction force. This explains why, for example, when we jump down, we feel a shock (or even pain) back up through our feet. But how does this work for the steps we’re taking at work and why does it lead to achy feet and legs for some of us?

 

It’s about the poor biomechanical function of the lower limbs

During gait, the joints and structures within our feet are always moving. Certain joints lock and unlock, our foot pronates and supinates, and when everything works together effectively, we’re able to dissipate the force from our steps without any significant impact – except for accelerating us forward. Think of effective gait like the shock absorbers in our car.

 

Unfortunately, when our foot biomechanics aren’t working too well together, the opposite happens. We have areas of high pressure through the feet. We have immobile joints that take on impact forces and result in damage. We have muscles that take on these forces with every step and unsurprisingly, after 8 hours of them, feel tired and achy. Makes sense, right?

 

So how can we stop our feet from aching?

If impact forces are causing our tiredness and aches, then being able to effectively absorb these forces is the answer, and altering our foot biomechanics to function more effectively is the key. Lower limb biomechanics is one of our specialities here at Sole Motion Podiatry, and we can achieve this by:

 

• Orthotics that alter our biomechanical foot function
• Stretching, strengthening and dry needling to address tight muscles and weak muscles that are impacting our gait and function
• Gait retraining to be aware of our current function and alter this to optimise efficiency
• Footwear to help absorb shock and support the foot and ankle
• Soft tissue therapies such as low-level laser treatment to repair previous injury and weakness – (InterX), manual therapy like trigger point release,

 

The first step

If you’re ready to feel great on your feet again and get rid of those aches and pains, give our team of podiatrists a call on 1300-FX-FEET or you can book online here. We love helping our patients feel great on their feet and help keep them going and smashing their goals!