At 4U Pilates & Wellbeing this month, we’re talking about healthy and functioning feet – the foundation for physical wellbeing.
Foot Health
Healthy, functioning feet play a fundamental role in our balance and stability, providing a supportive and adaptable base that gets us from A to B. Healthy feet have many functions, they:
Support our weight
Adjust and adapt to different surfaces
Support our leg bones and muscles
Poor foot health will impact the rest of the body and can lead to bad posture, alignment and compensatory movement. These factors in turn will impact the feet themselves. So foot health and overall anatomical health go hand in hand.
Foot Development
Kids feet grow through 5 stages, starting from spongy cartilage in the pre-crawling stage, through to fully functioning bony feet by the time they get to school. Feet stop growing around the age of 20.
Feet need to be supported with good footwear through all stages of growth. Poor footwear, which is too tight or doesn’t provide the right support can impact foot development and health.
Foot issues
Many people experience problems with their feet. Some common foot injuries include: blisters, corns, athlete’s foot, plantar fasciitis, and bunions.
Keeping feet healthy
Foot care and self care go hand in hand. Keeping our feet mobile and strong is essential if we want the rest of our bodies to be mobile and strong.
You can learn more about foot health and function in our January 2020 workshop - Balance Stability & Healthy Feet.