We have several events coming up throughout April. Come on out and say hello; we’ll be in Dorchester, Tillsonburg, and Brantford!

Metatarsalgia: A generalized term for pain or irritation in the ball of the foot especially at the base of the toes around the 'knuckles'. 

As a pedorthist I am primarily focused on the mechanics of the foot: how the joints operate, how the structures react to weightbearing, dynamic gait analysis. Essentially how a person stands, how they walk, and how that can influence any pain or fatigue that they are feeling. 

We have attended two Active Living Fairs in the past week. The first, hosted by the Ingersoll 50+ Centre on March 1^st  and the second hosted by the Tillsonburg Seniors Centre on March 5^th.  We also gave an introductory talk about the field of Pedorthics earlier in the week at the Ingersoll 50+ Centre. An enormous thank-you to all of the staff, volunteers, and wonderful members of the community who made these events possible.

As the arch of the foot is flattened by weight bearing the ball of the foot and the heel will be pushed farther apart. As these two areas are where the plantar fascia is connected it will be stretched as the arch drops down. This stretching can cause painful microtears, especially around the heel.

A Brief Overview of the Stuff that Makes Up Our Feet

How Barks Pedorthics Keeps You Safe And Comfortable During An In-Home Assessment

The structures in the foot aren’t static. They move and flex as we walk: the heel contacts the ground, body weight is transferred to the foot, our body travels over the foot, the heel lifts off the ground and then our weight is removed from the front of the foot. There are upwards of thirty joints in the foot and all of them move when we stand and walk. These motions are important because they are what provides shock absorption while we are standing and walking. The difference between a smooth comfortable ride on squishy suspension and an uncomfortable, jostling, jarring ride in a steel wagon.

One of the big reasons why flat feet can hurt so much is because when they flatten out they can actually increase the amount of stress applied to them throughout the day. Here we will look at the structures involved, a bit of math, and what a pedorthist can do to help.

Alignment refers to how well the foot and structures on top of the foot, like your legs, stack up on top of each other.  Generally, we want things to be stacked up as close to vertically as possible. Like playing jenga.

The beginning of our journey.

The most commonly discussed arch of the foot is the medial longitudinal arch, a rather wonderfully named bit of anatomy…

The beginning of our journey.