I get patients complaining of foot pain every week. While foot pain could be a side effect of the low back and hip, in my experience, it is independent of the back more often than not. However, a foot or ankle that needs adjusting can affect the low back and vice versa. We have all heard of plantar fasciitis – plantar for bottom of the foot and fasciitis for inflammation of the plantar fascia. You have five layers of muscle on the bottom of your feet and then you have a layer of fascia over that and then you have the skin. Treating the plantar fascia is a poor approach to addressing the plantar fascia. This fascia is just a stabilizing non-stretchy material that goes from your heal to the ball of your foot and covers much of the bottom of the foot. 

What is important to understand about the foot is that it is a spring mechanism that springs with each step. You have probably heard the phrase have a spring in your step. That is a factual enough statement about the foot. If your feet hurt you have little reason to say, “I have a spring in my step.” With a good foot adjustment that spring can easily be restored. Typically I would say it takes a couple adjustments along with checking the spine and hips and knees. After all, it is all connected. They don’t call it the musculoskeletal SYSTEM for nothing.

So, it is the arch of the foot that needs to be addressed to fix most foot pain. There are 26 bones in each foot and 12 of them are what compose the arch and the others compose the toes. Any of the bones of the arch can “drop” a hair or more. When this drops a little in one or more of these 12 bones you lose some of that spring in your step. Sometimes we get a loud audible (sound) in one of these bones of the arch adjustments but more often we get several imperceptible adjustments and perhaps we relax a muscle or two in the plethora of those foot muscles, and the foot feels better and the spring returns. 1 or 2 visits is often enough. Most recently a few days ago I adjusted an arch bone and got a good audible. This is the second time on this person and I have adjusted his feet a few times. His complaint is top of the foot pain. He is a good 40 or more pounds overweight and he does not get much exercise. He always feels great after the adjustment. So there you go. If you have foot complaints come in and let’s get the SPRING back in your step!!!

Sincerely,

Dr. Mike Spearman