Posture and Balance

Effects of flat feet on posture and balance

Your feet being the foundation of your body, need to be stable and neutrally aligned in order to maintain postural alignment in your entire body. If an arch of your foot collapses, it will cause the navicular bone to drop, the tibia to rotate internally, causing the leg to become functionally shorter. This causes an imbalance between your right and left sides of your body, much like the unbalanced front wheels of a car. Also, when your foot arches collapse, the tibia, patella and hip bone rotate internally and cause the pelvis to tilt forward. This can cause misalignment in the spine and shoulders too, as well as pain and stiffness in the entire body. When custom insoles hold up your collapsed arches, the alignment in the entire upward chain gets corrected. Besides the affect of flat feet on posture, custom insoles can also help with these postural conditions.

Leg length discrepancy

Leg length discrepancy refers to a condition in which the lengths of both the legs of an individual are unequal and may cause the patient to have a limp or an imbalance while he stands. Custom insoles or footwear can compensate for such discrepancy in addition to effecting a correction in the alignment in the upward kinetic chain starting from the foot.

Bow legs

Bow legs is a condition when the legs are turned outward at the knees while the feet and ankles of both legs touch when the legs are straightened. Custom insoles reduce the excessive pressure on the shin bone and the knees that arises from the misalignment of the ankles and knees and postural deformity in the legs.

Pelvic Tilt

A pelvic tilt is a shift in the normal orientation of the pelvis in respect to the rest of the body. The pelvis can tilt towards the front (anterior pelvic tilt) or back (posterior pelvic tilt). Anterior pelvic tilt is more common than the other. Fallen arches can cause the pelvis to tilt forward and cause pain in the lower back. Custom insoles that support the arches optimally can restore the pelvic orientation in time and reduce low back pain.