Foot Health ‘Is Essential’ For An Active Life

Have you ever thought about how important your feet are for your health? They may seem relatively small compared to the rest of our bodies, but our feet account for more than a quarter of all the bones in your entire body.

While our feet provide us with a solid foundation of balance, posture, and support, they also have connections to our limbs, our heart, and other vital organs. Because of these connections, they are pretty accurate indicators for our overall health and well-being. In other words, by paying attention to your feet and making sure they're always pain-free and as healthy, you can help ensure the rest of your body is still as healthy as possible.

With that in mind, here are some of the health concerns that may be connected to problems with your feet.

Back and joint pain

While your feet are essential for your balance, they can also affect your back and joints. Even the slightest issue with your feet can cause you to change how you walk to avoid causing things to get worse.

Sometimes it's so slight that you're not even aware it's happening, but overcompensated walking patterns can cause your spine to become misaligned and cause back pain. It can also cause tightness and pain in your joints and other areas too, such as your knees, hips, shoulders, and other muscles.

In most cases, pains felt throughout the body are resolved pretty quickly once the initial issue has been treated. This may mean prescription orthotics to ensure your body isn't protecting your feet by overcompensating with every single step.

Bad circulation

Feet are a significant part of the process of circulating blood throughout the body. The method of the blood being circulated from the heart down to the feet is pretty easy thanks to the effects of gravity, which is why our toes act as our body's secondary heart.

So when our feet and toes are healthy, flexible, and strong, they're able to help the body pump blood from your feet back up to your heart against gravity. You can even feel the muscles inside your feet, legs, and pelvis move and pump blood whenever you move your toes, spread them apart, or lift them up and down.

You mustn't wear shoes that bind your feet together too tightly because minimizing the movement of your toes will negatively affect the circulation of your blood.

Incorrect posture

Good posture is vital to your overall good health, which is directly affected by the placement of your feet. When you're standing still, both of your feet should be firmly planted under your shoulders and facing forward, with your whole body weight distributed evenly.

If your feet aren't aligned correctly with the rest of your upper body. It will not only negatively affect your posture, but also increases the likelihood of accidental slips, trips, and falls which may cause you further injury.

Organ function

Most people don't realize it, but your feet are incredibly complex parts of your body intricately connected to everything thanks to a network of nerve endings, connective tissue, and muscle groups.

Because of this interconnectivity, your feet can have a pretty significant impact on the overall health of all your major organs. How? Well, there are millions of sensory nerve endings and touch receptors located inside your feet, which are constantly sending messages back and forth from your brain.

If there are any issues with your feet, these nerves and receptors are unable to function correctly, causing your brain to tell your organs to overcompensate and make other adjustments. These mixed messages can ultimately have a pretty negative impact on how your body's organs operate, which will influence your health and overall quality of life.

Major diseases

If the shape of your toenails becomes clubbed, so they are almost half a sphere, it can be an indication of major problems like digestive disorders, liver problems, lung disease, or heart disease. That being said, clubbed toenails may only be a symptom of these diseases if it is the result of the change, so there's no need to worry if they've always been clubbed or irregularly shaped.

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