All good (and bad) posture starts low down and works its way up. So if you have collapsed arches in your feet, or you have a difference in leg lengths (more common than you might think) then every structure higher up is forced into making an adjustment – hence we see pelvic tilt, spinal scoliosis, disc problems and chronic headaches can all be resolved or improved simply by addressing any anomalies in foot posture or leg length.
If you have ever had a back or neck problem and seen a therapist of any type how many of them have checked your feet and your leg length? And how many of those have then made a permanent correction (usually with some kind of orthotic inserted into your shoes)?? I already know the answer – very few.
So we have a whole global population of Physios, Chiropractors, Osteopaths, Acupuncturists, Massage Therapists etc who are not even looking to see if there is a lower limb postural cause underpinning the millions of back and neck pain sufferers.
You may arrive at DiY Physio with a back problem or a neck problem but at some point I will also be looking at your feet and your legs to see if there is any potential for long term posural defects in those fairly vital structures.
At DiY Physio long term postural assessment underpins nearly every treatment and also dictates why most of our treatment sessions are 1-hour long. The next few posts will look at the complexity of more postural dilemmas along with the relatively simple strategies to improve them.
