In my experience as a Bellevue chiropractor roughly 60-70% of people with low back pain have a problem in their feet and/or ankles that is either causing the pain in the back or at the very least contributing to it. Most of my patients have no idea that they even had a foot problem, they just know that their backs hurt. A thorough foot evaluation is an important part of every low back examination in my office to see if there is a complicating issue in the foot.

The foot is the first line of defense against the ground. All of the stress of your body is pushed right through your foot when you walk or stand. Imagine if your foot was misaligned, what would this do to the way you walk? That’s right, it would create a misalignment all the way up to your low back. As I always say, “If your foundation is crooked, all of you will be crooked”. But how do you know if you have a foot issue causing you low back pain or discomfort? Lets look at 4 ways to know if this is part of your problem.

1. The 1st way to see if you have a foot problem causing other problems in your body is to look at the bottom of your shoes. Is one sole of your shoe, either right or left, more worn than the other? More wear on one shoe compared to the other shows that your foot bio-mechanics may be compromised in one way another. Think about the tires on your car. If your suspension is misaligned, over time the tires will start to wear unevenly.

2. At any point in your life have you sprained your ankle? Since that ankle sprain do you find that you now sprain your ankle very easily? If you sprain your ankle you are either rolling the foot in or out, and potentially damaging the tissues of the arches of your feet. Rolling or spraining your ankle is one big indicator you may have problems in your feet.

3. Along with your low back pain, do you also have pain in your feet, ankles or knees? Most people do not connect pain in their back with pain in their feet or knees, but most of the time they are connected. Think of the back and legs as a chain. If one link to the chain is weak, it weakens all the other links as well.

4. Another great indicator that your feet may be causing your back pain is if you have flat feet. Flat feet are a sign that there are bio-mechanical problems within the bones of your foot in the soft tissue of your foot. specifically flat feet tell us that you have dropped arches. The arches of your foot are like tiny shock absorbers. The moment your foot hits the ground these tiny shock absorbers reduce the stress of your step. If you’ve lost the arches of your foot, or have flat feet this causes great problems for your low back.

The key to curing any type of pain is to find the cause of the pain. If your feet are the cause of your low back pain it is important to address the foot problem first. Realignment of the foot through chiropractic adjustments is the first step. Figuring out if you need customized orthodics for your specific foot dysfunction is the next step toward creating a good foundation under your back. If you live in the Bellevue area and have low back pain, it would be a smart decision to have a bio-mechanical foot evaluation.

MIchael Weir, D.C. is a local bellevue chiropractor. To contact his chiropractic center call 425-635-0495.