Did you know that there is a strong relationship between your feet and the muscles of the pelvic floor? When addressing pelvic floor dysfunction, including diagnoses like Pelvic Organ Prolapse or Incontinence, your Pelvic Floor Physical Therapist should be looking at other areas that could be contributing to the issue.
Healthy feet are the true foundation to a strong and healthy Pelvic Floor and Core and can contribute to improved body alignment and functional movement.
The truth is that everything in your body is connected, and dysfunction anywhere along the chain can create strain elsewhere in the body, impacting muscles, joints, and ligaments. For example, a hunched or slouched upper back posture can create abdominal and pelvic floor muscle shortening and dysfunction.
Whether you’re experiencing a mild, annoying pain in your pelvic floor or a major traumatic injury, the whole body needs to be evaluated to find the root of the problem. If you want a healthy, balanced, and stronger pelvic floor, follow these tips and give your feet and pelvic floor the attention they deserve. Just paying a bit more attention to the part of your body that connects you to the ground and carries you around on a daily basis can make a world of difference.
Simply following these foot health tips can work wonders for your feet and body alignment.
- Walk barefoot as much as possible. This helps to strengthen the small intrinsic muscles of your feet.
- Choose smart footwear (this is vital for your littles too). For example, wearing high heels or wedges on a regular basis can contribute to decreased Dorsiflexion range of motion at your ankle. The plantarflexed position of your ankle that high wedges and high heels cause will contribute to abnormal gait mechanics and can cause knee, hip, and low back pain.
- Roll out the bottom of your feet regularly a tennis ball or frozen water bottle.
- Regularly work on ankle/ foot/ toe mobility. See pictures below.
- Stretch out your toes and help prevent bunions by wearing toe spacers on a regular basis.
- Work on strength and coordination of your toes by practicing toe curls and toe spreading.
All of these exercises will improve your sense of the connection between your feet and the ground, and your feet and different parts of your body, including your pelvic floor . A stronger connection may help you avoid falling back into old movement habits that aren’t helping you, and ultimately prevent collapsing into your inner foot arches, causing inflammation and possible damage to your tendons and dysfunction further up the chain.
All of these little tweaks to your posture and body awareness add up to fewer aches and pains during and greater ease of movement. By making these adjustments and becoming more aware of your body alignment and movement functionality, you can repair the relationship between your feet and the rest of your body, and in doing so resolve any pelvic floor issues you may be experiencing.
Give your feet some extra love today!
Do you need help improving your Pelvic Health and overall functional mobility? Contact us!
Magic City Physical Therapy
3075 John Hawkins Parkway, suite J
Hoover, AL 35244
Phone (205) 202-0874
Fax (205) 293-3895
www.magiccitypt.com
@magiccitypt (Instagram and Facebook)
