Martin has been practising the art of Biomechanics for many years. Biomechanics is the name given to the science behind the study of the movement and it’s affects of a moving part of the body. This could include Organs, Blood vessels, micro-filaments, muscles, joints etc.

In the last 25 years or so Podiatrists have started to specialise in the study of the function and movement of the lower limb, including the Spine, Hips, Legs and Feet. The reason for this is that problems that occur in the feet can either srise as a result of dysfuntion of any one of these structures or vice versa. Approximately 20% of all back pain can be attributed to problems with the feet and gait. For example, say you had flat feet, when the feet rool inwards the legs and knees turn inwards too, causing the hips to flex downwards and compress the base of the spine, hence a greater force on the lower part of the spine and pain.

As you can see from this image that the foot rolling inward is a natural rotation called Pronation, if you are flat footed however, you will have a tendency to abnormally pronate or pronate more than normal in order to get your foot to the ground. This is not the only form of abnormal pronation that occurs though, as you do not have to be flat footed to abnormally pronate. Some high arched people also abnormally pronate, but it maybe that only a portion or some of the joints in their feet have to re-align in order for them to have sufficient pronation available.

 There is also another movement called supination or rolling the foot outwards which is a natural movement of the foot, in order to provide us with  a stable enough platform for carrying our weight forward onto the other foot and leg.