Reducing Hip Pain: Correcting Foot Function is Key
We sometimes think of our body parts as separate entities, each responsible for its task. The truth is, everything in our body is connected, and an issue with the foot can also directly affect other systems, like our hips, causing pain and stiffness.
If you have a problem with your feet, like pronation or bunions, it will change how you walk. Your muscles and tendons try to compensate for the injured or sore parts. Over time these shifts can turn into poor walking and running habits and contribute to additional stress and hip pain.
This post will discuss the common causes of hip pain and the impact of foot function on hip injuries.
Foot Issues
If you have problems with your feet, it can cause bad posture and change your walking patterns. This shift puts extra stress on your joints and hips and can cause or make hip problems worse. This pain can impact exercise or aggregate joint pain. Some examples of foot conditions that affect your posture and lead to hip pain are:
Plantar Fasciitis
Plantar Fasciitis is a condition where the tissue band that connects your heel to your toes on the bottom of your foot becomes inflamed. It can cause heel pain and arch pain and make walking and running difficult.
Nerve Pain or Numbness
Bunions, or a bunion, is a bony bump that forms on the joint of your big toe when your foot bones move out of place.
Pronation
Pronation is the natural movement of your foot as you walk. With pronation, your ankle and foot roll inward and down with every step, which puts extra strain on your first and second toes. This shift causes your foot to tighten and puts pressure on your entire body as it tries to compensate for the shift. Your tight foot affects your shin, then moves up to your knee and into the hip flexors.
Supination
Supination is when your foot and ankle roll too far to the outside as you walk. Instead of using your big toe as primary support, supination transfers the weight is to your outer foot and small toes. Over time, this shift can lead to more stress on your foot and additional hip pain.
Common Hip Issues
Your hips are your body’s powerhouse. They are the largest joint in your body and help support your weight when you walk or run. Over time and with use, the cartilage in the hip socket can wear down and cause problems. Misalignment and poor walking or running posture can also stress the hip and lead to hip pain.
Hip pain can come from injuries or conditions like arthritis or cancer. Pain on the outside of the thighs can connect to Bursitis, caused by joint inflammation in the hip socket. You can feel arthritis pain on the inside of the thighs.
How Custom Orthotics Can Help
If you suffer from hip pain due to foot or ankle conditions, custom orthotics may be able to improve your foot function and reduce your hip pain. Custom orthotics will help realign your foot and support the foot and ankle, helping prevent pronation or supination. Custom orthotics also help with stability for control and balance.
Other hip pain remedies include wearing specially designed supportive shoes for your foot condition along with a custom orthotic.
If you have questions about how to help hip pain with custom orthotics, talk to your podiatrist or a qualified physiotherapist for an assessment.
When it comes to your health care and health conditions, orthotics can relieve pain, aid in discomfort that home remedies or medicine alone may not fix, as well as diminish discomfort from flat feet or pinched nerves.
If orthotics are right for you, our team at Orthotics Direct is happy to help you find the best quality orthotic shoes, custom orthotics and custom inserts.
