Biomechanics is “lame”. It happens, but it can be fixed
If you follow your daily routine, alternate the load, but your legs still get tired in the evening, it is recommended to consult a specialized doctor - a podiatrist. He diagnoses the feet and the entire musculoskeletal system.
A common problem identified during diagnosis is a suboptimal motor pattern of walking. Our musculoskeletal system works like a well-oiled machine. Only instead of gears, bolts and nuts there are joints, tendons, ligaments. And by analogy, if one part of a mechanism is damaged, the entire device will gradually become loose and fail. So with us, if even the smallest muscle is permanently overstrained, the biomechanics of movement changes. This leads to a chain reaction: damage, “clamps” rise upward, spreading to the entire ODA. The notorious arthrosis, osteochondrosis and other pathologies arise.
"Homework". Strengthening your back, shoulders, legs
The decrease in physical activity caused by the spring lockdown put many people into “sleep mode.” Our body is very adaptive, and if we taught it to indulge in melancholy in front of the TV, it automatically slowed down its metabolism. If the muscles do not receive the proper load, they are actually taken out of play. And then all the consequences that we have already talked about are a harmful chain reaction.
That is why today doctors pay special attention to creating a “home gym”. And podiatrists place special emphasis on exercises to maintain balance. Such training develops not only individual muscle groups, as happens during normal physical activity, but also deep-lying stabilizer muscles. Meanwhile, they are the support for our body.
For full balance training at home, you need a minimum of equipment. For example, you can get a balancing pad.
Complex for preschoolers
Children of preschool and school age can perform exercises both independently and under adult supervision. The main thing is that this happens regularly. Here are some suitable exercises:
- You need to roll the ball with your foot while sitting. First with one leg, then the other, then both.
- Bring your toes together without lifting your heels off the floor.
- Sit on the floor, you can lean your back against the wall. Then bend your legs, turning your feet with your soles facing each other, and bring them together and spread them apart.
- Squeeze - unclench your toes.
- Walk with the outer edges of your feet, moving your shoulders back and placing your hands on your waist.
- Lie on your back, spread your legs and clap your soles.
- In the same position, bend your legs to your chest, hold the ball with your feet and roll it from heel to toe.
- Lying down, stretch your legs forward and make sliding movements with your foot along the other leg.
- Lie on your stomach, press your heels to your buttocks, stretch out your socks and grab them with your hands. Lie down for a while.
- While standing, grab a chair and, imitating walking, raise your heels. Do not lift your socks off the floor.
Exercises for kids
We recommend that you conduct your first classes in a clinic under the supervision of a doctor, and then practice at home. For clubfoot in children, gymnastics helps to train the muscles, which will allow them to hold the foot correctly.
If the child does not walk, then the parents help him do the exercises. You can return the arches to their place by simple flexion and extension of the foot down to the sole, and back, then inward.
When the baby grows up and can confidently stand on his feet, you need to perform a number of other exercises with him. It is more convenient to do this barefoot:
- Walk on toes and heels;
- Collect small parts from the floor with your toes, roll pencils;
- Walk alternately on the inner and outer edges of the feet;
- Walk on a gymnastic stick or hoop.
For children over 5 years old, gymnastics for flat feet is already more complex and comprehensive, so such exercises are recommended for very young ones. It is better not to force kids to do exercises, this will discourage them from doing exercises and the process will only become more complicated. It is advisable to exercise in a playful way. You need to start with 2-3 minutes and gradually increase the time to 15 minutes.
So how can you minimize harm to the joint system in the case of office work?
According to recommendations published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine, in an 8-hour workday, you should spend at least 2 hours on your feet. Ideally, this time is broken up into parts. Breaks can be used to walk for coffee, march down the hallway during a conference call, etc. - anything but sitting still. An additional opportunity to relieve static and warm up a little is to roll a golf ball or a rubber ball with “spikes” under the table with your bare foot (they are also often recommended by speech therapists for the development of fine motor skills in children).
Working from home?
An additional risk is that our home “office” is rarely equipped to code. So, due to the lack of an ergonomic desk, sitting at home at the computer, we often stretch our necks forward. This pose creates additional stress on the spine. ODA specialists provide a clear metaphor. Imagine holding a bowling ball with one hand. Keeping your arm down puts minimal strain on your muscles, but as you carry the ball forward in your hand, your muscles must tighten to hold it. Now it’s easier for us to imagine that when we sit at a table, stretched out towards the monitor, our head, like a bowling ball, creates additional stress on the spine (by the way, the average ball and the head weigh about the same). So, in order to control yourself, doctors recommend retracting your chin. This allows you to keep your head and neck in the most even, vertical position.
Orthopedic insoles
One of the main conservative interventions for pediatric flatfoot is orthopedic orthoses and arch supports in shoes. Research has shown that while orthotics can help correct soft tissue deformities, they do not affect bone structures. Dynamic stabilization insoles and custom foot orthoses have a significant positive impact. In general, it is believed that asymptomatic flat feet do not require orthoses. However, prescribing orthoses for symptomatic flexible flatfoot may help reduce pain and avoid surgery.
Over time, leg orthoses significantly reduce leg pain and increase functionality. The use of dynamic foot orthoses for pediatric flexible flatfoot helps restore structure and support to the medial and lateral aspects of the foot. One of the primary purposes of using functional orthoses is to control the degree of pronation of the subtalar joint, thereby providing support and alignment to the talocalcaneal joint. For more severe flatfoot deformity or ligament laxity in patients with ankle instability or posterior tibial tendon symptoms, ankle orthoses or more proximal devices may be more appropriate.