Her Majesty of Foot
A healthy foot is called the guarantee of the health of the whole organism. Its unique "architecture" consisting of 26 bones, 33 joints, 107 ligaments and 19 muscles, is admired: everything is thought out and calculated by nature itself - taking into account the upcoming serious loads and a margin of strength for decades (by the way, the arches of the foot are known "toilers" on the second place after the main "motor" of the body, the heart). Alas, all this is true only for a healthy body - a flat foot, like a flat tire of a car, is not able to perform its functions in full. Since childhood, stiffness is completely curable only in childhood, that's why it is so important for parents to form a baby's foot. Complaints of the child on leg soreness after physical exertion, evening swelling of the feet, their growth "wide" (when they are flattened), fast and abnormal wear of the shoes (heels on the inside) are a sufficient cause for concern. Especially if the baby is at risk (has congenital insufficiency of connective tissue, overweight, has had a rickets or hip dysplasia in infancy).
Orthopedists note - often the cause of the disease become parental errors, namely:
- Buying a "wrong" shoe for a child (without a back, with a narrow toe). Including used, distributing the load on the foot unevenly.
- Flaws in nutrition: for a normal formation of connective tissue, a sufficient amount of calcium and phosphorus is needed.
- Deficiency of physical loads, providing development of muscles and ligaments. It is especially important to walk on foot, barefoot on different surfaces: pebbles, sand, grass.
As a rule, physicians diagnose flat feet with the help of an evaluation of the footprint received by the planter (a device consisting of a wooden frame on which stretched a stenciled paint canvas with a sheet of clean paper put under it).
Useful exercises
• Standing: walk on the socks, then - on the heels, on the outer arch of the foot.
• From the sitting position: with tension, pull the socks on yourself, perform circular movements with stops; grab and lift your toes with small objects; roll your feet a little ball.
• It is important to give gymnastics at least 10 minutes daily.
Unnecessary purchase
Alas, often the children's problem (according to statistics, 65% of schoolchildren - flat feet) goes straight to adulthood. The emergence of varicose veins, "cones" on the feet, heel spurs, arthrosis of the joints and even stubborn headaches of unclear etiology - on her conscience. Congenital flat feet are rare (in 396 cases), another thing is acquired. Depending on which of the arches of the foot is flattened, the flatfoot is of two types: transverse and longitudinal. The longitudinal one is more popular: traumatic (caused by fractures of the foot or ankle), rachitic (formed due to excessive elasticity of ligaments and weakening of the foot muscles) and static (due to overloads with a significant increase in body weight). The risk group includes representatives of "standing" professions (hairdressers, salesmen, teachers), as well as lovers of fashionable shoes (on heels, with a narrow toe - the foot rests only on the heads of metatarsal bones, there is deformation of the fingers). Not surprisingly, women suffer from flat feet four times more often than men! In adults, the development of the disease can only be slowed down.
Correction involves:
- Foot baths with sea salt, chamomile infusion or pine extract - they relieve tired legs.
- Foot massage: walk from the heel to the fingers along the inner edge of the foot, with effort, break the "lazy" muscles. Buy a massage mat - it is convenient to use, for example, during cleaning your teeth or washing.
- Bare walks on the uneven surface, outside the city (on the beach, in the forest), but not at home, on the parquet floor, which does not give the muscles extra foot loads.
- The choice of the right shoes: the heel is not more than 4 cm (flat shoes and hairpins are taboos), a wide sock providing a free position of the fingers, a hard back, firmly fixing the heels.
Insoles for arch supports
These "magic liners" - of elastic material, perform the functions of a shock absorber. Today they are made for almost any kind of footwear (including an individual foot impression).
Positives of insteps:
- Increase the resistance when walking.
- Correct the deformities of the foot.
- They improve the circulation of the feet, strengthen the vaults.
- Unload the painful areas of the foot and limit its excess mobility.
- Reduce the load on the spine, hip, knee and ankle joints.
- The effect of the "correct" insole is noticeable at once - the legs become less tired, the overall well-being improves. Doctors advise wearing the arch supports regularly, in all kinds of shoes.
Soul and body
On the human foot there are a lot of biologically active points, affecting which you can treat all body systems. Obviously, that is why in ancient times some peoples represented the foot as a symbol of the soul (sculptures whose legs are fitted with wings are not uncommon). Worship in the feet (feet) has long been considered a "spiritual" act, as is the need to strip before entering the sanctuary. It is "in the heels" that goes away when the soul is frightened. Not such a simple organ - a stop ...
Features of kids
At an early age, the diagnosis of "flat feet" is not put - it is believed that the bone, tendon and muscle systems are still in the formation stage. Then carefully study the trace. Normally, the inner edge of the foot does not touch the support and forms a recess, which in the middle occupies more than half of the foot. If there is no cavity or it is weakly expressed - disorder.