” Ek het myne 2 jaar terug gekry nadat die soliede binnesole nie meer vir my gewerk het nie. Dit oefen die spiere, dat selfs as ek kaalvoet loop, is my postuur beter as voorheen ”
LENIE
What is Good Posture?
Posture is not just the way you carry your body, but includes the whole alignment, stability, balance aspect. A good posture line, or plumb line as it is sometimes called, theoretically runs through ears, shoulders, hips and knees in a straight line.
When your posture line runs true to this, you should have no knee, hip, back or neck pain related to tension or compensation pressures. In short, alleviating tension means alleviating pain.
A difference in leg length, hip rotation, a slight scoliosis and various other conditions – which may be genetic, or as a result of injury, accident or habit – can cause a deviation in alignment, causing tension with possible attendant pain and numerous knock on effects.
Good posture is not standing tall and pulling your shoulders back – monthly, weekly, or even daily. It depends on a good foundation or base, all of the time! The foundation of good posture is your feet. A well balanced foot can correct body alignment, by the same means as an unbalanced foot can cause misaligned posture. A foot that rolls sideways can affect knees or hips; forefoot pressure often causes neck and shoulder tension; excessive heel pressure invariably indicates lower back strain. There is always a knock on effect, from the foot upward, and if you change the foot, you can change alignment throughout the body.
What Makes a Well Balanced Foot?
Supporting one arch of the foot, may unbalance the other two arches.
Anti-pronation shoes or supports can transfer body weight to the outside of the foot and in time, without counter support, the imbalance may affect knees or hips. It is vital to support the medial, lateral and transverse arches – in ratio!!
Transverse, or metatarsal support, is virtually unknown, as a rigid buildup behind the metatarsal heads would be intolerable – when walking the metatarsal arch is pushed down by body weight and should essentially spring back into shape as the foot is lifted. But if the muscles and tendons are weak, this does not happen and the metatarsal arch becomes what is commonly known as a ‘dropped arch’.
A static support would not achieve much change in the foot long term, as it remains unmoving and can therefore not strengthen muscle structures. Bounce, or spring, has to be provided by the support itself and slowly train the foot muscles to function as they should.
Soft Steps® have proved to be the dynamic, stimulating exercise apparatus which can encourage and restore normal foot function. Supporting all three arches, in ratio, provides a perfect center of gravity for the body and this can correct your posture to whatever degree possible – automatically!!
Try them and see for yourself!