Feet are the foundation of our bodies, yet most people don’t spend much time thinking about them. It is common for people to dismiss their foot issues as “just achy feet,” as though achy feet are a normal condition. It may be common, but it is not normal. Feet are our primary mode of transportation, so putting up with pain really shouldn’t be an option.

A pair of feet has 52 bones, making up more than 25 percent of the bones in your body. Feet are extremely complex structures made up of joints, ligaments, tendons, muscles, nerves and blood vessels – in addition to the bones. Not only are your feet the base of your body, but they may also be the base of your body’s problems.

Something as simple as an achy foot can be the sign of some major troubles. According to Michael Wiles, DC, chiropractic dean at Northwestern Health Sciences University, one of the most common problems with feet is the collapse of the intrinsic arch. This means that the arch in the foot flattens out, causing the alignment of the entire body to be thrown off.

“Imagine putting up wall-paper in your house,” says Dr. Wiles. “If the wallpaper is off by one-eighth of an inch in the left corner, by the time it stretches to the right corner it will be several inches off. It’s the same thing with your feet. If your arches are even a little weak, causing your feet to sink inward even slightly, by the time you get up to your knees they will wobble in, and when you go up further to your lower back, your body alignment will be even more off.”

According to Dr. Wiles, this can be changed with strong arch muscles and good arch support. People who lead sedentary life styles, are overweight, have bad posture, or illnesses such as diabetes are at the most risk for foot problems.

How can you avoid injury and heal those aches and pains? Dr. Wiles gives several tips to keep feet healthy:

• Walk with good posture. This helps with weight distribution. If you have weak abdominal muscles then you'll tend to carry your weight backwards and bear way too much weight on your heels. Walking upright lets your arches absorb your weight in the way they were designed to work.
• Look at the bottoms of your shoes. Are they wearing unevenly? If the heel area is worn unevenly it is a sign that your posture and body alignment are off. If they are, be conscious of how you are walking.
• Look at the back of your shoe. Place your shoe on the ground and look at the seam that runs down the back of the heal. Is it perpendicular to the ground? If not, it is another sign of poor posture.
• Wear properly fitting shoes. Most of our shoes are too constricting and flatten out the arch. Buy shoes with proper arch support, and replace them when necessary. Don’t wear them into the ground!
• Baby your feet. Give yourself a foot massage; use foot lotion; keep your toenails clean. With socks and shoes being a staple in human apparel, most people rarely even look at their feet, missing obvious foot infections. Keeping your skin healthy prevents problems, so go ahead and baby those feet!
• Keep active! People who have sedentary lifestyles often have foot problems. The arches in their feet get weak from lack of use and may be unable to support your weight. Remember: when you walk, each foot supports your entire weight with each step – it is not distributed half-and-half to each foot. Stay fit so your feet can bear your weight.
• Do sit-ups. Uneven distribution of weight such as a larger belly causes people to walk with poor posture. Doing sit-ups will strengthen the stomach muscles so that the body will stay in an upright position. Keeping a healthy weight will also help with weight distribution and posture.
• Keep your body healthy before purchasing a heel cushion or arch support. Heel cushions and arch supports give temporary relief to a permanent problem. Following the tips listed above will lead to a solution rather than a short-term fix.

For additional resources, visit http://www.nwhealth.edu/nns, a Web site focusing on natural approaches to health and wellness hosted by Northwestern Health Sciences University.