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I've seen lots of feet since the last newsletter. Feet with problems that is.

To many people feet are just things to be stuffed into socks or squeezed into shoes and forgotten about. It's not until they hurt that the feet are remembered. In actual fact the foot is a pretty amazing piece of equipment.

Each foot is made up of 26 bones, which means that about one quarter of all the bones in your body are in your feet. Then there are the 33 joints, 107 ligaments, and 19 muscles in each foot.

Another incredibly important point that is often completely overlooked is the fact that your feet are attached to the rest of your body. This may seem to be a fairly obvious thing to point out but most people need reminding that a pain in the foot will affect the legs, the hips, the spine and vice-versa. If your big toe hurts when you walk it makes sense to look at your whole walking mechanism to discover why that particular big toe is suffering.

Often during treatment a lot can be achieved with direct work on the foot itself to loosen stiffened joints, release tension in the soft tissues and encourage local circulation. However, sometimes lasting relief is only achieved when the hips are made a bit more flexible or the spine is encouraged to move more efficiently.

Posture comes in to the equation as well. Even your shoulders are attached to your feet in a round about way. That hunched over, rounded shoulder look people often get as they walk around in the depths of winter can mean a lot more work for the feet. Every stomping step will be sending shock waves through every joint. Do yourself a favour by walking tall and putting a spring in your step. Even if it is cold and dark out there.