Dr. Daniel Birch
407-1200 Lonsdale Avenue V7M 3H6 North Vancouver, BC, Canada

Foot Strengthening Month: 1st toe Extension Mobility Turns out the mobility of your big toe is much more important than most people understand. We require first toe extension to propel our bodies forward with every step. When we don’t have the required mobility, our bodies find way to adapt. Some of these adaptions can cause issues down the road. This is a straight forward stretch and contraction exercise that can be done around the house to help get that big toe moving. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p-uBpEO-alU

Foot Strengthening: Short Foot Feet require stability to normally function day to day as we walk. The short foot exercise acts as the standard starting point for stability exercises of the feet. This movement focuses at engaging the intrinsic muscles of the foot that create the multiple arches of the foot. The movement can begin with having the arch lifted using a hand followed by engaging the muscles of the arch to hold the position. Progression can involve actively raising ...the arch first seated then standing. Further progressions can involve individual active control of the toes. First toe extension with the lateral four toes planted to the ground can begin to allow the toes to work independently. Furthermore, planting the first toe and lifting the lateral 4 advances these movements more. In the following video Dr. Aidan Genik and myself review these two exercises. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3bcp6aRPAKU

Feet Feet Feet turns out they are pretty important. Shin splints to knee problems or hip pain to low back discomfort all can stem from the feet. There are many ways to strengthen and improve the functionality of your feet but the first step is taking off the shoes and socks. Understandably walking barefoot isn’t for everyone, let alone walking on stones. However, its activities like these that help our feet do what they were made to do. With nothing on your feet the many type...s of receptors can gain a lot of information from what they come in contact with and learn to adapt. But like everything things take time so don’t throw away the shoes just yet. Shoes do serve a purpose to keep feet safe from the world we have created, however, we need to understand that our feet are capable of much more than we give them credit for. So start with carpet or a grassy area and progress from there. Over the next month I will be posting foot focused videos on Facebook, YouTube and Instagram to help free the feet and regain proper foot functionality. #feet #freethefeet #barefoot #losetheshoes #walkingbarefoot #avitahealth #coquitlam #thosearefisheggs