When someone's back hurts, few people look down. Yet the foot is the first place where the body meets the ground — and where it's decided how the rest of the chain will work.
One chain, four links
The arch of the foot holds the ankle. The ankle sets the knee. The knee gives the hip its direction. And the hip decides whether the lower back works or merely holds. When the first link gives way — say because you sit all day in shoes that do its job for it — every link after it has to make up for it somehow.
“Pain is usually where the body pays. The cause is usually a floor below.”
That's why we work on both
If we only worked on the back, relief would come — and go. The lower back would learn again to compensate for what the foot isn't doing. So in sessions we combine the two: waking up the arch and the sensitivity of the foot while teaching the centre of the body to hold. You'll notice the change first when walking, then standing, and finally sitting.
- Try walking barefoot at home on different surfaces for a while each day.
- Standing, shift your weight onto the outer edge of the foot and back — notice what your lower back does.
- When your back hurts, look at the shoes you spend the most time in.
This isn't a guide to self-treatment — it's a way of thinking. If you want to know where your chain gives way, the quickest route is to look at it together.