Foot Pain And Dysfunction: An Alternative To Podiatry, Massage, And Surgery

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Active Isolated Stretching is an alternative to podiatry, massage, and surgery in treating various foot pain and dysfunction issues. Foot issues include plantar fasciitis, heel pain, bunions, hammertoes, dropped foot, and club foot. The philosophy of Active Isolated Stretching (AIS) is to first lengthen then rebuild all the muscles around the foot and lower body. This process brings improved circulation and reduces inflammation in the feet. AIS therapy encourages people to develop the small muscles in their feet to reinforce correct foot position. Painful or dysfunctional feet can be repaired naturally.

Foot pain is a circulatory problem. Foot pain involves a series of lower body muscles being overly tight. These shortened muscles are in the feet, and also in the calves, hamstrings, quadriceps, and gluteal muscles. It may seem surprising to suggest that tightness in the butt muscles or the hamstrings can be causing foot pain. This is a major departure from the view of podiatry on the causes of foot pain. Additionally, AIS treatment is far more extensive than massage therapy for treating hurt feet. Massage therapy tends to only focus on the feet, which is a temporary solution. AIS therapy treats the lower body to heal painful feet. Inflammation in lower body muscles can press into the arteries that deliver blood flow to the feet. For example, the piriformis muscle lies underneath the gluteal muscles. The piriformis muscle can get overly tight from sitting, stair climbing, and running. An inflamed piriformis muscle will press into the artery underneath it. This interferes with blood flow running all the way down to the feet. Which can be a major part of the problem in correcting foot pain.

In addition to opening the muscles of the legs and glutes, the AIS practitioner manually lengthens the small muscles of the feet and toes. Toes should not be gnarled together. Ideally, the toes should be spread out, strong, and wiggly. In AIS protocol, each toe is stretched repeatedly in six directions to restore proper foot position. The heel is also stretched manually. The heel is the anchor of the foot. And restoring function to the feet, depends on the heel being pliable. This process is absolutely necessary for all types of foot pain. Active Isolated Stretching is an alternative to foot surgery such as bunionectomy and hammertoe surgery. Both bunionectomy and hammertoe surgery attempt to reshape the foot by cutting tightened muscles in the hope that that will restore length or correct position in the toes.

After the entire lower body muscle lengthening process, the AIS practitioner then teaches the client a series of exercises that are designed to increase strength in the muscles of the feet and toes. Aaron Mattes, the developer of Active Isolated Stretching, invented a machine that strengthens the small muscles of the feet. The Mattes Foot And Ankle Exerciser is a device that allows people to do weight lifting exercises for the feet and ankles. It helps people with flat feet restore the arches in their feet. And it encourages people to use their feet and toe muscles while walking. Active Isolated Stretching does not endorse the use of orthotics or foot insoles in solving foot pain. Instead AIS states that it is better to build up the small muscles of the feet rather than artificially supporting the feet with inserts that ultimately weaken the foot muscles.

All too often we view our feet as appendages. And only when they hurt do we start to ask what we should do to make the pain go away. Our feet are a critical part of our bodies. They need to be stretched by an AIS therapist because that will be more productive than trying to self-stretch them. We need to exercise the foot muscles just as we exercises our abs, shoulders, and lats for proper health and function. If your feet are hurting, its time to get to know them. Find out about the weaknesses' in your feet. Pay attention to the tightness in your butt or legs that may be contributing to foot pain. Take an active role in building up your feet to proper flexibility and strength. AIS is not a quick cure for foot pain. AIS is a lifestyle choice that corrects foot pain through one-to-one treatment and at-home exercises.