Most of us spend significant amounts of time on our feet, but can the shoes we wear be causing low back pain? The answer is yes and no actually. Wearing shoes with inadequate support can certainly contribute to your pain. It has been documented that women that wear heels or sandals can often develop pain in the back, knees and feet.
If you spend a lot of time during the day on your feet, it is probably wise to look into custom orthotics. After all, no two feet are the same… yet we all wear the same shoes that are mass produced in shoe factories. Most runners get custom running shoes to fit their unique size and shaped feet. You would be surprised to see how different your feet are when you take a closer look.
So yes, the wrong shoes can be contributing to your pain. The key word here being, “contributing”. You could go out and spend hundreds of dollars on custom orthotics and still end up having low back pain. Here’s why. For most people, back pain is a symptom of a problem or in some cases, many problems. Meaning, the shoes you are wearing are not always the problem. The problem may be muscular imbalances in the body, and the act of being on your feet so long is just irritating the issue.
Let’s look some of the additional causes of back pain. Poor posture and weak muscles are usual suspects. Remember when our parents or school teachers used to tell us to “Sit up Straight?” Well, they were right and we should have listened to them. Our sedentary lifestyles leave us sitting for hours at a time and it’s usually only minutes before bodies begin to slouch. Take a look at your posture right now as you are reading this. Is your lower back flush with the seat back? Is your neck looking straight ahead or are your shoulders rounded like the Hunchback of Notre Dame?
Sitting with incorrect posture causes the muscles of the lower back and abdominal area to become weak. Weak muscles and muscle imbalances can lead to pain.
Click this link below if you would like to learn more about how muscle imbalances may be causing your low back pain.
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Jesse is the co-founder and visionary CEO of The Healthy Back Institute®, the world-leading source of natural back pain solutions. His mission as a former back pain sufferer is to help others live pain free without surgery and pharmaceuticals.
