Have you ever taken a step and felt like you ran a marathon barefoot on gravel or have a knife in your shoe? It's one of those things nobody tells you may come with pregnancy. We all hear about the back pain and sciatica, but it is a fact that motherhood changes our body from head to toe.
Foot pain is very common during pregnancy. During the third trimester of pregnancy, studies have found the forefoot takes on more pressure due to weight gain and postural changes. Pregnant women also spend more time on the forefoot during standing and walking because of increase in lumbar lordosis (think: belly out, booty out). In addition, other things such as hip weakness, muscle tightness, swelling, and changes in our walking pattern can contribute to foot pain. This can really make walking and standing very difficult and uncomfy!
Follow these tips to help decrease your foot pain!
Pay attention to posture.
Your ankle bone is connected to you knee bone and your knee bone is connected to your hip bone. Your hip bone is.... you get the idea! It's all connected! Posture, from head-to-toe, matters and can make a difference in how your feet feel after a long day of standing on them!
Shoe wear.
Not only do shoes give support to your foot structure, but they also influence our standing posture... which also reflects back to our foot health (It's all connected)! Due to the increase in pressure on the forefoot, the structure of your foot is going to be stressed in a new way it may not be used to!
Strengthen your hips!
There is research to support this idea, but in short, your feet are doing all the groundwork. If your leg and hip muscles up the chain aren't strong, your feet take a hit! Hip muscles also contribute to posture support and PELVIC FLOOR function!
There are many other reasons you may be experiencing foot pain and I always recommend finding a physical therapist to work with for best results!
Even if you have experienced foot pain for years and you are decades postpartum, there's still hope!
Message me at motherhoodwithmacy@gmail.com or book a free online consultation now!
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