How Your Feet Shape the Rest of You
(No, it’s not just “bad posture” — it might be your toes whispering chaos up the chain)
Let’s get one thing straight (literally): your foot posture can have a massive impact on your whole-body alignment. And no, we’re not just talking about sore arches after a long day—we mean genuine shifts in how your knees, hips, pelvis, spine, and even shoulders move and carry load.
Why? Because your body is a kinetic chain. When one link is off—even slightly—it sends ripple effects upstream.
“Abnormal foot mechanics alter lower limb kinematics, affecting the motion and loading of proximal joints including the knee, hip, and lumbar spine.” (Nigg BM et al., 2017, Journal of Biomechanics)
Even subtle deviations like excessive pronation or supination can reorganise your movement patterns over time—compensations that often show up not at the foot, but further up where things start hurting.
What Happens When the Foot Is Out of Whack?
Excessive Pronation (a.k.a. “the medial collapse”)
This is when the foot rolls in too much and the arch drops like your energy on a Monday morning.
What it can do:
Collapses the medial longitudinal arch
Drives internal rotation of the tibia and femur
Can lead to knock-knees (genu valgum) and poor patellar tracking
Promotes an anterior pelvic tilt, pulling the lumbar spine into extension
This often leads to thoracic rounding and even that dreaded forward head posture
“Foot pronation is associated with increased internal tibial rotation and changes in pelvic alignment, contributing to lumbar lordosis and thoracic kyphosis.” (Khamis & Yizhar, 2007, Gait & Posture)
Excessive Supination (the stiff-footed side of things)
Here, the arch is high, the foot is rigid, and shock absorption is, well, not absorbing.
What it can do:
Locks the foot into lateral loading
Encourages external rotation of the leg and bow-leggedness (genu varum)
May drive a posterior pelvic tilt, limiting lumbar extension
Can contribute to a flat back posture and reduced spinal shock absorption
“Individuals with supinated foot types exhibit higher ground reaction forces and reduced capacity for impact attenuation, increasing stress transmission to the axial skeleton.” (Davis IS et al., 2010, Clinical Biomechanics)
Why This Matters (a lot)
When your feet are consistently bearing weight unevenly, they send misinformation to the rest of the body. Over time, this becomes the new “normal”—and can lead to chronic pain, poor movement efficiency, or reduced performance.
Whether you’re walking, lifting, running, or just standing still, your feet are the first to hit the ground. If they’re not functioning well, everything above them is working harder to compensate.
“Postural asymmetry and kinetic chain dysfunction frequently stem from faulty foot mechanics and habitual loading patterns.”
*(Neumann DA, 2010, Kinesiology of the Musculoskeletal System)
Think Your Feet Might Be Talking Behind Your Back?
Come find out.
At The Body Lab, we don’t just treat symptoms—we trace the root cause. And often, that root is hanging out in your shoe.
Book a Biomechanical Assessment with Riccardo, our specialist in:
Gait analysis
Functional movement testing
Foot mechanics + full-body integration
Manual therapy & acupuncture (if needed, yes—dry needling is an option!)
📍 The Body Lab – Canberra
📞 0432 785 135
Because strong alignment doesn’t start at the shoulders—it starts at the sole.
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