Have you ever been the “victim” of poor bagging technique at the grocery store? and your feet :0

Have you ever been the “victim” of poor bagging technique at the grocery store?

Yes, you have. We all have.

I prefer to bag my own groceries, especially when the bagger is inexperienced.

Why? Because they just throw the stuff in there the way it comes down the conveyor belt.

The kid doesn’t care if the tomatoes are on the bottom and the potatoes are on the top!

He’ll throw all the little stuff in there and the big stuff on top…and here is were the feet come into the story.

When you throw the little stuff or the soft stuff, like tomatoes or banana in first at the bottom, that foundation is questionable at best.

You know darn well it’s going to mess everything up and those items on the bottom will get squished and the bag is just a heap of wobbly stuff.

Well, your feet are like the items at the bottom of the grocery bag. They have to be strong and of good shape to hold the rest of the body up properly.

(I know, the analogy is a stretch, but you get the idea!)

When you wear pointy shoes (men and women), heels, sneakers with a heel lift (nearly every major brand) or shoes and boots which soles don’t give or bend, you are making weak feet and a week foundation.

In fact, limited big toe range of motion and strength is a possible cause of low back pain.

Here’s why, when you walk, your “toe off” phase, the third major portion of the gait cycle, should cause the entire posterior chain to work, from the calves up to the glutes. HOWEVER, if you don’t have enough mobility in the big toe because it’s been stuffed in restricted shoe ware for the last 25 years, your quads (the muscles of the front thigh) take over, tilting your low back and causing a greater curve which, after enough time, causes low back soreness.

What can you do?

Start by getting rid of the worst of your shoes – the ones that don’t bend, high heels, pointy – and wearing more flexible, wide toe box shoes (if you already have very painful feet and are seeing a physical therapist, ask their opinion first before changing everything at once.)

Then, give your feet some of their own exercises. Try these few exercises to get started: Feet exercises