High heels are a potent fashion statement. Whether you’re a CEO exuding power in the boardroom, a club-goer dancing the night away, or a fabulous drag queen strutting your stuff, high heels offer that unmistakable boost of confidence and style. Interestingly, high heels have a rich history—initially worn by men in the Persian cavalry to…
Living Beyond 100: The Role of Movement in Longevity
Living past 100 years old is no longer a theme in fantasy fiction; it is a real possibility for many people who are alive today. With advances in science and a renewed focus on health and wellness lifestyle choices, we see humans living longer lives than ever before. Dan Buettner brought forth exciting evidence in…
Benefits of (Textured) Toe Socks
Toe socks. They may not look the most stylish but when it comes to foot function, they are top notch! Embracing toe individuality goes a long way for overall foot health and movement. Add in the Naboso texture to the power of toe pockets and you have a very powerful product that can keep you moving at…
Bye Bye Bunions! Top Products that Prevent and Manage Bunions
One of the most common foot deformities, bunions can cause a lot of pain and affect your lifestyle. Bunions can limit your ability to wear certain shoes, cause pain when walking and prevent you from doing certain activities or exercises. Often blamed on genetics or footwear, it is actually our foot type that is one…
Got Dry Heels? The Solution Is Silicone!
I had recently undergone a surgical procedure that resulted in mild hypertrophic scars. Not only did this concern me from a cosmetic perspective but there is increasing evidence that scars can cause a disruption in normal neuromuscular control through the myofascial system. My surgeon recommended using silicone strips on my incisions to soften and reduce the…
The Best Foot Exercise, According to Research
Foot strength is an integral part of how we maintain foot posture and dissipate impact forces during dynamic movement. Chronic use of cushioned shoes and stiff arch supports has been shown to cause weakening of the intrinsic foot muscles and denervation of these muscles. Plantar fasciitis, collapsing arches and stress fractures are just a few…
Can Kids Get Heel Pain Too?
Heel pain is a condition often associated with excessive activity, age, and stress to the foot. So, it may surprise you that children are also susceptible to experiencing this condition. Youth sports, restrictive shoes, growth spurts and obesity are some of the most common contributors to heel pain in children. Below are the top three…
What is a Functional Podiatrist?
You’ve been experiencing heel pain on and off for almost a year and it is still not resolved. Every time you go to a podiatrist you hear the same thing: rest, orthotics and physical therapy – or maybe even surgery. With the advances in medicine, you feel there must be other options to resolve your…
5 Steps To Stop Acute Plantar Fasciitis
Whether this is your first time experiencing plantar heel pain or the return of recurrent plantar fasciitis, your first line of defense to calm things down and minimize your symptoms will be the same. Acute plantar fascial flare ups occur when we hit what is called a “stress threshold”. Essentially this is the point where…
Is My Talus Limiting My Ankle Dorsiflexion?
Ah, ankle joint dorsiflexion. One of the most talked about joints when it comes to joint mobility and optimal movement patterns. Tight soleus, tight gastrocnemius, heel toe drop in shoes, flat feet, high arches……sometimes it seems overwhelming to know exactly what is the cause of this restricted mobility in our clients. This article will…
6 of the Best Children’s Insoles for Flat Feet
Having flat feet is actually common in children up until a certain age, in fact a child does not fully develop their arch until the age of 7! As the soft tissues stiffen and the muscles gain strength, flat feet usually corrects itself. However in some children the full strength of the arch does…
Postural Resets to Reduce WFH Foot Pain
If the last two years has taught us anything, it has been that the once unimaginable Zoom conferences and virtual strategy meetings are now just another day “in the office”. With each day feeling a little like ground hog’s day, working from home is associated with different challenges that we must face to stay productive, comfortable, and motivated. Speaking of…
What Is Pronation? And is it really that bad!
Over 5,000 times a day the human foot is adjusting to the surfaces we walk on, absorbing potential energy from impact forces and propulsing us through each step we take. What allows these basic movement functions to occur? Pronation. What is Pronation? Defined as an unlocking of the foot, pronation is a complex triplanar motion…
Are you kegeling wrong? Top 5 Pelvic Floor Mistakes
Even though I’m a foot specialist, I am all about the pelvic floor. It is connected to the feet after all! As I teach my patients and professionals about how to reconnect to the pelvic floor muscles I want to remind that this anti-gravity postural muscles is one that is deeply connected to our feet, breath…
Exercises to Improve Balance with Peripheral Neuropathy
Feeling pain, tingling, numbness, or weakness in your hands or feet may be a sign of peripheral neuropathy. With over 20 million Americans diagnosed with peripheral neuropathy, this is a common condition which contributes to impaired mobility, altered balance and increased fall risk. The goal of managing peripheral neuropathy should be to maintain and restore the function…
Healthy Foot Guide for the Walking Enthusiast
With over 95% of New Year’s Resolution’s being fitness-related, walking is the top form of exercise chosen by Americans. This seemingly low impact exercise is not without stress to the body or risk of injury. Not taking appropriate measures such as proper footwear, warming up, stretching, and proper recovery or rest after working out are…
Best Plantar Fasciitis Stretches
To stretch or not to stretch, that seems to be one of the biggest questions in physical medicine and rehab. For anyone who has ever experienced plantar heel pain and gone to a podiatrist, most likely they were told to “stretch the calves”. But how effective is calf stretching in minimizing heel pain? And is…
3 Release Techniques to Improve Ankle Mobility
Mobility or flexibility in our joints is a necessary part of how we move dynamically and transfer energy when we walk, squat or jump. Any limitation in range of motion can lead to restricted movement, compensation patterns and joint stress. As a Podiatrist, one of the most common joints where I see restricted range of…
5 Healing Benefits of Grounding
Grounding, also known as earthing, is one of the simplest ways to support the natural health and healing response of the body. Dating back thousands of years and represented in various cultures, grounding taps into the conductive charge of the Earth and has documented benefits ranging from improved sleep to faster wound healing. Our disconnected…
Custom Orthotics? Friend or Foe?
When you hear the word “orthotics” what comes to mind? Medical device? Beneficial to foot function? Expensive? Or, simply an over-prescribed and unneccesary arch support? When it comes to foot function, one of the most controversial topics in this space is the benefit vs. potential overuse of custom foot orthotics. As a Functional Podiatrist, I…
Your Foolproof Foot Recovery Program
Recovery. We constantly hear it from our trainers and therapists. “Recovery is the most important aspect of a workout”. This is true, however did you know that what makes recovery effective is the specificity of our recovery program. That means, that yes, there is actually a wrong way to recover. So let’s talk foot recovery. With our feet carrying the…
4 Ways to Improve Foot Circulation
Research has shown that various types of foot stimulation can have a positive effect – not only on foot muscle strength – but also on foot circulation. So why is foot circulation so important? Good circulation is beneficial for everyone who is looking for healthy feet, legs and movement. You can think of good circulation as…
Got Heel Pain? It May Not Be Plantar Fasciitis
For the past several months you’ve been experiencing a sharp pain in the bottom of your heel. After a quick search on the internet, you determine that it must be plantar fasciitis. After doing the recommended treatments including rest, ice, arch supports and stretching you find yourself in the same painful situation and fear it…
3 Steps to a Stronger Foot Core Connection
Hidden within our socks and shoes is a powerful structure that can transform how you connect to your posture and movement. The human foot is a fascinatingly complex structure made up of 26 bones, 33 joints and over 100 muscles, tendons and ligaments. With our feet acting as our body’s foundation, it is important to…
5 Ways to Bulletproof Your Feet
Strong feet means a strong foundation. With over 29 muscles in our feet, there are important daily steps that can be done to ensure your feet stay strong and healthy. Below are Naboso Founder Dr Emily’s top 5 ways to bulletproof your feet. Step 1 – Daily Foot Mobilization 5 minutes twice…
Improve Running Performance with Strong Feet
Whether you are a weekend warrior or an avid marathon runner, everyone wants to improve their running performance. Optimal running performance is often associated with proper running technique and cardiovascular endurance. But what if I told you there was an often-overlooked secret to enhancing running performance? Strong feet. Due to the unique demands of running,…
What is Lateral Foot Pain?
If you feel pain alongside the outer edge of your foot, you’re experiencing what’s known as lateral foot pain. This is a common issue triggered by walking, running, and other activities. Lateral foot pain is often accompanied by instability, tenderness, swelling, and even difficulty moving around. If you are suffering from it, it’s important to…
Mimicking Movement to Improve Leg Circulation
Walking, often thought of as a means to get from point A to point B, is actually a necessary part of how our body maintains a healthy circulatory system. With every step we take, the combination of ankle movements with calf muscle contractions, pump the blood from our feet back up to our heart. If we…
Combatting Foot Pain & Numbness in Cyclists
We often think of foot pain with impact-related activities such as running or jumping, however one non-impact activity that is often associated with foot symptoms is cycling. Numbness or pain in the feet is a problem many cyclists have to deal with, especially when on longer rides. Often associated with nerve compression and swelling of feet,…
Addressing Tissue Injury in Chronic Plantar Fasciitis
Typically, when symptoms last for 6 months or longer, patients are considered to have chronic plantar fasciitis. The longer symptoms persist, the more likely there is an associated change in the tissue composition. Many conservative treatment recommendations often fail to provide relief to those suffering from chronic plantar fasciitis. This unpredictability has led many physicians…
Sensory Stacking | The integration of tactile, visual and auditory input
The seemingly simple task of balancing on one leg or walking across the room is actually a complex, integrated, multisensory experience with stimulation coming from the eyes, ears, joints and plantar foot. For this integration to occur, the various sensory inputs must ultimately converge on the same neurons. At the cortical level, it has been…
Balance & the Basal Ganglia | The Power of Eye Movement Exercises
Fall reduction, balance training and body awareness training are all key concepts for the baby boomer and the client living with a chronic neurological condition such as MS, Parkinson’s or neuropathy. Being able to balance on one leg is not only a skill but a necessity when it comes to walking. In fact, it was the…
Somatosensory Development in Children
The somatosensory system is the part of the sensory system concerned with the conscious perception of touch, pressure, pain, temperature, position, movement, and vibration, all of which arise from the muscles, joints, skin, and fascia. In children, this complex system is crucial to the development of posture, movement, perception of self, emotion and social interactions. By understanding the way our…
Anchoring | The Mental Side of Performance
Mindset is everything. Period. As a former athlete, now CEO, I have come to greatly appreciate the power of the mind. If the mind isn’t in the game, neither are you. When it comes to performance, both athletic and in business, there is a technique that I’ve been using for years as a way to help…
Walking Speed – A Predictor of Longevity
Walking. The most foundational and functional movement pattern we do every day. This subconscious movement pattern is often taken for granted however the implications of poor walking metrics is actually a huge predictor of vitality and longevity. In fact a 2009 publication by Fritz et al. referred to gait as the 6th vital sign. Walking Speed, the Sixth Vital Sign According…