Everyone has experienced a headache at some point in their life, and an unfortunate group of people experience headaches and migraines with a heightened frequency. Chronic headaches can be somewhat hard to treat because they can be caused by so many different underlying factors and triggers. In fact, there’s a possibility that your headaches are tied to a problem in your feet! Below, we explain why your frequent headaches may be tied to a problem in your feet.
The Link Between Foot Health And Headaches
Your feet are the furthest part of your body from your head, so how in the world could a problem in your feet be linked to your headaches? The key here lies in how different areas of your body are connected with one another.
As we discussed in a blog last week about the benefits of custom orthotics, your feet provide immense structural support for different areas of the body. We compared your feet to the base of a Jenga tower. When there is a problem with the base, the entire tower becomes more unstable and less capable of handling stress in a healthy manner. The same principal applies here when it comes to headaches and your feet.
Let’s say, for example, that you are dealing with plantar fasciitis or painful fallen arches in your feet. To accommodate for these issues, different areas of your body are forced to handle an increased amount of stress as you naturally try to protect the weakened area. Your knees may take on additional stress as your gait changes, or in regards to the focal point of this blog, your posture may suffer as your hips or back work to take on more stress to help protect your weakened feet.
When your posture suffers, the muscles and soft tissues within the spinal column are forced to handle more strain, and over time this can lead to tissue weakening. These muscles are constantly being stressed and are under tension due to your poor posture, and one of the most common triggers of headaches is prolonged muscle tension in the head and neck region. These types of headaches are aptly known as “tension headaches.”
So if your feet are injured or weakened and your posture ends up suffering, don’t be surprised if tension headaches begin to develop. However, now that we are aware of the relatedness of the two conditions, we can get started on a simple treatment plan. Caring for your underlying foot problem and working to help them regain strength and stability can improve your posture, take stress off your head and neck muscles and alleviate your tension headache issue!