I see a lot of people with knee pain and as much as I hate that they’re dealing with it- I love working with people who have knee pain.
I actually used to fear someone coming to me with a knee issue. It just wasn’t something I had any confidence in treating. It was a very intimidating puzzle to me that I just couldn’t understand.
What changed?
I studied the shit out of the foot and ankle.
Now when I see people who have knee pain I get excited because more often than not they have seen at least one or two other doctors for it and it keeps coming back… and I know why.
The most common thing I see in people who have knee pain is that their feet don’t change shape.
In order to push off the ground your foot has to access a certain shape (supination) and when you absorb force from the ground your foot has to access a different shape (pronation). Those are two different shapes hence why your feet need to be able to change shape.
Most people think, “Well, I have fLaT fEeT”- ok. So does Lebron James and Usain Bolt. You can still get them to change shape and strengthen them.
For you flat-footed people- there’s hope for you.
Then there are people on the other end of the spectrum: super high arches. There’s hope for you too.
Here is a super easy exercise I love to introduce foot shape change:
Something I don’t mention in the video is that you want to pay attention to keeping the ball of the big toe and the heel in contact with the ground the whole time. This is particularly challenging on the foot that you’re rotating toward (it’s when the inside of your foot wants to leave the ground the most).
