What is Podiatric Biomechanics?
Podiatric Biomechanics is the 'foot function' approach used in the treatment of lower limb musculoskeletal dysfunction. Biomechanics is concerned with understanding the movement and forces applied to the foot and lower extremities of the human body. Biomechanics practitioners are concerned with trying to modify those forces to spread some load and reduce some forces and pressures that may be applied to the foot at any given moment in order to improve a person's gait.
It is of great interest that each foot and each foot step is unique. (Like snow flakes which look identical but when examined each one is unique and different.) Whilst the basic principles of motion are common to each human being the fashioning of the body will produce variations in that motion. These variations can be the result of abnormal compensations from musculo-skeletal imbalance. These can be inherited i.e. genetic or acquired i.e. traumatic injury or surgical intervention.