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(512) 416-7700 | CONTACT US | MAP
Articles about the extra shoelace hole appeared all over social media a few weeks ago. These articles contend that the extra hole provides greater ankle stability–particularly when running. While I understand the thought process, I would never encourage anyone to lace their shoes that high because it would affect the rest of the body’s alignment and posture.
Lacing shoes up to the extra hole locks the ankle backward when we need it to be able to move forward as we walk. This also encourages the knee to go backward and hyperextend rather than bend the opposite direction, propelling us forward.
If you feel like you need ankle stability, and most of us do have weak ankles from walking in improper shoes on flat surfaces all our lives, do some heel raises. Pick your favorite stair at home or work, place just the balls of your feet on the edge, and allow the heel to drop down, stretching the back of the calf. Feel like you get taller as you lift the heels in the air. Try this with the feet in parallel, legs/knees/feet slightly turned out, then again all turned in to pick up the different muscles of the lower leg. For an extra challenge, try this exercise with one leg at a time and try to center your weight over the leg you’re working.
Check out how we think shoes should be laced below. Call the office today for an individualized analysis of your gait (walk) to learn how to strengthen muscles that may not be working, causing you to seek more stability. Balance your body for lasting health instead of putting a patch on the problem with your shoes.
Shannon
Helping you find effort with ease…
Sitting for hours with proper posture is challenging! It can be hard to find a good sitting posture because of the ergonomics of the chair/sofa/work station that we’re sitting at. It can also be difficult if we have forgotten how to access certain places in our body that support good posture throughout the day.
That said, posture is organic and not a box we should force our bodies into each day. Our posture changes moment-to-moment based upon what we’re feeling and thinking. This week we have some tips about how to sit in a chair as well as some frequently asked questions about which kind of desk is best for encouraging posture.
Shannon
Helping you find effort with ease…
New clients often ask me to analyze their posture or teach them ‘proper posture’. This is actually a complicated question because we are not 2D characters on a poster, we move 3 dimensionally. You can correct or hold your body in a certain posture but then the second you take a step, that will change. Assuming a certain posture also depends on what we’re feeling and thinking–our body responds to these things. If you slept poorly last night or if you’re grieving, your body will likely reflect that. Whereas if you are wearing your new outfit you love or can’t wait to meet up with a friend later, your body will show this.
In short, posture is organic and constantly changing. That said, I do have some tips on how to shift your body. Check out my definition of ‘good posture’.
Shannon
Helping you find effort with ease…
