Functional medicine doctor Frank Lipman suggests stepping up your foot care game when you’re older, because weak feet may lead to other parts of the body trying to compensate. He explained to MindBodyGreen that muscles and tendons in the feet that function poorly may lead to pain in the calves and hips. The foot’s job is to absorb shock, and if that ability is minimized, it will impact other body parts. In fact, a 2017 study supported this theory by showing a correlation between foot pain and knee and/or hip pain, per the Hospital for Special Surgery.
One theory behind this connection is that people compensate for pain by modifying certain movements. While changing how we walk might help with foot pain, it could cause misalignment or other problems. The researchers even speculated that this might even explain why arthritis develops in more than one joint. Either way, there’s never been a better reason to take care of your feet.