Fuße gut, alles gut, “Healthy feet, healthy body” is the title of the beautiful book by Carsten Stark , translated into Italian by Laura Bortot and published in Italy by Edizioni Il Punto d’Incontro.

The dedication is to his brother ” who had to give up a worldwide career as a high jumper for unidentified medical causes “.

The book is mainly based on concrete experiences, practical anecdotes, actionable advice; it is not yet another theoretical book on how the foot welcomes all the reflex points of the body . It is not the umpteenth manual of difficult practical application.

The author in the last ten years has worked as a podiatrist and has developed his own approach based on the cases seen, treated, addressed, and provides an important message, the one concerning the possibility of getting back on your feet, really and metaphorically, getting up on your limbs. , with his own arts, talents, passions: ” Get back on your feet, find your step and your way. Believe me, feet and footprints do not lie ” writes the author with enthusiasm and truth.

The feet, the basis (of health) of the body

This beautiful book deals with “hot” topics, from hallux valgus to shoes and takes all the advice given in this regard, including the large market of insoles, bringing back to the concrete reality for which unfortunately in the presence of chronic ailments there is a tendency however not to take a look at the feet, lengthening a healing process that should start from the sole .

The author has created a real “podiatry cartography” and has put together many experiences starting from the personal, direct one of a back pain that did not want to go away for over 18 months. Doctors and specialists tend to neglect the feet. And this book is special because it gives you the power to remind yourself first of all.

The feet in this book are treated as fundamental factors that affect proprioception , the cardiovascular system, statics, control systems, metabolism, locomotion and even the psyche. And all explained in the first person, with direct words, which take the reader by the hand (or by the foot?).

In fact, it seems that the author’s progress is precisely that of accompanying, step by step, with his own stride.

The feet are the basis; we unload our weight on them every day. When there is pain, it is possible that some faulty modes of functioning have deviated from a natural function for a long time with repercussions on all the cells involved. This happens. And it causes wear and tear.  

Here are 3 DIY natural creams for foot health

Practical exercises and tips for the feet

Among the first practical exercises to familiarize yourself with your feet there is what you need to discover the support, for which you need two blank A4 sheets. Reading digital images is also an excellent way to understand if the foot is crooked or working poorly, thus putting the body in a situation of imbalance to be compensated in the most “economic” way in terms of forces and vectors. If the muscle bands stretch with different intensities, this depends on the imbalance in question.

Then follow practical advice on buying shoes, starting with what the author calls the “zero heel rule” : the foot should have the same distance from the ground in the front as in the back. A shoe that is too cushioned is also not good for the brain and feet.

An analysis is made of the different types of shoes and the consequences that they can lead to the foot in the long term. The alternation of situations is desirable, considering that the shoe is always a compromise .

So: go barefoot , exercise, wear shoes when needed but remember to have live and active feet when you take them off. The vast analysis dedicated to the foot therapies business is also very interesting: insoles, injections, surgery. 

This book reminds us how perfect and perfectible we are, how much it is not worth letting go and throwing in the towel even when a foot problem seems unsolvable. It teaches us to honor the 26 bones that together weigh just 150 grams but are supported, celebrated and activated by a complex and wonderful system of muscles, tendons, ligaments and connective tissues. It helps us rethink pain as a direction signal, the foot-eye-vision link.

In summary, a small book that can change the support of the foot to start and even life, so to speak.

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