We live in a world that thrives on convenience. Technology is constantly evolving to make our lives “easier”. However like many things in life this often comes at a price.
Long before the days of roads and footpaths, our lives were surrounded by variations in terrain. These variations caused all 26 bones, 33 joints and numerous muscles in our feet to be used in different ways and as a result our feet were able to quickly adapt to changes in terrain.
Enter the world of convenience. Pathways and stable surfaces were introduced to make it “easier” to walk between places. This came at the expense of adaptability. You see, our feet are constantly exposed to the same conditions – flat smooth ground with minimal to no bumps. With little variation in terrain, our feet don’t need to constantly adapt to change and become less responsive when we do incur a change.
This is one of the main factors that contribute to falls. So often do we hear stories about people tripping over a raised section in a footpath, a tree root on a walking path, an inconsistency in our predictably smooth and flat ground. Our body is so accustomed to flat surfaces that it lacks the quick response it requires to adapt to change and avoid falling.
Have a think about the surfaces you walk on regularly. Is there much variation or like many of us are you living in a world of flat smooth convenience?