Carsten Stark

Simple Steps
to Healthy Feet

The Holistic Way to a Life Without Pain

Translated from the German
by Silas Tomlinson

Foreword

Dear reader,

It's unlikely that you're reading this on a whim. I imagine you want to discover more about the feet or you're looking for a solution to a health issue. Maybe someone recommended the book to you or you're facing the decision whether or not to have an operation. Whatever the reason, I'm happy that I (Cartsten Stack) have the opportunity to introduce you to a fascinating and inspiring subject – your feet.

This book is based on ten years of practical experience as a FOOT CARTOGRAPHER. I have had the opportunity to examine thousands of images of feet as well as treating my own clients. After all, how reliable is a medical consultant without first-hand practical knowledge?

A friend asked me recently what my motivation was to write this book. "You know what?" I said. "When every other person who comes to my practice tells me I'm their last hope, it's flattering, but also a little worrying, don't you think? A lot of people travel a long way and wait a long time to have their feet examined. My appointments diary is full. And now I ask you, my friend, with so many therapies available and such a high level of technical know-how, how come so many people suffering with painful foot complaints can't find satisfactory long-term solutions?"

This book is not intended to replace a personal consultation or an individual holistic assessment and treatment. At best it is the first "port of call" – a guide to making a simple diagnosis. The real purpose of the book, and this is my personal quest and gift to you, is to encourage you to "rediscover" your feet and to see them in a different light. The most important sentence that has accompanied me over the years is: "Every ailment has its cause, and if symptoms persist in the long term, the cause has not been identified." If this book is successful – if I succeed in guiding you along the road to change, from despondency and desperation to hope and confidence, then you will have given me an invaluable gift in return. I encourage you to focus on a positive outcome. Have the courage to take a closer look and question both your habits and presumed natural laws. Stand upright and rediscover your own step, your own way.

Believe me, feet and footprints don't lie.

There is hardly any other part of the body that reveals more about you and your life than the feet. And you have a much greater influence over your feet than you might think. It is my pleasure to support you on your journey.

Carsten Stark

Why it's worth reading this book

If it's recommended that you should …

+ Buy soft-soled shoes to relieve foot pain.

+ Wear insoles!

+ Buy "barefoot shoes" when you're not used to walking in bare feet.

+ Treat your foot complaint by walking barefoot.

+ Wear high-sided, robust walking boots for hiking.

If you're told that …

+ "There's nothing we can do" with your feet.

+ An operation is urgently needed before the situation gets worse.

+ "It's all in the mind".

+ A customised shoe or insole is the best solution.

+ You have a splay/flat/skew/hollow foot and need surgery.

+ You should wear a corrective toe separator or hallux splint in bed.

If you think that …

+ Having cold feet is bad for your health and causes bladder infections.

+ Reflexology is a recognised form of foot therapy.

+ Yoga is the solution to your foot problems.

+ "Barefoot walking" means walking in your bare feet at home or in the garden.

If you notice that …

+ Arthritis/arthrosis are diagnosed too quickly.

+ Your foot health practitioner wears thick-soled shoes or orthopaedic insoles.

+ You're given a diagnosis before your feet have been examined or x-rayed.

+ You're asked to remove your shoes before entering the treatment room.

+ Sensorimotor insoles are said to be the answer to your foot problems.

+ Your foot therapy deals with only one aspect of your feet.

+ Your symptoms remain the same despite following the recommended treatment for at least four weeks.

+ Your orthodontist does not refer you to an osteopath or FOOT CARTOGRAPHER.

+ Your psychotherapist does not recommend complementary foot therapies.

+ Your chiropodist regularly removes hardened skin without suggesting possible posture imbalances or pointing out changes needed to your footwear.

+ Your feet are not considered when addressing chronic physical complaints.

Chapter 1
Focus on the feet

My own experiences – my own story

A life of suffering

I was always a sporty individual; I exercised often and enjoyed pushing myself to my limits, until the day I began suffering from non-specific back pain that didn't respond to any therapy. It changed not only my day-to-day, but also eventually my entire life. I would set my alarm for 5am to take a painkiller so that I would be able to get up at 7am. The pain didn't just radiate through my leg - it tortured my entire body and senses. Sport was out of the question, as I was hardly ever in a state where I could do anything. I underwent this ordeal for over 18 months, and it intensified more and more until I was finally operated on.

I had actually wanted to avoid an operation, so I initially searched for alternatives - beginning with traditional methods from trigger-point injections (TPI), catheter irrigation and shockwave therapy to shoe inserts, moving on later to more physical therapy methods like fango (localised heat treatment), massages and manual therapy. I also tried alternative healing approaches like dietary changes, Craniosacral therapy, Gyrotonic, Feldenkrais method and osteopathy. These methods of treatment only brought me temporary relief, and the pain would always return in full force.

One of the most striking realisations that I took from my teachers during my many years of curative, psychological and medical training can be read in the foreword: "Each issue has its cause, and if the symptoms do not disappear permanently, the cause was not discovered."

So I set about my search, and began to think about what the cause for my suffering could be and how my bodily functions might reflect it. I could never have prevented the operation, but I wanted to avoid something like this happening to me again. Unfortunately I found no satisfactory answer, until one day the famous coincidence gave me the crucial clue.

The coincidence

I had taken a Wednesday off work to go skiing with my friends. In the morning I looked in the cellar for my Ski boots, but I couldn't find them. I had to rent a pair of boots at the resort so that the day could get underway. However - after only two hours - I was in such pain in my feet and back, accompanied by an eye-watering headache, that I disappointingly had to stop skiing and take the boots back to the shop.

The shop's owner realised my misfortune. He put me on a foot-scanner to ascertain whether I needed inserts for the boots. He believed that I had Clubfoot, and sold me a sports insert to fix this problem. Gratefully, I left the shop and began to make my way home, but after driving for a kilometre, I suddenly turned around and drove back - as if led by a ghostly hand.

The realisation

Fortunately, the scanned image of my foot was still on the monitor, because the owner was dealing with another customer. I looked at the image, and I noticed some irregularities in this digital version of my foot that got me to thinking.

Suddenly, I realised that my feet were the only parts of my body that weren't thoroughly investigated by any Doctor or Therapist since my condition began - ignoring the Clubfoot diagnosis. Could they be the cause of my back pain? The foot scan suggested so, as it showed obvious inconsistencies. All of this gave me enough reason to get back on track with learning about the feet and their impact on the rest of the body. Surprisingly, in the course of my studies I found relatively little material on this subject. The information available would often be similar with some details altered, or have a very one-sided view of the feet - whether about foot placement, barefoot walking or reflex zones. Likewise, I seldom got the impression that the authors who wrote essays on feet were drawing from their own experiences, or that they were role models for the principle of "happy feet, happy body". It quickly became clear to me, that with my education, enough practice, vast experience and a certain talent, I would be able to learn much more from digital scans of feet, in terms of the effects that feet can have on the whole body. I understood that there are ways to find solutions for recovery processes through the feet, that they can support other methods of therapy, or contribute to performance improvements in sports. And so, a 'coincidence' provided not only my own recovery, but also my calling.

My conclusion

After years of intensive studies, personal experience and about a thousand foot scans, I am in awe of our feet. Although not a classical evaluation, I regard the feet as the most important part of the human body today, in terms of influence over other regulatory systems, such as stasis, our ability to stand, perception, the cardiovascular system, metabolism, psyche, movement, and many more that I will elaborate on in the pages that follow.

Before you start

Imagine you are planning to climb Mount Everest. Apart from your fitness and mountaineering expertise, what do you think is the key to achieving your goal? Let me tell you: A perfectly organised base camp. A place where everything comes together. The beginning and end of the challenge. In short, the better the base camp and your preparation, the more likely you are to reach the summit. Consider all the people and processes involved in running a successful base camp – ensuring that you are looked after, that communications run smoothly, and so much more. Now I'll let you into a secret: Your feet are your base camp. They are what support you throughout your life, your foundation, from beginning to end. Your feet are a perfectly structured, superbly organised mechanism. But there are rules. You have to take good care of them, making sure they're always able to meet their objective – "getting you to the top".

We're only at the start of the book, but I already place the responsibility for your feet "in your hands". And this won't be the only time I say this, because one thing is absolutely clear: You alone are responsible for your feet. And now for the good news: This responsibility means that you have complete control. You can make the change. But more on that later.

People with ailments generally focus on healing. They try different "miracle cures" and get second and third opinions on every little thing. They focus on how to reduce or eliminate the problem as quickly as possible, without dealing with the cause. This approach is understandable, but it's a bit like washing and polishing a broken-down car before hitching it to a horse or putting it on a trailer so it can move again – instead of opening the bonnet and sorting out the real problem.

In today's world, of course, we rely on doctors. They are the experts. They should know what needs to be done to "fix the engine". Unfortunately, experience has shown that most doctors do not carry out in-depth holistic research into the causes of our complaints. Instead, they are the ones harnessing the horse to the car – or simply grabbing spare parts from a stockroom. It is no surprise that things are done this way, but this doesn't diminish the lasting consequences. I will return to this later. So much for now: Today it is more important than ever to understand our health issues, familiarise ourselves with the subject matter, and make independent decisions. You might not believe it, but this is particularly true of your foot health. Many chronic disorders originate from reduced foot vitality, including physical conditions that appear at first to have no connection to feet.

From knee pain to hip or back disorders, spinal complaints to headaches, tinnitus, eye problems and organic health issues, I believe there is virtually no chronic ailment or disorder that cannot be traced back to the feet . This calls for a thorough holistic approach and, more importantly, a real willingness to change your ways. Once the cause of the disorder has been identified, targeted measures can be taken to help the body respond. Of course, you are responsible for implementing these changes. Accepting this challenge is the first step to improving your health.

My focus is on three key aspects:

• Do without/avoid
• Optimise/change
• Train/supplement

"That shouldn't be too difficult," you might think. But it's not always easy. Doing without or avoiding something can be a big challenge if you think how difficult it is to give up firmly established habits. These habits can sometimes lead us into a cul-de-sac. That's why it's important to face up to them, shake them off and replace them with actions or behaviours targeting cure and recovery. As I've said before, your overall health is at stake here. If you consider how much weight we put on our feet every day, how much work they do and how little attention – relatively speaking – we pay to them, it's logical that at some stage they will start to "resent" you and "down tools".

Human precision instrument

We begin this chapter with an image. Imagine a baby girl lying contentedly on a blanket. She is barefoot and there are no toys for her to play with. Eventually she starts examining her feet. She grabs a foot, puts her toes in her mouth, moves the foot around, squeezes it, and is very happy with her new discovery.

Now this is my question: When was the last time you examined your feet so closely? I mean not just superficially, but thoroughly and carefully. Did you take your feet in both hands, play with the toes, and delight in this wonder of nature? Some of you will now be horrified at the thought of examining, or even touching, a part of the body usually hidden inside shoes.

A member of the audience at one of my lectures put it this way: "For most people, taking care of their feet means giving them a quick rinse at the end of a shower." Another quote: "Our buttocks often see more light than our feet do". It's sad, but true. I know a few people who find their feet so repulsive that they're ashamed of them and never show their feet in sandals or go barefoot, let alone examine them or pay attention to them.

Picture 1

The Dutch anatomist Peter Camper wrote in his work On the Best Form of Shoe published in 1781: "It is surprising that while mankind in all ages has bestowed the greatest attention upon the feet of horses, mules, oxen, and other beasts of burden, they have entirely neglected those of their own species, abandoning them to the ignorance of workmen, who can only make a shoe upon routine principles." Today, however, "beasts of burden" have virtually disappeared. But replace this with the words "car" or "smartphone" and the sentence makes sense again.

Care and attention are important first steps here. The condition of your feet says a great deal about you. You can recognise someone not only by the body, but by the feet alone! That's why I say: Take your shoes and socks off! Be brave and look at your feet! What is the condition of the skin? Do you have pressure spots, calluses or corns? Examine the alignment of the toes, the position of each foot and their stepping surfaces. When was the last time you asked yourself how comfortable your feet are in socks, stockings or shoes? How do they move? Are they sensitive or insensitive? How do they react to cold or heat? How do they feel when walking? How flexible is your ankle? How well can you coordinate the movement of the toes? I imagine it's a long time since you did this – am I right?

You might wonder what the benefits are of looking after your feet. This is a start – the first step on a journey towards improvement and healing. To begin with, we need to assess the current situation, so we know what changes will achieve our goal. The condition of our feet has told us a lot already and this analysis represents a solid foundation for finding suitable exercises. You can find out more in the chapter "The seven foot zones" (page 108), where I describe specific foot problems in detail and suggest solutions and exercises.

You may have already noticed that this book has come about from practical experience. You will never improve your health by lying on the couch in socks or slippers. Human beings are subject to the laws of nature that form the basis of our health. To ignore this can result in illness and pain. Man has evolved – and survived – over millions of years. This would not be possible if the body or any of its parts had a "design flaw".

Every part of the body, every individual cell, is a precision machine that has the power to heal and renew itself, provided that we do not inflict injury on it through medication, surgery, long-term incorrect posture or the extreme application of force.

Consider this: It is estimated that the body completely self-regenerates through the ongoing replacement of new body cells in only seven years. This applies not only to skin cells and organ cells. Bone cells also break down and build up bone tissue during this cycle. Theoretically there should be no wear and tear and statements like "the joint is worn" should be dismissed. Except for one thing …

And now we've got to the heart of the matter. What is the root cause of a disorder? Why is my toe's basal joint painful? Why can't I walk anymore?

It is clear that something has affected – and is probably still affecting – the body, or particular part of the body, that is stronger than the self-renewal process. Then the body can no longer compensate for a higher degree of wear or a significant deficiency in a sensitive area. If the problem is not dealt with, chronic pain may be the result.

Where the feet are concerned, the cause of a complaint may not be related to the position of the foot (e.g. flat feet) but to how the foot functions. We need to find out why the foot is deviating from natural principles and is having a negative impact on all the other cells above.

It never ceases to amaze me how we simply accept that a crumbling foundation – whether it's a table, a house or a tree – is responsible for defects in the rest of the structure. But we frequently fail to recognise this in ourselves. Of course, a folded beer mat will steady a table, just as an insole initially stabilises a foot. But this does not restore its natural function. On the contrary, the reasons for the failure are not explored. Instead, some sort of crutch or substitute is prescribed and the patient is healed. Job done. That is, until the patient returns to the practitioner with another complaint. And so the cycle continues.

Nature doesn't make mistakes. Evolution has shaped your feet so that they carry you safely and upright throughout your life. Now I ask you again: Look at your feet and perhaps go one step further by taking the time to allow your feet to use all their functions and capabilities. I offer many ideas in this respect in this book. I promise you'll be amazed how these small steps will change your life!

Sensorimotor functions

But before you take these first steps, I would like touch on a particular ability our feet possess, as it is key to understanding the remaining chapters. It concerns the sensorimotor functions of the feet. The sensorimotor system refers to the interaction of sensory and motor aspects of body activity. It controls and regulates the movement of living things in conjunction with sensory feedback.

Here is an everyday example: When we drive a car, we receive stimuli via our eyes and ears (sensory functions) whilst simultaneously controlling arm and foot movements (motor functions). Our feet don't have eyes and ears, of course, but they still function as a sensory organ due to their unique structure. Sensory information is sent via different mechanoreceptors.

These include Merkel cells for registering pressure, Pacinian corpuscles to record touch and vibration stimuli, and Meissner corpuscles that also react to pressure – particularly on small areas – with high precision. The Ruffini corpuscles are sensitive to skin stretch and register the position of joints in their capsules. And the Golgi Tendon Organ (GTO) operates with muscle spindles for proprioception – an internal awareness of the foot's position and movement.

If we walk barefoot across an uneven field, our feet (via their receptors) are able to perceive the position and characteristics of every step. This information includes the conditions underfoot, i.e. whether the ground is soft, hard, cold, warm, still, or moving (e.g. loose stones). They register how stretched the skin is and the position of joints relative to one another, and signal the position of the foot should be positioned relative to the lower leg (using sensors) so that we remain upright. Suddenly we step into an unseen, overgrown pothole, and our foot jerks away – that is to say that the strain exceeds a certain level, which causes the body to employ its musculature (motors) and take lightning-fast evasive action, for example by strengthening the knee, in order to avoid imminent injury. So before our head has consciously registered it, the danger has already been avoided by the Sensorimotor system.

In the case of pain or injury to the feet – even when it affects the entire body – we can have influence over these regulation mechanisms through targeted stimulation of mechanoreceptors. I will come back to that with some exercises later on; Initially I will take a look at something we see, rather than feel – pictures of our feet.