Current Pedorthics | Vol. 44, Issue 1 | January-February 2012 | Page 16

Who is the Boss :

the Back or the Foot ?

By Patricia Pande , PT , MCLSc , C . Ped ., CSCS

Iremember sitting in pedorthic class in New York , bright eyed and bushy tailed , mulling over the great questions of the universe of feet . I listened eagerly to Dr . Wernick describe the foot as “ passive ,” accepting “ what it deserved ,” while the spine directed the engine . That day , I left class grappling with what I had heard — who really is the proverbial biomechanical boss ? Is it the back or the foot ? Determining the answer to that very question has fueled my years in the clinic .

14 Pedorthic Footcare Association www . pedorthics . org