Here is an excellent video explaining how the medial arch of the foot works and then illustrating how that affects proper gait.

The arch of the foot is supported by muscles and ligaments and over time can start to fall as we age.  Some people have had flat feet their whole lives.  Most people will look to orthotics to support their flat feet or low arches, but a passive support like an orthotic arch does not go after the key problem: weak foot muscles and poor gait.  Strengthening these foot muscles can help to rebuild that arch without the aid of lazy footwear.  This may take a year or two to accomplish, but the benefits will last a lifetime.

The following videos show a few exercises for strengthening the medial arch of your foot:

The following video shows you the towel scrunching exercise to strengthen the general intrinsic muscles of the feet.  You might find it more challenging if instead of simply contracting and relaxing, you try to scrunch ALL of the towel into a ball

It is also important to strengthen some of your calf muscles.  The tibialis posterior and tibialis anterior muscles do the bulk of the work lifting your arch.  Strengthening them will help to support the arch.  As an added bonus, these exercises will also help with ankle stability issues.  This video shows how to strengthen the tibialis posterior muscle:

There are some good videos on strengthening the tibialis anterior muscle on this post.

Created by: Medical Billing and Coding Certification

If you’ve ever wondered how in the world they make those incredible displays at Bodyworlds, have a look at this:

Have a look at the  Massage Case Studies article for a background and description of the cases.

Some thoughts on the experience of volunteering at Mother Theresa’s Mission:

It was a chance to put those obscure lessons we learned into practise.  In massage training there were many lessons that seemed like a waste of time as we would never come to face them in a massage clinic environment. Most of the work I do concerns treating 20th century problems such as stiff necks and sore backs from poor posture and too much computer work.  It was professionally challenging and rewarding to go digging into the depths of my  training to help people with conditions that I had never seen first hand.
It was also an amazing opportunity to do the most good possible.  The patients were triaged and only the ones that could benefit the most from treatment were treated.  Helping somebody remember how to stand and walk again or possibly getting that rickshaw driver back on the road earning a living to support his family were unique moments that I will treasure forever.
The work seemed more important because there weren’t many other alternatives.  The patients were not going to get help from doctors, physiotherapists or other health care professionals.  Their loved ones would not collect them and care for them after the treatment.  They relied completely on the help they were given at the mission and were extremely grateful  for it.
The unmeasurable results are priceless.  The feeling of hope was more responsible for the stroke victim standing and walking than the treatment was.  Same goes for the rickshaw driver.  It could be that just feeling a small physical change was enough to start turning those big gears that result in rehabilitation.
The simple treatments can bring huge results.  The decrease in swelling that the was achieved with the two patients with broken legs and the one with liver damage was drastic.  And it all came from something as simple as nodal pumping and manula lymphatic drainage.