At SoleFit, we strive to give patients a full understanding of the factors involved in their conditions or injuries. Beyond mechanics, footwear, and muscle function, we consider how to repair and maintain our bodies optimally. An Ancestral Health perspective helps us understand how our bodies evolved and how this knowledge can optimize responses to today’s modern lifestyle.
An ancestral viewpoint allows practitioners to gain insight into how the human body is designed to be optimized.
From this starting point, treatments can address negative physiological responses to modern lifestyle factors such as diet, sedentarism, training patterns, and equipment. This holistic approach targets the source of problems rather than just managing symptoms. While the human blueprint is similar, treatment plans vary widely between individuals—each person is an “experiment of one.”
Example: a runner/walker with recurrent plantar fasciitis over several years.
- • Long hours of desk work and very little movement, along with non-ideal footwear.
- • High-stress job affecting sleep quality.
- • Poor diet due to limited time for meal prep, with fluctuating energy levels.
- • Slow recovery and general soreness most days after training.
Conventional treatment would likely include arch supports, footwear changes, icing, anti-inflammatories, and rest. These are effective, but an ancestral health approach allows us to go further:
- • Consistent self-care: stretching, yoga, mobility exercises, and a few minutes per day of calf rolling or programs like ROMWOD.
- • Scheduled rest days and attention to sleep/stress management. Tools like meditation apps (Calm, Headspace) and blue light filters can make a big difference.
- • Awareness of anti-inflammatory food choices (real food) versus inflammatory foods (sugary, processed). Poor diet increases inflammation and sensitivity to pain.
While pedorthic assessments focus on movement, biomechanics, and orthopaedic corrections, we also incorporate Primal Health expertise. This covers nutrition, stress/energy balancing, functional movement, and proper natural environment exposure. Aligning lifestyle with human evolutionary expectations often yields significant health improvements.
Curious about ancestral health? Check out these resources:
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