Connection of malocclusion with the rest of the body

	Combination of malocclusion with the rest body. Correct body posture in the context of footwear. Everything is connected to everything. Tongue with the foot, teeth with the spine.< /span> Take care of your smile by choosing the right shoes.< /span>

Improper footwear that changes the proper support of the lower limbs causes the entire posture to become unstable. The body tries to compensate for the “throwing of the center of gravity” by, for example, deepening the curvatures of the spine – the so-called compensation. However, this process has its limits, beyond which pain and joint destruction begin. “Fighting” incorrect posture, the head and the highest joints, i.e. temporomandibular joints, acting like a gyroscope, try to compensate for the disturbed symmetry of the position. The primary work occurs in the upper segments of the cervical spine.

The main influence in the “assessment of footwear” has:

1. the height of the rear foot, or roughly the heel,
2. the support surface of the footwear, i.e. the sole

Ad. 1 Not every person will have bad posture if they wear high-heeled shoes.

If it is exercised, properly stretched and has proper neuromuscular coordination, then the strong plantar flexion of the foot forced by a high heel will be “unnoticed” in the sagittal plane and the center of gravity will still be projected correctly, which is what it is essentially about.

In a person with limited joint mobility, contracture of the posterior thigh and calf muscles, or with movement coordination deficit, wearing high-heeled shoes will be a problem. While walking, these people will be forced to bend the knee excessively in the stance phase. This, in turn, causes constant walking on a contracted hip and excessive lumbar lordosis occurs. The compensatory head then moves forward into the “turtle head” position. The center of gravity is moved in front of the torso, resulting in overload of the musculoskeletal system.

Ad. 2 Inappropriate, e.g. too narrow or incorrectly profiled and uneven support surface, i.e. the sole, is a problem common to everyone. In such a situation, the foot and therefore all the joints above it, including the temporomandibular joint, will try to adjust to the wrong base (shoe sole). Joint compensation will eventually end and the foot will begin to “flatten” into a flat valgus position with the possible occurrence of hallux valgus.

When compensatory deepening of the spine curvatures and positioning the head in a forward position, the jaws will most often be clenched with a tendency to retract the mandible. In conditions of disturbed body posture, it will be practically impossible to open the jaw to the resting position in the temporomandibular joint, as well as to withdraw the head to an intermediate position by flexing in the upper and extending in the segments of the cervical-thoracic spine.