Question 1: Christina tell us a little bit about your PT journey and why you chose to focus on foot health as a niche? It all started when my Mom showed me a segment from Dr Oz she thought I’d like.  Sue Hitzmann from MELT Method was on. I loved her books on foot health and biomechanics. Started wearing barefoot shoes. This led me to Yoga Tune UP, NKT, ID & finally Anatomy in Motion.  Once I learned AiM that was it for me…I’m hooked & getting better results for myself & clients since I’ve been implementing this method.  Based on the mechanics of our walking pattern.
Question 2: What is the most common pattern or injury you see in your practice? How do you treat it? I attract a lot of people with general foot pain, plantar fasciitis, ankle pain, toe pain.  And the causes are not always the same.  Someone can have high arched feet, flat feet or medium arched feet - I have to evaluate them and look at their whole body to figure out what the biggest contributors are.
Question 3: The significance of the big toe? And foot health in general. How can we as movers and providers help our pt.’s feet stay mobile and how as professionals can we ensure we include feet into our evaluations? I do recommend learning a few quick functional foot tests you can do on your patients to screen them for foot issues.  The big toe can really limit our propulsion because we need 60 degrees of extension for a good “push off” / windlass mechanism. 
Question 4: How do you in your practice perform a foot assessment/gait assessment? And what specific things are you looking for? There are 3 main tests I use for feet:  tripod test, big toe test and pronation test. These test give me tons of helpful info about foot function. I look for:  bearing weight through wide stable tripod, foot shape changing from high to low arched, big toe extending to 60, foot getting wider/flatter/longer as person bends knee & puts weight on it (shock absorption and loading the rubber band). 
My gait assessment is done with video- I put it on slow motion and step by step look for the movements that should be happening, compare sides, etc. you can get a lot of clues about the movements they cannot do well in gait by taking them through a series of movements at the skull, rib cage and pelvis.
Question 5: Are bunions genetic? Not in most cases, I think it’s about 3% that might be genetic. Sometimes it’s shoes but often someone has a bunion on one side so I think of foot mechanics and walking mechanics as the biggest factors.
Question 6: Can you explain your optimal foot health program or HEP for “happy feet” I’m a big fan of using AiM foot wedges.  They help you keep your tripod grounded as you make the 2 foot shapes and 2 leg shapes we need for fluid walking pattern. Then you connect those foot and leg shapes to whole body shapes related to gait.
Question 7: The foot's impact with preventing falls? Feet sense the ground beneath us, help us react from the ground up.  If our feet are like stiff blocks then we have a much more limited way of interacting with and responding to the ground.
Question 8: What kind of footwear do you recommend to your clients? If they feel good barefoot then barefoot shoes as tolerated. Sometimes I recommend a transitional shoe such as Altra to give them cushioning but allow more natural movement. Some do benefit from some support and some benefit from an elevated heel if they have a stiff ankle. 
Question 9: Where can we find you? @foundationsptofwny on IG and FB/ Free FB  group Healthy Feet, Healthy Body/www.FoundationsPTWNY.com
Question 10: Any special offers or upcoming events? 5 week series of Movement Foundations classes with FB group coming up Oct 7th Code : BODYBASICS register at foundationsptwny.com
Chrisitna’s free virtual consult link: http://equipt360.comwidget/bookings/coaching-consult-christina
Question 11: What does back to body basics mean to you?
App mentioned in episode -Onform

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