EP 605: Healing from the Ground Up: How Foot Health Impacts Your Entire Body with DL Walker

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Welcome back to the Habit Based Lifestyle Podcast. I'm your host, Jesse Yule. Today we got a very special guest, D.L. walker. She's a natural foot and ankle. She does natural foot and ankle therapy. She's a corrective alignment therapist and her foot and ankle dysfunction. And then she also teaches online programs that empower people to heal themselves. So, DL I want to thank you for being on the show today.

Hey, thanks, Jesse. Thanks.

Well, that's quite, yeah, that's quite the introduction of all the things you're doing.

Yes.

Give us kind of a, just like a, a brief, just scenario of like where you're at today and then we'll kind of go back to what got you started in this.

Yeah, thank you. Because where I am today could be very different than where I was, you know, a month ago, a week ago. You know, life, life comes about. And I think where I am exactly at the moment is understanding that a human being is not a body part. That just looking at the foot, which is not what I do, because again, it's, I believe fully in a comprehensive functional holistic model. So there are multiple reasons that anyone can have a particular problem going on. And the idea is to really take a look at the possibilities of each one of them and, or the combination of which, in order to get someone better, not just temporarily, but permanently so that they don't have to have problems down the road. And what I found as a physical therapist is that we were only treating one body part. In fact, insurance only allowed us to treat one body part. You would need another prescription to, to treat something else, even though that other factor was causing the dysfunction. So, for example, you know, you had just mentioned that you have flat feet.

Yeah.

And there could be four structural reasons for that. So the idea is if I Just gave you orthotics. I'm not fixing anything. I'm not resolving anything. I'm giving you something to make you more comfortable. But that doesn't mean down the road, because of those flat feet, that your knees aren't going to get trashed, your hips aren't going to get trashed, your back's not going to get trashed, all because of your feet. And similarly, when there are individuals who have knee and hip and back problems, often, oftentimes the foot is the culprit because it's all about the base.

Okay. That's awesome.

Yeah. And the thing is, what I'm going through personally right now is sadly, a revisitation of something that happened about 10 years now, 20 years ago with my teeth.

Okay.

And rather than looking at the root cause of the issue and resolving that, which I personally feel is the alignment of my teeth, because that is very much the crux of my work is to restore alignment. Delaminating my teeth is not good. And so not only did I have a initial problem, but then the treatment to that problem failed. Then the treatment to the treatment of the problem that failed was complicated. And now I have the same problem in a different tooth.

Wow. Okay.

Had I addressed the root cause of that problem 20 years ago or 25 years ago, you know, after it happened, and in my defense, I did not know that that was the root cause.

Sure.

And at this point, I'm not a dentist, a dental expert. I'm just going by what I know in the body, everywhere else. And since the teeth are a part of the body, I believe that all those things, all those principles that I'm very, very familiar with resonate there as well.

Well, hold that thought for a second. So you said you didn't know, but did the person actually treating you. No, because know that's kind of the other thing. Right. Is sometimes the people we're working with, they don't even know they're used to treating the symptom.

I agree with you.

So, like, you know, that that's something that kind of plays a role in, you know, PT World, personal training world, all these. These worlds is like some doctors, some therapists are 100% committed to treating the symptoms. And what you're telling me is you're 100 committed to treating the root cause, which is a. And the symptom. Well, you start at the symptom, but then you trace to the root cause and you put it together. But, like, what I'm saying is, like, a lot of people don't know the difference of the two. And that's kind of like what you're saying is like, hey, I didn't know, otherwise I probably would have fixed it. But you don't know what you don't know. And a lot of times the dentists, the doctors, the therapists, they're just doing what they learned, you know. And so what's cool is that I kind of want to bring this back full circle is what you actually do is you fix, you know, the root cause issues and. And that's what you're a specialist in. Is that correct?

Yeah, it really. It really is. It really is. Thank you.

Okay, so take me back to like, you know, I talked to you a little bit before is like 14 years old, you began to kind of like, you know, do. So like you started talking.

I had a problem. I had a problem. And the problem that I had, oddly, oddly enough was warts on my fingers.

Okay.

Seven out of ten of them.

Okay.

So bad. I was young, I was 14, and I went to dermatologists who, you know, did the. The treatment, the conventional treatment, so liquid nitrogen. So tried burning them off, tried cutting them out, even tried Spanish fly. And it was extraordinarily painful and it didn't work. And as, as luck would have it, family friends referred me to a chiropractor who he. And once again, you think chiropractor for warts. What would you know? Why would you do that? And what he did was he looked at my diet, he looked at my. He did treat the symptoms. So he used low level laser, which was not. He did adjustments, he did some sort of detoxification, and within three months they were gone. Never came back.

Wow, that's amazing.

I really understood at a very young age the importance of comprehensive health care.

Okay.

And what I call the philosophy that I use is, I term it the kitchen sink philosophy, which means that when there is a symptom going on for me, like I like right now, is that I throw everything that I know at it.

Got it. Okay. I like that.

Yeah. And so I do that with my patients also.

So it kind of sounds like you go into research mode. You're going to research everything and then out of it you're going to come up with a solution.

Yes. Yeah. And. And in doing so, um, I have been very successful as well as being highly intuitive, which helps to maintain my own health and also protect the health of the clients that I work with.

That's really cool. Okay, so 14 years old, you go kind of have this experience. When did you Know, you wanted to be a therapist or you wanted to kind of progress into that field.

Yeah. When I was 16, I kind of wanted to be a sportscaster.

Okay.

Big fan of sports, particularly the Olympics. And. And then for some reason, physical therapists came to mind. So I was a volleyball player. My coach, my assistant coach was a physical therapist. And I went to work with her one day and just kind of fell in love with the field because I. I really gain a lot from helping people.

That's, that's.

And. Yeah. And so that's why I got involved with physical therapy and then really took that to a high level.

So let's, let's talk a little bit about before we go, you know, high level. Early on, what were things you liked about physical therapy and then what were things you didn't like?

Right. Well, I lasted in my first job. I digress a little bit because it took me about nine years to get into physical therapy school. So I wound up with a Bachelor of Science in fitness and cardiac rehab and a master's in exercise physiology.

Nice.

Then I went to PT school and I lasted in that first job a year and a half.

Okay.

Before I got fired. And the reason that I got fired, actually, I was never really given the reason, but it was not at the time. It did not upset me because I was only being able to treat people for 15 minutes. I was only treating the symptoms. I did a good job. I made the practice money, but I wasn't really satisfied. So after that, I went into business for myself and for 10 years worked with patients in their homes in New York City.

Okay.

Yeah. Where I could spend about an hour with them. And. And then I honed my profession and got certified as a functional manual therapist with a group called the Institute of Physical Art.

Okay.

They are, I would say, out of. Well, not all of them, but out of the physical therapy continuing ed school, I would say that they are one of the more holistic group, but it is manual therapy.

When you say holistic, like, I mean, I know what that means, but like, to have somebody listening in, what does that mean for somebody?

Well, from a physical therapy standpoint, they were open to the mindset aspects of recovery, you know, understanding differences with regard to more so the mental aspect, the body, mind connection. And two years ago, I became certified in an energetic healing modality that I use also. So now I'm. I'm feeling the whole body mind energy connection. And when an individual is not progressing, the problem is not being diagnosed properly. The root cause is not being diagnosed properly.

Yeah, no, that's great. So if, if you were saying that to someone who might be listening, does that mean, you know, what does that mean to that person? Like, because we're talking about your teeth. Like, if you had that intuition of like, hey, I'm not getting better. What. How do I identify that and then how do I know that it may be not this issue? Because a lot of times I think people have injuries, they do traditional modalities, they don't get better, and then they don't know what to do. And so.

Yeah. And a lot of them will wind up in surgeries that, again, are just treating the symptoms of the, of the, of the, the issue. And the, those surgeries may or may not work either.

Yeah. And that's kind of the medical reactive model of healthcare.

Yes, yes.

You're. You're in the proactive, Proactive model of healthcare. And so there's a big difference in those two, you know, so, like, that's kind of why I'm asking, because, you know, I know that a lot of times people are frustrated with the traditional, you know, medical system.

Oh, yeah.

But, you know, they need to know there's people like you out there who actually are looking out for what's best for them.

Yeah. In a, in a holistic standpoint, you know, and, and addressing all three. And so my advice actually would be that one of the things that individuals do, and I'm, I'm guilty of this sometimes is you go to the closest person or you go to the person who's on your plan, and those individuals might not be even. They're considered holistic. Right. Might not be able to be the best to deal with your particular problem. So, for example, today I contacted a holistic dentist. Okay. And one of the best questions that someone can ask to anyone that they are potentially interviewing to work with. What is your experience in treating. Blah, blah, blah, and what is your success rate? Those are the two key questions.

Maybe I'll add one more.

Go ahead.

Do you have anybody I could talk to that had a similar problem that.

Oh, yes, I usually. Yes, absolutely. I, I agree 100%. Yes. Asking for referrals from those individuals. So again, that is exactly what I asked the, the receptionist at the holistic dental place. This is what I have going on. What is this person's experience and what is their success rate? And.

Yeah, that's great.

Yeah. And. And again, yes. Can I speak to someone? And when they, when they're like, oh, no, you know, confidentiality, you know, there are a ton of patients that I could give names to. It's almost like I used to have a. I was a landlord and when somebody said that they had no referrals, I'm like, you have no friends. Like, no one can, can say you're a decent. Like, that's pretty scary. Yeah, sure. And obviously, you know, the other questions, how much experience do you have, etc. Etc. But, you know, knowing the success, success rate, I think is really, really key. And. Yeah. And, and giving people, you know, a general. Oh, well, you know, it's six to 12 visits. A lot of therapists are now being told to market. It's going to be eight visits, right?

Yeah, I mean, I always, I always kind of think of like, people don't really care about the visits. They care about the results, you know, so like, sell the results, not the visits, because if you can help that person in three.

Yeah.

It's no different than helping them in 12, other than they just got the same result in a shorter amount of time. And that's really what they care about.

Exactly, exactly.

Okay, so tell me how you ended up kind of like the foot ankle, you know, because I feel like there's some reason why you're starting there and that's why you're treating that, right?

Oh, well, it had to do with a business issue where I was told I needed to niche.

Oh, got it. Okay.

So from a business coach, a good old business coach, you need to niche. You need to niche. And so I, I chose the foot and ankle because it was, first of all, an area that I was teaching is teaching a balance enhancement and fall prevention class. And, and since most people don't fall when they're sitting, the feet have something to do with it. So I, I would treat, treat and teach the foot and ankle. And as I did that, my knowledge about it really expanded. And, and my creativity really expanded. And again, you know, having those foundational concepts that I had, you know, from my first day of orthopedic PT school, which is alignment dictates function, frequency, flow and force absorption. You need to have stability in order to have mobility and release, realign, rebalance. Those were three things.

First, yeah, I'm familiar with the joint by joint approach. Stability, mobility. Stability, mobility all the way up the body.

Yeah, yeah, yeah. And so, you know, using that philosophy and applying all of the things that I learned through, throughout my career, and then looking at the foot, I felt it was it. First of all, there's a need, you know, because in the US Most physical therapists, we don't have Time to really focus on the foot. And then most podiatrists don't know rehab and nor do they often treat naturally because there's no money there. They want to do the surgery and get the big bucks and be, you know, be be done in 15 minute consults and, you know, that kind of thing. They don't, you know, they don't look at maybe nor do they even understand the consequences of the surgeries. So, yeah, so that's, that's why I decided on the foot and ankle. And now what I'm coming to realize is that for me being more general, but a root cause specialist and the person to go to, you know, when you want results like yesterday, that is really what my specialty is. I just happen to get them mostly in the foot and ankle.

Okay, got it. Okay, so now let's go back to our conversation about having flat feet.

Yes.

What? Somebody has flat feet? You said there's could be one of like four things, right?

Yes.

So can you. I mean, just, let's just play along and pretend somebody else is.

Yeah.

So, like, what would you do?

Yeah. So what I, what I first share is that the, the root cause always it's a compensated, what's called a company compensated supinated foot, meaning that nine times out of 10, and this is unless they have something like Elder Daniels or some sort of other.

And I used to twist my ankles all the time when I was a kid.

Yeah. Yeah. And so what happens is, is that when you were developing, you had a high arch and when your feet came onto the ground, you weren't able to get your big toes down because they were so supinated. So the body compensated, because I believe the human body will do anything to get the big, to get weight over the big toe because it's our primary balancer. So even like elderly forward head posture, even like a lordosis or a, you know, or even a kyphosis, it's all bringing the weight forward over the big toe. Because a lot of times there's a lack of mobility in the midfoot. Right. Okay, so what happens is, is that in the midfoot, the way that the, the foot is organized is that there's probably a compensation in the midfoot. And what manifests, or what I can see is again, one of four compensations that is that the heel, right, moves into pronation, right into a verum. What's called a verum, not a valgum. So that would mean that when you look at your foot from the back, the heel is, is going to be this Way. Yeah, that's inside. Okay. The second characteristic is that there's a bone that is called the navicular and the navicular drops.

Okay.

Alice shifts. Right. The heel pronates and then sometimes even at the knee, the, the tibias internally rotate.

Yep. Mine do that.

Yeah.

So kind of like knee knocking almost.

Yeah. And so what happens is, is that if I take you out of any of those compensations. Right. Manually when you're standing, your big toe will come off the ground.

Got it.

So the idea that makes it one of the more complicated. There's a couple of reasons why that diagnosis is particularly complicated is number one, there are many compensations that you have to undo and you have to and concurrently address the root problem, which is getting the big toe on the ground. So you actually have to mobilize the big toe to get that down and the forefoot and any midfoot issues that are causing that supination and then correct the rear foot, which is the heel and the navicular bone and move up the kinetic chain.

So big toe strengthening.

Yeah, it. And, and really it's more of an issue at the. What's called the metatarsal tarso. Metatarsal joint which is higher up. Okay. There's really, there's no isolated muscle there. There, there is isolated muscles for the big toe and, and, and strengthening the big toe is one of the most important things that people can do and getting pressure onto the big toe. So for example, I sustained an injury once again. Right. Kickboxing. I evulse my big toe now. So I didn't put weight onto that foot and I wasn't walking properly for a long period of time. Well, years later, because we never addressed, I never addressed that problem going downstairs. I, I sustained two osteocondylar fractures to my knee.

Okay. Wow.

Which would have been surgery and 6 weeks non weight bearing. Not in my. You know, I just had a baby. It was not in my, my future timeline. So what I realized is that I wasn't putting weight on the big toe. Put the weight on the big toe. Haven't had a problem since it was 15 years ago. So getting once again addressing the root causes of the issue to make sure that everything is, is working properly in order to restore alignment, which once again can help with force absorption, which can work with sequential movement right through the kinetic chain and offset any sort of pressure type injuries.

Yeah. Believe it or not. I'll tell you the things that I felt like have had helped that the most is number one doing bodybuilding yeah. So. And the reason why I say that is because I used to practice 30 minutes of posing.

Yeah.

Well, I'm sitting there flexing my legs and the way you. You have to, like, lift your insteps up.

That's right.

And so my legs were getting strengthened, you know, in areas that I normally wouldn't. Kind of the opposite. Right. So that really helped. And then I figured out how to do ankle mobility, foot, footwork. I stopped spraining my ankles and doing all those things, but I still notice my shoes, they get worn out. So. Yeah, I mean, it's. I. I've done a lot of, you know, programs and different stuff like that with, like, I don't know if you ever heard of cars or functional anatomy training, but, you know, that's a lot of the foot, ankle, you know, all those things. And so I, I've known that, but I just, you know, I. I appreciate someone who's kind of like working their way up the body.

Right.

So it's really cool. But like. So do you teach other people or other practitioners how to do what you're doing, or do you primarily just work with the consumer?

Both. Both.

Okay, so talk a little bit. Like, there's a lot of practitioners. What could you help them do with what you're teaching?

Yeah, so right now I have classes on the forefoot, which is the 33 joints that are located from the beginning of the arch to the toes. And when I. Even when I was trained by one of the best physical therapists in the world, he did not touch those 33 joints. Okay. They are an integral part of balance. They are impactful, certainly with any problem up the kinetic chain. Rear foot dysfunctions like Achilles tendinitis, plantar fasciitis, all of those things very well can be. Oh, ankle sprains, huge problems with mobility in the forefoot. And again, it's working in a, what I call a triplanar approach, which means that I treat in all three planes of motion.

Yeah.

Not just the sagittal plane and the frontal plane, which is how many manual therapists are treated. Also, the programs are in weight bearing because when the foot hits the ground, everything changes.

Yeah. When you add load, then.

Exactly.

Things go under stress then.

And. Yes. And very few people have a problem in non weight bearing, so unless they are, you know, someone. And. And once again, going back to my training, everything was. Most things were done in non weight bearing and massage, usually non weight bearing. So again, making it functional. And I call it corrective functional therapy and those courses. And they can Be found On my website DL WalkerConsultants as well as an opportunity. So there's a section for professionals, a section for individuals, and a section for teams and organizations who might want to do preventative work with their athletes for, you know, obviously knee problems, ankles, etc. Etc.

Because any of these kids playing sports year round the same sport?

Well, yes, yeah, or just in general, I mean, you know, the foot, there's, there's no one really with a, a healthy foot that's in modern society. And I think it has to do with the fact that we're put in shoes at a very young age and we, we ambulate or walk on, on flat terrain. So we don't get that subtle mobilization that the cave people did or indigenous people do with, you know, with, you know, very, very thin sold shoes.

So what? Okay, so let's talk about maybe a habit somebody could do to help maybe strengthen their foot or, or give them, you know, some mobility. Would it be walking around barefoot for a certain amount of time a day or like what would you recommend?

You know, it really depends on the foot. You know, you have a pronated foot, you need to core strengthen. Right. Because again, the foot is not, is not used like cost salad, you know what I mean? It's really for balance and walking. Right. Once again, you need to have stability in order to have mobility. When somebody has a pronated foot, they're hypermobile in certain joints, like the heel, like the navicular, but they are hypomobile in other ways. So it really does depend on the individual. It depends on the foot. And what is really interesting in what I've found and what I do is that I really look at the fascia. So when somebody's having a problem, like say somebody pronates. So in non weight bearing you don't pronate at all. Right. Let's just say you put the foot down and then as you stand up, the minute you pronate, I can identify the connective tissue that is causing that fascial pull that is then causing that dysfunction. Wow.

Okay.

So I do that a lot with bunions and I do that also with hammertoes, you know, provided that they haven't gotten so far. Same thing with something like sesamoiditis or an arthritis of the toe, a hallux limitis, because again, it's just the symptom is either pain or decreased motion. Well, what's the cause? And again, the answer really comes from looking at the entire kinetic chain and doing a thorough evaluation on individuals and then Providing them with a comprehensive program that will address what their particular needs are.

Okay. I love it. Okay, so I'm a health professional practitioner. I want to find out more about you.

Where do I go a DL WalkerConsultant.com okay.

And then I'm someone who's just looking to improve my life. But some of the. Some of the foot things that you mentioned I might have or someone has, they go to the same place. And there's a practitioner, one and a individuals as well.

Okay. Yeah. As well as teams and organizations that might want to bring me in to. To teach. And like I said, most of the I do have DIY programs. And then I also offer done with you solutions. And right now I have a initial strategy consultation for 79.

Okay. And if you guys are listening to this, all you got to do is just go to the show notes. You can click on the link and it'll take you directly there.

Yep. So.

Okay, well, tell us, you know, in one minute or less, like, what's next? What's the big thing you're working on?

Oh, you know, making life your exercise.

Okay.

So it's about daily practice and mindfulness in. In what. Where. In. In your. In your daily life that you are conscious because you don't need to go to the gym. Right. In order to be healthy and functional. Right. What you need to do, what I feel is more important is that you move your body properly and there's a right and a wrong way to sit, to stand, to breathe, to drive a car, even to d. You know, to de. Stress. So for example, if somebody to swallow, somebody might be having digestive problems, it could be their neck, you know, looking at the alignment. Because again, when you can restore optimal alignment, everything works properly, including those core muscles, because they're then able to fire when needed. Right. Because of the length tension ratio, which I think you might be familiar with. So, yeah, I think that that is a little bit down the road again. And so many people have stress in their lives and depression and that can lead to so many difficulties in their bodies and really looking at the deeper. The deeper crust of the. Of the problem.

Okay, well, hey, I want to. I want to thank you for being on the episode today. You've definitely, you know, brought a lot of value. So I appreciate that. And, and thank you so much. If you guys want to find out more about do obviously you can go to the show notes, but she's. She's got some amazing stuff she's doing. And it sounds like if you're a practitioner. You could really learn a lot from her and you know, possibly add this into your business.

Yeah. And courses are certified for CEUs in a number of states. Great.

Well, hey, if you want to be part of our habit based lifestyle community, we actually have a private Facebook group called Habit Based Lifestyle and Business Secrets where we teach you how to upgrade your life and your business. And you guys can go ahead and go to the show notes, you can click on the link, you can get added into that group. We hope you guys have an amazing week. If you have any questions, you can always reach out. Email me Jesse habitbaselifestyle.com until next episode. Have a great day.

The purpose of this show the purpose of this show is to guide you to realign with habits that get you to live the life, live the life you've always dreamed of. This is the habit based lifestyle podcast with Jesse Jewel.