Foot Education
1) Barefoot health benefits
The foot is more closely interconnected with the health of the entire body than was previously thought. When the foot is used properly the whole body benefits. The proper use of the foot affects every other bodily system.
Of the many benefits, stronger feet directly result in:
- Increased tolerance of impact & work loads
- Increased threshold of standing & working fatigue
- Built-in immunity to foot disorders
- Upright posture
- Lower back relief
- Less knee pressure
- Stronger calf muscles
- Flexible achilles tendon
- More range of motion
- Healthy arches
2) Foot evolution
- an efficient perspiration system
- a respiratory system separate from movement muscles
- an upright posture
- an achilles tendon
- an arched foot
After an eight hour chase the prey "collapses from sheer exhaustion" giving in to the ever persistent human runner.
3) Foot anatomy
"The foot is a masterpiece of engineering"
-Leonardo Da Vinci
-Leonardo Da Vinci
The foot is the least understood of all moving body parts because of the complex inter-workings between its many joints, tendons, nerves and more. What we do know is that the foot is perfectly built for its two most important functions: (1) absorbing shock and (2) propulsion. These functions are first controlled by the brain and spinal cord that receive messages from thousands of nerve endings on the sole of the foot. Nerves relay vital information about ground terrain so the body can then react accordingly. When the foot's sensing system is synchronized with its moving hardware, the foot becomes an unbeatable, self-sufficient and adaptable machine.
foot facts
- 26 bones with 33 joints (making up one-quarter of the body's bones)
- over 100 muscles, tendons & ligaments (site of the strongest tendon in the body)
- over 200,000 nerve endings (densest concentration in entire body)
- over 250,000 sweat glands (expel 1 pint of sweat per day)
- a network of blood vessels
three major muscles:
It is tendons that are most crucial for movement because they provide such a high amount of energy for their size, the kind of energy that can be seen by the stretching and snapping of a rubber band. The four major tendons are located below the knee and string all the way down to the foot. The later two tendons string down along the inward side of the ankle bone, wrap under the arch, and attach at the very tips of the toes.
- gastrocnemius (large calf muscle)
- soleus (lower calf muscle)
- quadratus plantae (sole muscles)
It is tendons that are most crucial for movement because they provide such a high amount of energy for their size, the kind of energy that can be seen by the stretching and snapping of a rubber band. The four major tendons are located below the knee and string all the way down to the foot. The later two tendons string down along the inward side of the ankle bone, wrap under the arch, and attach at the very tips of the toes.
four major tendons:
one major ligament:
- achilles tendon (strongest tendon in the body)
- posterior tibialis (supports arch)
- flexor digitorum (curls four smaller toes)
- flexor hallucis (curls big toe)
one major ligament:
- plantar fascia (tension from heel to ball of foot)
"Great Toe" positioning
The Great Toe, otherwise know as the Big Toe, is the centerpiece in so many foot functions. Simply correcting the positioning of the Great Toe and giving the other toes space to splay can cure pain from plantar fasciitis to bunions, and neuropathology (numbness). There is a great product designed by a Podiatrist at NW Foot & Ankle, Dr. Ray McClanahan. His product called Correct Toes can be worn barefoot or with shoes with a wide toebox such as Lemings. Correct Toes will undo and un-deform what years of wearing poorly designed shoes has done to our toes. It's truly miraculous.4) Foot biomechanics
windlass mechanism
The foot uses the Windlass Mechanism upon landing and at push-off. The arch of the foot can be imagined as a triangle. The bottom of the triangle is the all important plantar fascia ligament that serves as a high tension cable. When the toes are lifted the plantar fascia wraps around the metatarsal bones tightening its tension and lifting the foot's arch higher and higher. The further the toes are flexed back, the higher the arch rises.
foot's natural suspension system
The foot is an ideal shock absorber. Most shock absorbers work in one direction, the foot functions in three. The Windlass Mechanism explains the vertical movement of the arch but it doesn't explain the other directional planes. Pronation happens in a tilting direction and in the lateral direction the transverse arch flattens and toes splay apart.pronation
Pronation is the natural motion of the foot rolling or tilting inward in order to dissipate shock. It occurs at different degrees and is best seen when running or landing from a jump. The foot lands on the outside border with the ankles turned inverted. As body weight settles down on the foot, the ankles roll inward and the foot rolls inward flattening out. Pronation cannot occur with arch support, especially the support of rigid orthotics. Support simply blocks the foot from rolling inward which causes the impact force to go up the body instead of being dissipated.
transverse arch flattening
The ball of the foot is made of five very mobile metatarsal bones. An arch, known as the transverse arch, spans across these metatarsals.
To initiate the roll, the foot touches down on the outside at the 5th metatarsal. This 5th metatarsal is very mobile and displaces easily away from the other four metatarsals making for a soft touchdown. At this point the transverse arch begins to flatten just like a leaf spring suspension system. This flattening widens the ball of the foot by about 15%. Rarely when fitted for a shoe do you account for the extent to which the foot widens. Which is why a "snug fit" can easily result in a stress fracture of a metatarsal bone.
