What one person envisions as protecting their feet will be different from the next. Some may think protecting their feet means armoring them in stiff, rigid shoes, others have the idea going barefoot may cause the arch of their foot to drop and therefore avoid this at all costs. I believe the greatest protection one could give their feet is to strengthen them with activity while allowing them to freely express their 150 capable movements–that is if the shoe allows it. So here’s a question “Is your foot in charge of your shoe? or, is your shoe in charge of your foot?
Let me explain. Even though the feet only weigh 2% of your body, they become stronger while carrying and moving 98% of the weight of the body above them. Imagine the arc of a bridge. Each block of the arc provides stability for a locomotive to pass over it, in fact the arc gets stronger with this weight. This is the same concept with feet.
The foot is made up of 26 bones and is divided into two columns with separate functions. The outer, lower column bears weight, the inner, upper column (the arch) is your body’s spring board for movement. And, there is another very important facet that determines the power of the foot–the transverse arc(h). This arc is the bridge the foot depends on to create a stable foundation during locomotion as weight is carried from one side of the foot to the toes. This beautiful, organized movement allows the body to be carried with grace. When the foot deviates from this path the muscles that move the foot become confused and subsequently, creates an unsteady base. This triggers the larger muscles in the upper body to assist in balancing and moving the body– however is not their function, and soon they tire from the effort, leaving one to wonder why their shoulder or low back hurts.
- Left image:(Looking at the top of the foot) The shaded area is the weight bearing column. The light area is the spring board for movement column.
Transverse Arc(h).
So protection to me speaks to keeping the integrity and function of these aspects of the foot intact while you wear shoes. Shoes that are too tight may cause injury to the feet and decrease their potential to direct weight. Rigid shoes establish the platform for movement and override foot function causing the foot to become subservient to the shoe and then the muscles and ligaments weaken from inactivity. Flexible shoes offer the feet more range to move and let the feet take charge of the shoe. This is what strengthens them.
Our feet are the foundation for our body. Each step we take initiates movement throughout the body. The style and size of shoes you wear will either fortify the feet and body or take power away from them. Knowledge about how the feet work and action to preserve them is our greatest protection. How to do this is by turning up our awareness dial to feel the messages our feet give us every time we use them.
Of course their are times when the feet need added protection to heal an injury, such as an orthotic. However, once the injury has healed this prop should not be adopted as an additional appendage for the foot. The foot needs to wean away from using the prop because if not, the immobilizing effect of the orthotic will weaken the feet further causing the rest of the body to weaken as well. A health regime of foot exercises is necessary to strengthen the feet again and most times this exercise can be as simple as walking barefoot in the house. If the foot continues to hurt, there is a likely chance what prompted you to wear the orthotic has not healed and therefore, manual intervention to release muscle and joint tension in the foot and lower leg will help to facilitate the correction to bear weight comfortably again.
