Understand your foot and choose footwear wisely

Before get in to the topic, I would like to enlighten the facts of foot functions in natural way and humans are not suppose to halt it for the shake of  name of fashion footwear!

The foot core system

The foot is a complex and dynamic body part. The feet play a pivotal role in balance, gait, and overall stability when you’re on your feet

The foot core is a crucial part of foot function:

The ‘foot core’ primarily refers to the plantar intrinsic musculature

There are 4 layers of plantar intrinsic musculature in the foot. By definition, the intrinsic muscles originate and insert within the foot itself. They therefore serve to stabilize support the structure of the foot/arch both statically and dynamically

Strength of the intrinsic foot musculature is a big component of foot health and function. The feet can and should be trained for strength, just like anywhere else in the body

The foot also gets stability from extrinsic muscles which originate in the lower leg and insert into the foot. They help with stability by contributing to arch rigidity and foot stiffness when needed (think propulsion, power etc.) and absorption/ground adaptation when needed (walking, running, landing etc.)

The foot core can be strengthened and trained in many ways:

One popular introductory exercise is called ‘short foot’ and involves activating the intrinsic musculature by pushing into/grasping the ground

That being said, the any given exercise can be thought of as a foot exercise if attention is paid to foot function throughout. This is best done barefoot, as more attention and sensory feedback can be attained

Simply spending more time walking barefoot or with minimalist shoes puts more demand in the foot musculature, leading to increases in strength and natural arch support
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Train your foot core and get your feet working more!

The importance of a strong and functional FIRST RAY

The first ray is the inside segment of the foot that ends at the big toe (consisting of the first cuneiform bone and first metatarsal)

This functional unit of bones and tissues is an important part of what makes the ARCH a strong and stable structure. The first ray is an integral part of the medial longitudinal arch, and its function during walking, running, balance/stability and many human movements is crucial

The first ray functions as a pillar for the arch

- Integrity and strength of the first ray is important for PROPULSION when pushing off during walking. It acts as the primary lever which transfers a lot of load and energy/force through the ground

- Running, jumping, and athletic movements also require a strong and functional first ray to transmit force and keep the arch intact

The arch, balance, and stability:

- When standing on one foot, the integrity of your arch depends on good first ray strength. The musculature that connects into the first ray turns this structure into a strong ground stabilizer

- It allows you to keep your foot planted and ‘rooted’ to the ground when stability/balance is required. It creates rigidity and control and maintains your arch

Pay attention to inside part of your foot when you walk, stand, balance etc. Developing strength through the first ray will improve function and performance

Footwear: Biomechanics and Injury aspects

Advances in the design of such shoes have occurred in recent years, particularly for running shoes. To obtain best compatibility with the human performer in sport or exercise, shoes should, ideally, be designed for specific sports and exercises and for the relevant surface qualities.Sports shoes can change the forces in certain biological tissues by over 100% (Nigg, 1993). The wrong footwear is a major factor in causing running injury; the use of a good running shoe is one of the best ways such injuries can be avoided.Furthermore, running shoes appear in general to lose around 30% of their impact attenuation properties a modest mileage.

BIOMECHANICAL REQUIREMENTS OF A RUNNING SHOE

A running shoe should provide the following (for example: Cavanagh, 1980;

Frederick, 1986; Nigg, 1986a):

1. Attenuation of the repetitive impact forces
2. Maintenance of foot stability (rearfoot control) with no exacerbation of movement at the subtalar joint (supination-pronation)
3. Friction-traction at the shoe-surface interface
4. No exacerbation of any structural irregularities of the arches of the foot
5. Allowance for different footstrike pressure distributions
6. Dissipation of heat generated, particularly when the shoe incorporates synthetic materials and artificial surfaces are involved.
7. Comfort for the wearer. 

THE STRUCTURE OF A RUNNING SHOE

Heel counter

This is an important part of the shoe as it contributes to shoe and rearfoot stability, cradling the calcaneus and limiting excessive pronation; Rigid, materials are needed for this purpose and a sheet of thermoplastic is normally incorporated in the heel counter. External counter stabilisers are also used to reduce excessive rearfoot movement (Easterling, 1993). The design of the heel counter has a profound effect on the stiffness of the fatty heel pad and, therefore, on impact attenuation. The nearby ‘Achilles tendon protector’ (or heel tab) is somewhat misnamed—hard or high heel tabs can cause

inflammation of the tendon or peritendon (Dunning, 1996).

Uppers or Toe Box

A compound structure is the most common. Usually, a foam layer provides good perspiration absorption and a comfortable feel, woven nylon taffeta supplies most of the strength, while a cotton weave backing helps to prevent the nylon from tearing or snagging.

Human foot is designed to splay wide at the forefeet to distribute load of our body and be the widest at the tips of the toes.

The vast majority of  the footwear gets narrower and tappers to a point at the very place our foot should be widest.  and we wonder why our feet cave inwards, why they hurt, why we get bunions. It's a really quite obvious - most shoes aren't made in the shape of feet and it's deforming our foundation.

WOMEN DITCHED THE STAYS AND CORSETS – ISNT’ IT TIME WE DID THE SAME WITH NARROW, POINTY SHOES??

This image shows how feet can be pushed and pinched into the shape of shoes. And for women and girls this shoe shape is more than likely to be slim and pointy

So what happens to slim and pointy feet? When we consider adult women are FOUR TIMES as likely as men to have debilitating, painful foot problems, it’s pretty clear WOMEN’S SHOES are a problem

Isn’t it time fashion stopped constricting our bodies into painful submission? This mother is making sure her daughter DOESN’T follow in her pointy-shoe footsteps, literally

While Mum has uncomfortable, unhealthy and unhappy feet, she’s making sure Daughter’s footsteps stay FOOT-SHAPED: she goes barefoot where possible and when shoes are necessary makes sure those shoes are foot-shaped: FLEXIBLE, WIDE and BENDY so her daughter’s feet can grow strong and healthy

VivoKids are all created to be as close to barefoot as possible; protecting only from climate and terrain so feet can do their natural, healthy thing as they grow

We don’t believe in corsets: for bodies - or feet!

Midsoles and wedges

These are the critical parts of the shoes for shock absorption, the most commonly used material being a closed-cell polymeric foam (EVA—ethylene vinyl acetate) (Easterling, 1993). 

This absorbs energy mainly by compression of the pockets of air entrapped in the cells and secondarily by deformation of the cell walls. These foams are 80% gaseous with thin (<10μm) walls. Closedcell foams regain their original dimensions more quickly than open-cell foam. 

The long-term durability of these foams is unknown, but all foams form a ‘compression set’—a permanent deformation—because of repetitive stress. This reduces the ability of the material to absorb energy substantially, although the shoes may otherwise look as good as new. Cook et al. (1985) found a loss of about 30% of shock absorbency across a wide range of top class running shoes after only 500 miles (800km) of running. More recent developments have included various pneumatic and liquidfilled devices, the claims for which have not always been substantiated by rigorous scientific research.

Outsoles

Polyurethane rubbers are generally used here because of their durability and abrasion resistance; EVA compounds fail on the last property, wearing through in 200 miles (320 km). Treading removes to some extent the poor traction of polyurethane soles when wet, and changes in tread configuration can affect both the shock attenuation and traction.

It’s time to rethink footwear. This picture seems ridiculous but go to a typical shoe store and you will see tons of footwear that isn’t that far off

It’s pretty simple: the further a shoe brings your foot away from the ground, the less your foot can act like a foot
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Thinner sole = more sensory feedback and more flexibility

Insole board

In modern running shoes a fibre-board, composed of cellulose fibres embedded in an elastomeric matrix with additives to prevent fungal and bacterial growths, is usual. Other shoes, known as ‘slip-lasted’ shoes, do not have an insole board and the upper is fitted directly to the last giving flexibility but with limited stability. Combination-lasted shoes have the rear part of the shoe board-lasted and the forefoot part slip-lasted: this represents a good compromise between rearfoot stability and shoe flexibility (Easterling, 1993).

Insole (or sockliner)

Usually made from a moulded polyethylene foam with a laminated fabric cover, this should help to reduce impact shock, absorb perspiration and provide comfort. It should provide good friction with the foot or sock to prevent sliding and consequent blistering (Easterling, 1993).

Can foot wear cause Back Pain ??

Back pain has become an epidemic, with many people turning to the quick fix of pain medication — which can actually make things worse —  rather than finding ways to alleviate or stop the physical causes of the pain in the first place

But this comes as no surprise, as many of us sit down for countless hours during the day, at home, at work, in our cars or public transport, all hunched over in a position that creates an inward curve in our lower back —  a position which our bodies were not evolved to be in for long periods of time

This issue is also connected to our footwear. Wearing shoes that have a heel has a knock-on effect across our entire posture. It pushes the hips forward and forces our upper body to compensate for balance, creating that same inward curve in our back, which can over time be the cause of chronic back pain

Shoes with zero lift and zero heel keep our feet flat on the ground, re-aligning the back and allowing us to “stand tall” with a straight posture

Resources

1. McKeon PO, Hertel J, Bramble D, Davis I. The foot core system: a new paradigm for understanding intrinsic foot muscle function. BJSM. 2015
2. Sports Biomechanics: Reducing Injury and Improving Performance by Roger Bartlett Sport Science Research Institute, Sheffield Hallam University, UK