Barefoot Training
by Joel RaetherDate Released : 20 Aug 2010
Editorial note: The author would like to thank Mark Roozen and Brandon Stone for their contributions to this article.
Barefoot training has recently experienced a surge in popularity and has been shown to improve foot mobility, stability, and activity. Additionally, it has been linked to increased lower limb muscle firing and greater muscle activation patterns through the kinetic chain. In some cases, there is evidence that barefoot training can even decrease lower extremity, hip and low back pain. Read on to find out more about this controversial but fascinating new training modality.
The design of the foot is somewhat similar to that of the hand. There are three major divisions: The tarsals, the metatarsals, and the phalanges. These three divisions of the foot interact with the talus to allow for movement of the foot. The talocrural joint (the ankle joint), is comprised of the talus, the tibia, and the fibula. These three bones allow the foot to plantarflex, dorsiflex as well as invert and evert on multiple axes. In fact, the ankle may be viewed as a modified ball and socket joint with the primary function being mobility. The intertarsal joint (the back of the foot) is surrounded by tendons and muscles that act to contract and relax to create movement and to aid in the transfer of body weight. The tarsometatarsal joint joins the tarsal and metatarsals together. Again, this joint is surrounded by tendons and ligaments to enable the foot to move in different planes.
A simple model of the joint between the leg and the rear-foot is that of two hinges each with one degree of freedom. The superior hinge at the talocrural joint provides most of the sagittal plane motion due to its mediolateral orientation. Motion in the transverse and coronal planes (inversion/eversion) is largely taken up by the subtalar joint. It could be expected, from the orientation of the joint, that rearfoot motion in the coronal plane (inversion/eversion) would be tightly coupled to motion in the transverse plane (adduction/abduction) to create movement. These three joints then push the weight through the phalanges.
Although the intertarsal and tarsometatarsal joints have limited movement, the surrounding anatomy keeps the joint in place and allows for movement. It could be compared to a hunting bow. The bow (the tarsometatarsal joint in the case of the foot), remains fairly limited and stable but the string (the tendons and muscles) acts around the bow to create movement of the entire apparatus. This example illustrates how the foot needs significant movement to allow for optimal weight transfer, locomotion, and to aid in the windlass effect.
More In: http://www.ptonthenet.com/articles/barefoot-training-3309?goback=%2Egde_99851_member_201343719
Barefoot training has recently experienced a surge in popularity and has been shown to improve foot mobility, stability, and activity. Additionally, it has been linked to increased lower limb muscle firing and greater muscle activation patterns through the kinetic chain. In some cases, there is evidence that barefoot training can even decrease lower extremity, hip and low back pain. Read on to find out more about this controversial but fascinating new training modality.Foot Design
There are roughly 206 bones in the human body and exactly one-quarter of these, 52 to be exact, reside in the feet. The anatomy of the foot is designed to allow transfer (during linear ambulation) of the body weight from the heel toward the lateral side of the mid-foot. Once the weight is transferred to the lateral side, it moves through the ball of the foot and toes to propel the entire body forward. An easy way to notice this phenomena is to look at a footprint in the sand.The design of the foot is somewhat similar to that of the hand. There are three major divisions: The tarsals, the metatarsals, and the phalanges. These three divisions of the foot interact with the talus to allow for movement of the foot. The talocrural joint (the ankle joint), is comprised of the talus, the tibia, and the fibula. These three bones allow the foot to plantarflex, dorsiflex as well as invert and evert on multiple axes. In fact, the ankle may be viewed as a modified ball and socket joint with the primary function being mobility. The intertarsal joint (the back of the foot) is surrounded by tendons and muscles that act to contract and relax to create movement and to aid in the transfer of body weight. The tarsometatarsal joint joins the tarsal and metatarsals together. Again, this joint is surrounded by tendons and ligaments to enable the foot to move in different planes.
A simple model of the joint between the leg and the rear-foot is that of two hinges each with one degree of freedom. The superior hinge at the talocrural joint provides most of the sagittal plane motion due to its mediolateral orientation. Motion in the transverse and coronal planes (inversion/eversion) is largely taken up by the subtalar joint. It could be expected, from the orientation of the joint, that rearfoot motion in the coronal plane (inversion/eversion) would be tightly coupled to motion in the transverse plane (adduction/abduction) to create movement. These three joints then push the weight through the phalanges.
Although the intertarsal and tarsometatarsal joints have limited movement, the surrounding anatomy keeps the joint in place and allows for movement. It could be compared to a hunting bow. The bow (the tarsometatarsal joint in the case of the foot), remains fairly limited and stable but the string (the tendons and muscles) acts around the bow to create movement of the entire apparatus. This example illustrates how the foot needs significant movement to allow for optimal weight transfer, locomotion, and to aid in the windlass effect.
More In: http://www.ptonthenet.com/articles/barefoot-training-3309?goback=%2Egde_99851_member_201343719
