The foot is the least understood and the least worked on appendage in the whole human frame. Even here in Asia where there are Reflexology clinics around every corner, joints in the foot are rarely mobilized and tissues are scarcely stretched or strengthened. Think of what the feet have to do! For a start, they carry the whole of your body-weight.

It is pertinent to talk about the feet and ankles in the throws of the 2006 football world cup where so much has been written about tarsals and meta tarsals, the long bones of the feet. We forget how mechanically complex and structurally strong the human foot really is. The ankle sits right over the top of the foot and provides your base with a solid foundation and is a vital shock absorber. The foot provides balance, structure and flexibility. Think how much pressure you put on them during a run. Well over 4 times your own body-weight every time you land. Literally tons of pressure is absorbed by the feet on a long run.

So let’s see how complex these extremities are. You have 26 bones in your foot, 7 of which are ankle bones. The big one in the back of the foot is called the calcaneus or heel bone, on top of that and slightly medial to it is the talus bone which articulates with all the other 6 ankle joints. It is vital to keep the Talus joints as mobile as possible for full mobility as this is the key joint in flexion and extension of the ankle. In front of the talus is the navicular bone and in front of the calcaneus is the cuboid bone. Lining-up in front of these are the 3 cuneiform bones which in turn articulate with the now universally mentioned metatarsals of which there are 5. We always count from the big toe (1) to the little toe (5). To make things more interesting when working the foot, there are 33 joints for us to manipulate and stretch. Most of the movement in this mid foot area is for pronating (turning-in) and supinating (turning-out). The rear foot is involved with eversion (turning heel out) and inversion (turning heel in). There are over 100 muscles, tendons and ligaments binding the 3 main foot structures together(Rear foot, Mid foot and Fore foot).Then there are all the nerve endings and myriad blood vessels and of course our largest organ the skin and soft tissues, which give the foot its shape, durability and muscular nourishment.

When the foot is in its anatomically neutral position it will support, balance and create ideal mobility in every activity you persue.Any misalignment or imbalance or malfunction in any one of the above structures can and does affect the whole kinetic chain and it could turn up a pain and instability anywhere in the body. On the other hand any structural abnormality in other parts of the human frame and it can and will lead to problems in the feet.

Tips to keep the foot in shape:

1. Wear shoes with good cushioning and arch supports.
2. Stretch and strengthen evertors, invertors, supinators and invertors of the foot.
3. Always Lengthen tissues before you strengthen.
4. Stretch out the calves Soleus and Achilles tendon to prevent heel pain and plantar fasciitis
5. Soak feet into a tub of warm water with Epsom salts and your favorite oil.
6. I like to use Dead Sea salt scrubs for the foot and massage for at least 2 minutes until the skin is bright red. Very energizing.