Unstable by Design?

Throughout the history of time, our feet have provided us with a sure hold connection back to our roots, mother earth. When we want to escape from the evils of modern society, we take off our shoes and socks and get to one with nature. Until now, we have never questioned the stability that our feet provide for our entire body and life.

Very rarely, through the use of any treatment option for any particular physical complaint, has anyone stopped to question the stability and strength of our feet. It is an automatic assumption that whatever we do and whatever goes wrong elsewhere in the body, our foundation is the stable base for everything, upon which the position and movement of the entire body can be corrected.

Without the knowledge that developmental abnormalities cause foot shape variations, this assumption is a good one. After all, without a stable foundation, how else would the human species have developed as well as it has done? Why would we have been designed to walk on two legs if the feet could simply not manage it?

The truth is that for the task it needs to carry out, the design of the human foot is perfect. The problem, however, is that when each of us is "constructed" in the womb, the instructions to align the foot as per the design blueprint aren't always given correctly.
What causes this mix up in the instructions? We don't yet know. What we do know, however, is that the resultant foot shape is either inverted (varus), everted (valgus), or rarely some other unusual shape.

So, although we are all designed to have properly aligned feet, only 30% of us end up with that. The remaining 70% are the subject of some type of construction error that leaves our feet at their own, very unique angle.

A new approach

This realisation is perhaps most powerful for the 67% of the population walking round with an inverted foot shape.

Why? Because firstly, this is the greatest proportion of the population to be affected by any abnormal foot shape. Secondly, and perhaps more importantly, the effects of this particular foot shape transcend much greater and deeper into the entire being than those of any other.

If we are to accept that foot shape variations are usually present at birth, and cause instability right within our very foundation, then we must recognise that the entire structure is forced to adapt to compensate with every step we take. With this knowledge, we must re-assess the validity of our current approach to treating and preventing a wide variety of musculoskeletal disorders and disabilities.

This is no small task. Take the assumption inherent in practices such as Yoga, Alexander Technique, Pilates and the marshal arts. These practices all recommend bare feet in order to provide unrestricted movement and a feeling of oneness and connection with the ground surface.

The concept is a great one, but where someone with an unstable foundation practices it, the constant adaptation required by the body kind of detracts from the benefit!

Another classic example is the prescription of exercise to improve health. This again is another sound concept but one for which we currently do not takes into account the effect of individual foot shape variations.

Someone with an inverted (pronated) foot shape is perhaps more likely to undertake a fitness regime because of ill health, excess weight or poor muscle tone. Unfortunately, however, the increased weightbearing activity serves only to compound the effects of the underlying abnormality even deeper into the body. The patient then feels exhausted, in greater pain and even more assured in the belief (reality) that they are destined to remain unfit for the rest of their lives.

Put this patient in a pair of custom orthoses designed to control the effects of their own unique foot shape abnormality, and experience has shown that within a short period of time (typically weeks or months), their overall health will begin to benefit from that same or a new exercise regime.