Cheers to your Feetsies!

Our feet do so much for us.

• They provide our base of support when we are standing upright (i.e. they help us defy gravity).
  

• They tell our brain where we are in space as well a the texture and shape of the terrain beneath us (i.e. they help us keep our balance and avoid injury).
  

• They provide cushion, spring loading, and push off in our locomotion (i.e. they are an essential resource in our mobility).

Our feet are also a significant part of our identity as a species - we humans are “bipedal” (meaning “two-footed”), and many of the aspects that set us apart as humans (like hip muscles that help us stay upright when we walk, or the contralateral locomotion that helps us move efficiently, etc.) have evolved because our feet were able to support us as we navigated our upright relationship with gravity. I am not exaggerating when I say that our feet are miraculous! 

Some other footsie facts you might not know:

• There are 26 bones, 33 joints, and more than 100 muscles, tendons, and ligaments in each foot that work together to bear weight, allow for locomotion, and transmit force.
  

• There are 3 arches in each foot - the medial arch, lateral arch, and transverse arch. Each arch has a unique, critical function and helps to distribute loads across the foot when walking, as well as transmitting force up the leg and into the pelvis where it can be turned into contralateral energy. 
  

• The sole of each foot contains more than 7,000 nerve endings and touch receptors, making them the most heavily innervated surface of your body (one square centimeter of skin on the sole of your foot is even more densely innervated than the same amount of skin on palm of your hand!).

I could go on, but hopefully you're getting the picture. It’s clear that our feet have evolved to be highly adaptable, and to have regular communication with our nervous system so we can learn from and interact with our environment. 

So... when’s the last time you paid attention to your feet?

I mean, a solid amount of attention. And not because you had pain or were trying to fit into a new pair of shoes… But just for the sake of admiring your two miraculous tootsies?

In our culture, feet are often overlooked. We could go further and say that, in many cases, the wellbeing of our feet are sacrificed for other priorities — fashion, for example. Or, as was the case in my life for many years, competitive athletics. Or, for many of the rest of us, feet just aren’t at the top of the priority list and they fall short of capturing our attention when competing with modern day stressors, occupations, and social activities.

Hopefully, if you're still reading, it means that I've convinced you that your feet are a precious resource worthy of time, attention, reverence, and care! 

And if you're short on ideas for tending to your tootsies, here are a few of my go-to strategies for supporting my own feet:

1. Spend a few minutes rolling out the bottoms of my feet.

2. Explore playful exercises and rehabilitative work with help from The Foot Collective.

3. Book myself a Rolfing® session with a focus on foot health and function.