All About Feet!
As dancers we use our feet all the time - but how much do actually know about the workings of the foot? And more importantly, how to train your feet?
As we starting looking forward to the new year, you may be heading into full time training, embarking on a new project or contract, or maybe this is the year to open up your own school or teach some regular classes. One thing that remains true is that we need to look after our feet. As dancers/dance teachers we are often wearing pointe shoes, heels or thick trainers for our craft, so good foot care is especially important.
Since we moved from walking on 4 limbs to 2, about 1.8 million years ago, our feet became our only direct contact with the ground and world around us.
As we stand or walk and gravity pushes us downwards from above, we have to react against the ground and create force to remain upright, and not only that, but move – with speed. This is all provided by the contact and motion of the feet on the ground.
Let’s take a closer look at our feet:
A quarter of all the bones in the body are in the foot! That’s 26 bones. This provides for a very mobile region. Our feet are designed to move!
Each foot has 33 joints. The joints have a vertical orientation allowing for joints to open and force to be transmitted into the tissues when weightbearing. This changes en pointe or in high heels, where the joints are more horizontal and lose their shock absorbing properties.
150 ligaments help to provide shock absorption across these joints and play a role in sensory feedback.
The foot can do 2 movements: pronation and supination. These are also known as a ‘mobile adapter’ and a ‘rigid lever’ respectively. These are movements that happen in 3D. They need to happen !
26+ muscles of the foot and ankle work to decelerate pronation and accelerate supination. They all work together, in synergy. Pronation is the most powerful movement we can have.
The foot can be split into the rear, mid and forefoot. They should all work together as a team.
The 1st ray = the medial cuneiform (mid foot), 1st metatarsal and phalanges (forefoot). The 1st ray was once our primitive gripping digit, like a thumb. It is not too far removed from when our ancestors used the 1st toe for gripping, cool isn’t it ?
The 1st toe is essential for absorbing load, triggering re-supination and balance, especially in demi pointe. We need about 60° of big toe extension for happy foot function. For dance we often require 90° for good demi point height.
There are 2 small sesamoid bones under the 1st toe joint that help to dissipate forces. With poor foot motion these can be the site of pain and injury.
Did you know …
The talus bone of the ankle has no muscular attachments and it’s main job is to convert sagittal plane motion into tri-planar motion 3D. This is essential for pronation and supination mechanics of the foot. The talus can also be viewed as a continuation of the tibia (shin bone). Cuing movement from the tibia and not the knee can be useful when improving foot motion. No more knee over 2nd toe cuing !
The Tibialis posterior muscle is the most powerful supinator: important for rises and re centering the foot from jumps. This muscles lives in the deep calf. If we can’t supinate effectively, this muscle can get over stressed and be felt as pain under the shin; shin splints.
Peroneus longus can also help with plantarflexion of the 1st ray due to its attachment: relevant for rise and a pointed foot. This muscle lives on the outside of the calf.
We can classify feet into a neutral, high arch, and low arch (flat). All foot shapes are okay if they can move well. It always comes back to how well you can pronate and supinate. Always !!
The foot provides us will all sorts of sensory information:
We have 3 times more sensory (feeling) than motor (action) nerve input on the sole of the foot (found in the skin and fascia). The feet are designed to provide a mass of information to the brain, and quickly.
There are 4 times more small nerves than large nerves. These are sensitive to vibration which we get from the ground when we walk and jump. Thick soled shoes will limit this and reduce our sensory information.
Proprioception is feedback from sensory receptors that give us a sense of where the joint is, where we are in space. These receptors are commonly found near to the joints in the capsule, tendons, ligaments and fascia. Don’t forget the foot has 33 joints, that’s a lot of proprioceptive feedback.
Our Local muscle system (muscles close to the joint) help with stability and are predominantly type 1 muscles fibre type. These local muscles have the highest number of sensory nerves and so a high proprioceptive input to the brain.
How you can support your feet:
Could you be barefoot more often?As we have now discussed, vibrational input comes from our contact with the ground, so if we wear shoes, this reduces the sensory input we get. I remember great a visual from a course I did that outlines this really well;“Socks on the feet is like wearing sun glasses, shoes like a blind fold” The thick soled shoes that are of fashion currently would be like adding noise cancelling head phones to the mix !”So, could you dance barefoot more, be barefoot in the house? Maybe walk barefoot on different surfaces such as the beach, the driveway or grass?
Could you wear shoes that allow the foot to move more? Maybe a shoe with a 0 rise from front to back. Most shoes today have a rise of 8-12mm with a very rigid rear and mid foot, and plenty of vibration dampening cushioning. This rise is like wearing a small heel and changes the timing of heel strike and motion at the ankle and in the calf muscles. I’ve just started training in xeros and am loving them!
Could you invest in a small amount of time to do daily foot exercises and releases before and after class/ performance to help improve blood flow, fluid dynamics and mobility in a sleepy foot or a foot that has been squashed into chorus heels?
Below are some examples of some releases and check ins that you could try over the next few weeks.
Take good care of your feet!
Our Band-ITS Massage balls are specifically designed to provide safe and effective fascial release that won’t leave you wincing in pain or covered in bruises. The small Band-ITS massage balls provide deep trigger point release, and are the perfect size, shape and softness for an effective foot massage!
