In the semi-private training group that meets at my home fitness studio, I encourage the ladies to train barefoot. You can of course wear shoes if you want, but there are many reasons to train without them.
Foot Anatomy
Feet have muscles. They also have mobile joints. The muscles of the calf all cross the ankle joint and are responsible for the many positions the feet have the potential to achieve. The muscles inside of the feet (intrinsic foot muscles) help control the shape of the foot (so do some of the calf muscles).
The two lower leg bones come together to form a notch that cups the first of the ankle bones, the talus. The entire weight of your body is resting on those tali, or resting on one of them if you stand on one leg.
In a well positioned foot the talus is at the apex of a tripod. This is a strong structure, exquisitely designed to hold all the weight it needs to. Like muscles it has the ability to become rigid and stable or soft and mobile
And Function
We could just have one big bone in our foot, without all those pesky joints that cause so much trouble, but then we would hardly be able to walk on level ground, much less run, dance and climb trees…or kneel down, or walk on slanting surfaces.
Also if you couldn’t move your ankle, and change the shape of your foot to accommodate different ankle positions, the torque on your knee would overpower the stabilizing elements in the knee joint, leading to pain or damage.
It’s really much better to have a mobile foot.
But bones don’t stay together without other fibrous tissue. There are many ligaments in the foot. Neither the bones or ligaments would hold a shape through all the varied stresses and positions that we do–or could–get ourselves into without muscles.
Muscles will atrophy when they are not contracted or stimulated by nerve impulses.
Unfortunately the social convention of tying a stiff board to the bottom of the foot (aka wearing shoes) decreases the movement of the foot joints, decreases sensory stimulation and decreases the stresses that cause muscles to stay strong.
“Current clinical guidelines include the use of foot orthotic devices for heel pain and plantar fasciitis, but lack any reference to strengthening of the foot. While temporary support may be needed during the acute phase of an injury, it should be replaced as soon as possible with a strengthening programme just as would be carried out for any other part of the body.”
From McKeon PO, Hertel J, Bramble D, Davis I. The foot core system: a new paradigm for understanding intrinsic foot muscle function. Br J Sports Med. 2015
This is similar logic as saying “It’s a good idea to put a broken bone in a cast, but not to leave it in one for the rest of your life.” Or “It’s a good idea to brace a historic building while you’re making a plan for how to rebuild the structure.”
As the weight of the body rests on the talus, the foot muscles either have the strength to hold it at the apex of that strong tripod…or they don’t. If they don’t, then you can change that by strengthening your feet.
Strengthening the foot can be done progressively, just as one would strengthen any other part of the body. In general it’s better to use more complex and functional motions. Meaning that more than one joint is involved and the motion is close to how it would appear in activities. But simple isolated motions are a good place to start when the weakness is extreme enough to make complex motions either damaging or ineffective.
…and Dysfunction
“In recent years, studies have shown that IFM (intrinsic foot muscle) strength can have varying effects on lower limb pathologies and balance. In particular, IFM weakness or altered activation has been associated with multiple issues in the foot and lower leg including… heel pain, claw toe deformity, hammer toe deformity, hallux valgus (bunions), and shin pain. People with plantar fasciitis have been found to have weaker IFM and/or lower IFM volume (smaller muscles) than those with healthy feet. Recent research has also shown that IFM weakness has been associated with an increased risk of falls in older people due to their role in stabilizing the foot and maintaining balance.
From Ridge ST, Myrer JW, Olsen MT, Jurgensmeier K, Johnson AW. Reliability of doming and toe flexion testing to quantify foot muscle strength. J Foot Ankle Res. 2017 Dec
Again, from The foot core system: a new paradigm for understanding intrinsic foot muscle function:
Regaining Function
“The short foot exercise can be viewed as a foundational exercise for foot and ankle rehabilitation similar to how the abdominal drawing in maneuver (ADIM) is foundational to lumbopelvic core stability exercise programmes.”
“There is increasing evidence to suggest that training the foot core via short foot exercise progressions can improve foot function. For example, 4 weeks of short foot exercise training in healthy individuals reduces arch collapse as assessed by measures of navicular (the bone at the top of the arch) drop and arch height index, and improve balance ability.”
The “short foot exercise” means drawing the base of the big toe toward the heel. This shortens the overall length of the foot and lifts the inner arch. This is commonly taught for squat and split stance exercises. It requires contraction of the intrinsic foot muscles. When these muscles contract and the arch is lifted it puts the foot in a more stable position by moving the talus to the apex of the foot tripod.
Try this:
To practice the short foot exercise, first give it a go standing on both feet and see if you can draw the base of your big toe toward your heel.
Then stand on one foot, hold onto the wall or a chair, and try lifting your arch. Notice each time your ankle wants to roll toward your midline. Each time it falls and you catch it and put it back on top of the tripod, you’re doing a “rep” with your internal foot muscles (and some of the external ones in the calf as well).
That means you’re beating foot atrophy and getting stronger!
Let’s consider what it means for both balance and knee strain to have the base of your leg centered on that strong tripod. And what it means to your stability to start encouraging more sensation in your feet.
The bottoms of the feet are rich with sensory nerves. They tell us about the shape and slant of the ground and about its softness or hardness and allow us to respond and change our strategy for walking or running, without necessarily even thinking about it consciously.
Again, from the above article:
“Another advantage of being completely barefoot is the increase in sensory input received from the plantar (bottom) surface of the foot. Sensory input has long been recognised for its importance in postural stability and dynamic gait patterns. In a study of single leg standing, postural stability was found to be significantly improved when standing bare feet as opposed to in thin socks. This suggests that the thin socks filter out important sensory input that assists us with our static stability.”
And from a different article:
“The main developmental consequences of growing up shod compared with barefoot appear to be a reduction in arch height and a narrower foot. These developmental differences are thought to contribute to higher peak pressure at the heel and metatarsals in shod populations. By contrast, habitually barefoot populations demonstrate wider feet, a lower prevalence of flat feet and more equally distributed peak pressures towards the lateral foot and distal phalanges(toes). The differences in foot structure, particularly at the arch, are thought to be due to the function of the intrinsic foot muscles. A collapsed arch is associated with atrophy of the intrinsic foot muscles. A similar reduction in arch height is also observed with fatigue of the intrinsic foot muscles. Increasing the amount of time spent barefoot, walking in minimalist shoes or doing foot strengthening exercises increases intrinsic muscle size and can increase arch height.”
Note that fatigue also decreases arch height. Makes sense, right? Your muscles get tired and they don’t hold your foot in place as well.
But what do you do if you already have a foot problem like plantar fasciitis or fallen arches?
Just as you would do with any other deconditioned part of the body, you start where you are with a doable sized challenge and work at that until you can do more.
You can start with the short foot maneuver in a safe environment where you can pay attention to what you’re doing. If that ends up leading to pain then you’ll have to make the exercise easier until it’s doable. That means doing something even more specific and isolated to the foot muscles, maybe calf raises, or gathering a towel with your toes. If you have to you can sit in a chair and do these exercises so that the load on your feet isn’t as great. Or you can wear your orthotics whilepracticing the short foot exercise. Then if you roll inward your orthotic will catch you.
Exercises that are likely to be too much too soon if you have a foot problem would be ones that involve your bodyweight under momentum having to be stopped by the little foot muscles. So, landing from a jump or jumping back into a plank position as would be done in a burpee. Also exceeding your current endurance, like going barefoot for hours instead of starting gradually.
To sum it up:
Your foot is an elegant structure, designed to be dynamic and supple while having the strength to maintain a wide variety of positions under the weight of your body.
Feet, like other body parts, atrophy with disuse.
If they’re not strong right now, you can change that.
Strong feet function better and hurt less.
If you do your resistance training workout while barefoot it will give you the chance to work with your foot muscles in a safe and controlled way. It will also be more efficient than trying to do one workout for your feet and one for the rest of your body.
To make your feet stronger you’ll want to work with not only the big muscles and ankle movements, but also the little muscles and foot shapes.
Barefoot training also increases sensation and information about your environment and how you’re contacting it. All of this helps with balance and stability.
Strong feet are good.
Cheers,
Roselie
by Heart Light Digital