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Let's Talk About the Foot

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August 18, 2025•4 min read

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Let's Talk About the Foot

Our feet have to endure a lot stuff. At the most fundamental level they must take all the weight of our body every step, even 3-4x that when we run and jump. Sometimes we cram them into shoes (don't even get me started on dress shoes and high heels) or we go barefoot walking over rocks and roots. As for runners and athletes, most of us have calluses and bunions or are lacking a nail or two. But they serve a considerable function and it's important we understand how to load them and take care of them to prevent ankle sprains, plantar fasciitis and allow them to be the proper connection from the ground to the rest of our body.

General Anatomy

At the ankle we have two bones, the tibia and fibula, that come together over the talus to create the joint. This primarily acts as a hinge joint, the up and down motion of the ankle. Below that is far more complex. The calcaneus, navicular, and cuboid make up the heel and midfoot. Here we have all the angular motion happening as well as attachments of several muscles in the foot itself. As you go towards the toes you have the metatarsals and the connections of these and the midfoot bones create the arches of the foot and we have pronation and supination happening here. Last is the digits which mostly flex and extend, but also have a bit of medial/lateral motion.

Biomechanics

First lets talk pronation and supination. When we walk we should land with a heel strike along the lateral side (supination) and as we go into foot flat or loading response we then have the tibia go over the talus and then drop into the inside of the foot (pronation). This is a normal and expected movement pattern and is one of the foundational ways our body absorbs impact.

The other primary motion happening is plantarflexion and dorsiflexion and the main load happening is achilles undergoing tension and then acting as a spring to propel us back up or forward. A strong achilles and calf allows for better load tolerance and limits the load up the chain to the rest of the leg.

Exercises and things to do

Toes: It is very important to get your toes WIDE, so work on splaying. This can be done both passively with your hands and actively trying to grab onto things like a sock or marbles.

Arch: Work on getting the muscles in your arch and the posterior tibialis firing by actively lifting the arch up. This can be done in isolation, but also with movements like toe walking and just being barefoot during exercise. DO MORE EXERCISES BAREFOOT.

Midfoot: Here I like to get people better at getting the knee over the toe and improving active and passive dorsiflexion range of motion. For some this means movements like squats and lunges are needed, but also tight calves can limit this so get them stretched. On the heel it is also important to improve how well it can do medial/lateral motion, and again this can be done both actively and passively with your hands to help it.

Ankle: Big things for the ankle are single leg strength exercises and plyometrics. So single leg calf raises, balance type movements like RDLs on one leg, and toe taps in all directions. Also to improve controlled landing incorporate jumping, landing, and direction changes with quick movements

Over the next few weeks we will break down other joints and how they function and how best to load them. If you have questions about something more specific reach out to us and let us help. We are movement experts and the musculoskeletal system is our area of expertise. We want to keep you informed, healthy, and active in all the things you do.

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