A listener named Aaron called the Get-Fit Guy Hotline and said: “I am a 44-year-old cancer survivor trying to put my body together after treatment. I’ve had a foot injury and have been walking in orthotics for months—getting weaker instead of stronger between the podiatrist visits. Do you have any tips on how to slowly move off the orthotics and instead strengthen the metatarsal area, to get back to strong feet?”
That is a great question Aaron. The foot and ankle are among the most common sites for both acute and chronic injuries in active individuals. When an injury to the foot or ankle occurs, we end up being limited in our ability to run, jump, kick, and change directions. The treatment and rehabilitation of these foot injuries is crucial in getting us back to full participation and full function. But how do we do that?
Back in 2014, the British Journal of Sports Medicine published an article called "A new paradigm for understanding intrinsic foot muscle function." That article discusses a “core” that we really ought to be training but in reality we don’t often think about. This core is nowhere near the abdomen or lower back. Yep, you guessed it, they are talking about the foot core!
In that paper, they draw some really interesting parallels between the small muscles of the trunk region that make up the lumbopelvic core and the intrinsic foot muscles. In doing so, they introduce the concept of the foot core. A core that I think we all should be spending time training.
Why Our Feet Need Training?
By the time we reach Aaron’s age of 44, our feet will have travelled about 70,000 miles (or 112,654 km). After putting that kind of mileage on our feet, it is no wonder that eight out of ten Americans say they have experienced one foot problem or another. And even worse than that, one in four Americans report that they are completely unable to exercise due to foot pain. So, folks - this is no joke.
Despite the fact that 25% of our bones are located in and below our ankles, and also that our feet are the foundation of our body, many of us neglect our feet. We all know that we should be exercising our arms, legs, and cardiovascular system but when is the last time you exercised the muscles in your feet? And yet, without proper muscle strength in our feet, our bodies are destined to become imbalanced or unstable. Luckily, some simple foot exercises can make a big difference.
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