Our Base of Support
Feet are among the favorite subjects of a Rolfer, and for good reason. If you are addressing a person's posture, and their movement in relation to gravity then it makes sense to want a stable foundation, and to work from the ground up. When Ida Rolf was developing her series she naturally began with the feet, but it proved somewhat problematic. It turns out trying to introduce significant change at a person's base of support caused many issues if that change had no room to fill out up above, and so people were walking away with headaches, breathing problems, and even heart arrhythmia. It was because of these issues she started working with the torso, the chest and the breath first so the individual would have more space for change to occur, which seemed to be the best approach. That being said, the traditional Rolf session 1 is a topic for another blog, lets talk about feet today.
The Foot is a Mobile Structure
The foot is a mobile structure made of many bones and strong myofascial (muscle and connective tissue) components. It is designed to be both sturdy and strong, as well as being flexible and springy. If the components are too lax, we loose our springiness, and if they are too strong and inflexible we also loose this spring, both can result in pain and strain in the foot, the knees, the hips, and even the lower back. People will rarely connect their hip and back pain to their feet, because we do not commonly think of what the structure of our body is like in action, but anyone who drives a car with faulty struts (shock absorbers) knows that they will not only feel a lot more shock while driving, they will have ongoing axle and suspension repair ahead of them.
Our feet are unique in the animal kingdom, humans being the only bipedal mammals, apes and monkeys can only stand on two feet for a short time, their hips are not really built to stand upright. In order to walk and run without producing a great amount of shock the dense connective tissue of the bottom of the foot, the plantar fascia, must lengthen and allow the bones of the foot to spread. If it does not, it will send the shock of walking, standing and running straight up, like a car without functional struts. If the bones and connective tissue of the foot are too lax, and spread too much too easily, we have will have flat feet and there will be nothing to absorb the shock of walking/running. If the arches are two high, and fixed in that position, again, it's like having shot struts, and that will also produce shock. Arches high or low most importantly need to be FUNCTIONAL, which means flexible, adaptable, and springy!
Muscles of the leg are Muscles of the Foot
When considering the arches it is important to note that the entire foot is made up of many bones, 26 bones to be exact, giving us 33 joints and well as over 100 muscles, tendons and ligaments. Likewise, the arches are made up of multiple bones and joints, and are therefore mobile structures. The foot has 3 arches, the lateral arch (on the outside line of the foot) the medial arch (on the inside line of the foot) and the transverse arch (across the top of the foot). When people say they have high or low arches, they are usually referring to their medial arch. When people put arch support in their shoes, this is usually for the medial arch. What is important to visualize is that the foot can be divided into two structures, the lateral arch going from the lateral heel to the to the last 2 toes , and the medial arch going from the medial heel to the first 3 toes. The medial arch basically sits on top of the lateral arch like a shelf holding it up, so in reality a failure of the medial arch is actually the failure of the lateral arch.
What typically causes the lateral arch to fail? The lateral arch and the medial arch are held up by groups of muscles in the lower leg that wrap around the foot like a stirrup holding up both arches. The muscles are the tibialus anterior and posterior along with fibularis longus (previously known as peroneus longus). If these muscles are not engaging the arches when necessary, then we wind up with flat arches. In short, the muscles of the lower leg are muscles of the foot. A failure of the arches is a failure of the leg.
The western approach to muscle issues is usually to strengthen them. We have not really evolved far beyond gym exercises as far as physical therapy is concerned, but the real issue is not so much weak muscles, but rather that the muscles are weak from not being used. What might cause this? Sitting around, not going to workout regularly, and overall a sedentary lifestyle? What about the idea that we often use the wrong muscles to do the wrong things, and those muscles are weak as a result of our poor co-ordination and lack of a sophisticated ability to move with ease? Many of the muscles in our body will become strong through ordinary use if we just learn to use our bodies better. Certain muscles and muscle groups won't be able to do their job if other muscles are overpowering them, and we may be using muscles that are not well suited for that job. When this happens, the muscles that are designed for that job may atrophy from disuse, and we learn to function without them, albeit- inefficiently.
Arch Support may not be the Answer
So what is the answer to real arch support? A podiatrist will prescribe orthotics, and there are many companies out there ready to sell you expensive shoes designed to support your arches, but all these things may serve to make your foot immobile and stiff. More so, they can stop the muscles of your foot and leg from functioning properly, causing them to further atrophy and simply stop trying to work. Having shoes with thick soles may buffer your footfalls with cushion, but will interfere with the natural springy action of the foot, which is nature's way of absorbing shock when stepping. As a Rolfer I see these things every day. It is hard to tell someone that is experiencing foot or hip pain that the problem is their overzealous foot support, but we can encourage people to take a break from arch support when ever possible to allow for a more natural movement of the foot and lower leg. Some clients have found that tossing out their orthotics altogether has eliminated their foot pain.
Let's be frank about this, arch support like special shoes or orthotics do not correct the problem, they are a crutch. Some people may genuinely need this crutch, but over time they can make the very issue they were enlisted to help worse. If a person decides they want to move toward minimalism with shoes and arch support, I would advise them to do so gradually. If there are certain activities that aggravate your foot, then wear the othrotics or supportive shoes for that activity, but when you don't really feel that you need them, go without. Get some barefoot time in every day, make those muscles work, but spend about a year or so building up to more minimal shoes and lots of barefoot time, if you jump straight into it you may wind up with plantar fasciatis or some other unpleasant foot issues.
Barefoot is Nature's Way
From the perspective of a Rolfer, we want to see functionality in the arches, flat or high. They are not carved out of stone, they are made of tendon and bone. If they spring into action when needed, then there is probably not a problem. We want these muscles, tendons, and fascia to be flexible and pliable, to glide across other structures without getting stuck. We want the 26 bones of the feet, with their 33 arches to likewise be mobile and not stuck with one another. Ida Rolf compared a well Rolfed foot to a bag or marbles. We likewise want the muscles of the leg to be flexible, pliable and to be able to glide across one another without getting stuck together. We want them to be able to tighten and lengthen appropriate and to be at rest when they are not needed, allowing for the deeper muscles of posture to be active when no powerful expenditure of energy is needed. Most of all, we want the foot to be a sensory devise for the nervous system, exploring the world around us, informing us not only of our surroundings and where we are in space, but also feeding our sense of balance and our relationship to gravity. All of this is hard to do when wrapped up in a stiff shoe!
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