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FOOT-SENSE
We’re familiar with our sense of smell, taste, and sight; foot-sense is not as well known but is equally important. For example, if we step on a pebble while barefoot, we react immediately by contracting certain muscles that lift our foot off the pebble. More commonly, we don’t have to look to see the position of our foot because we “sense” its location. The same is true with our sense of movement—we don’t have to look at each footstep we take in order to walk or run effectively. Foot-sense can also be observed while balancing on one foot. The brain interprets incoming messages from the foot we’re balancing on and sends back messages to muscles throughout the body to continuously adjust our posture to keep us from falling. These movements may include tilting the head, moving the arms up and down, or whatever is necessary to keep balanced. Without effective foot-sense, proper body-wide balance could not occur.
Foot-sense is a vital function for foot stability, to prevent injury, and to recover from an injury. Imbalanced muscles, overuse, disease, and many types of shoes can cause the nervous system to have poor foot-sense, leading to vulnerability to injury and other problems. With poor foot-sense comes a response from the brain to the body’s muscles that may not be correct. As a result, the body does not properly compensate for even a minor foot problem, ultimately leading to an injury or worsening of an existing problem.
Because the nerves in the feet significantly affect balance, communicate with the brain, and stimulate foot muscles, encouraging normal foot movement and posture—even for brief periods—can be therapeutic. This is a key benefit of being barefoot—the most natural of all positions for the foot. Improving foot-sense in the feet can be done with almost anyone of any age.
The mid-foot has five irregularly shaped bones, which, with support from the muscles, form the foot’s characteristic arches. It is here that much of the foot’s natural ability to absorb shock takes place. The bones that connect to the metatarsals are called the first, second, and third cuneform bones, and the cuboid bone. Behind these sits the navicular bone. The hind-foot contains the talus bone (the ankle), which connects the foot to the two long bones of the leg—the smaller fibula on the outside and the main leg bone, the tibia. The talus bone is also connected to and rests on the calcaneous bone (the heel), the largest bone of the foot, which assists in stability during movement and standing. In the back of the foot, the calcaneous bone is supported by the Achilles tendon.
In some individuals, small extra bones called accessory ossicles may exist throughout the foot. In addition, there may be extra sesamoid bones. When present these extra bones don’t inherently pose any particular problem.
