The Space Between Your Toes

I’ve been studying early childhood physical development lately and it got me thinking about my feet. As an engineer, I’m amazed at the complexity and brilliance in their evolution.
Each of our feet have 26 bones in them, 33 joints, and over 100 muscles, tendons and ligaments keeping them all together. They all have their specific purpose and work together to keep us walking and moving the way we want.
As I was thinking about my feet I realized there must be an optimal position and function for all the bones, joints, and muscles. It also occurred to me that bearing all of our weight on feet that are not functioning optimally might create problems throughout our entire bodies.
The best way I have found to keep feet in their best condition is to keep them bare. Walking and moving barefoot is one of the best things you can do for your feet. It forces them to interact with the ground, strengthen intrinsic muscles, and reflexively adjust for all of our movements.
Shoes, unfortunately, remove most of the demands on the foot. Furthermore, they tend to be very constricting like casts. I broke my ankle once and was in a cast for several weeks. All the muscles covered by the cast atrophied to almost nothing. Our shoes do the same thing to our feet every day.
Obviously, safety and society require us to wear shoes– at least in public. I’m not suggesting you go barefoot all the time, but spending more time barefoot is a great way to keep your feet working well.
How do you know if you have weak/constricted feet? There are two tests I recommend you do.
First, take off your shoes and socks and look at your feet while you are standing. Is there space between every toe? Can you see the ground between each toe? If not, your feet are constricted and you need to free them. Wider shoes and more time barefoot will do wonders.
The second test is to move your foot and all of your toes in as many directions as possible. Do all of the movements feel free? Do you have control over individual toes? Have you lost control over some all together? If you can’t move your feet, you need to spend more time barefoot.
Your feet are amazing things. If you take care of them, they will take care of you and keep you moving for ages to come. Walking and spending time barefoot even just around the house is probably the best way to heel your feet.
You see what I did there? I crack myself up…
Seriously, ditch the shoes. Your body will thank you.
I should mention that running barefoot without proper training will leave you injured. Walking barefoot is the best medicine until your feet are healthy again. Don’t overdo it.

